"Sah Polymer has been our primary supplier of bulk bags from India,” says Valentina Zanotti, CEO of Italy-based Suprema Bags. “Sah Polymers has demonstrated its commitment to meeting the challenges of the European market by building a state-of-the-art, fully integrated bulk bag manufacturing facility. This company has been a valuable integration partner for our company," Zanotti adds.

"Sah Polymers has been one of our primary suppliers of bulk bags from India. In addition to the typical commodity bags, we have successfully worked together on a number of highly specific applications. Sah Polymers has demonstrated its commitment to meeting the challenges of the European market by building a state-of-the-art, fully integrated bulk bag manufacturing facility," says Stephane D, Founder - Big'Pal.

Sah’s revenue from operations climbed 12.16 per cent from Rs49.1 crore in Fiscal 2020 to Rs55.07 crore in Fiscal 2021, attributable to an increase in sales of manufactured goods which included HDPEC and LDPE bags. Revenue for the nine months ended December 2021 stood at Rs54.01 crore. The consolidated revenue of the company for the nine months ended December 2021 stood at Rs64.78 crore. The company clocked post-tax profits margins of over 6 per cent as per the nine months period financials.

Sah plans to go public and has already filed its papers for the IPO with the stock market regulator SEBI for a fresh issue of over a crore of equity shares, with no offer for the sale component. The IPO proceeds, roughly Rs65 crore as per market sources, will be utilised for building a new FIBC plant and expansion of production capacity as well as funding working capital requirements for new projects, besides repayment/prepayment of certain borrowings.

SPL currently has one manufacturing site in Udaipur, Rajasthan, with an installed production capacity of 3,960 tonnes a year. The company has made investments in its manufacturing infrastructure from time to time in order to strengthen its product portfolio and reach, and as part of its strategic expansion plans, it intends to establish a new facility with an additional installed capacity of 3,960 tpa to manufacture different variants of FIBC products.

Industry standards

“They are perfect and look great,” says Swapnil Deedwaniya, promoter of Deedwaniya Brothers (DB) group. He appreciates Sah Polymers for its understanding of industry standards backed by strong R&D. Working with Sah is very smooth, efficient, transparent, and trustworthy, Deedwaniya says.

“We aim to focus on deepening our penetration in our existing markets, thereby increasing our domestic presence by expanding our customer network in India and abroad,” explains Moti.

There is tremendous demand for FIBC in the international market as Indian products are more cost competitive in the international market owing to its low cost of production and other advantages. Though China was a competitor, the post Covid scenario has had a positive impact on the company, says Daud. The China Plus One option that global companies are looking at now is a good omen for companies such as Sah which has reached its optimum capacity utilisation. “Hence, we are now expanding,” he says.

With advancements in technology and general awareness, the packaging sector in India is also well poised as most raw materials for packaging are abundantly available in the country. Moreover, per capita spending has increased tremendously, leading to changing rural markets and a growing middle class who demand the best of products. Various upgraded technologies are being used in the industry such as aseptic packaging, retort packaging and biodegradable packaging to enhance the life of food products.

Moreover, the plastic packaging market is expanding rapidly, registering a growth of 20-25 per cent per annum and is valued at 6.8 million tonnes while the paper packaging industry stands at 7.6 million tonnes. The packaging industry is poised to grow rapidly led by the increasing use of innovative packaging equipment and the rising flexible packaging market. In terms of packaging, the food packaging industry is one growth area that has seen the maximum number of innovations in terms of packaging and branding. Consumers want their food products to be hygienic, safe and at the same time to look attractive.

When it comes to food packaging, MNCs have a very good ecosystem. They have a dedicated R&D house, which conducts various research-based experiments using the latest technologies, and are always innovating to ensure that the consumer is benefited. This development has led to healthy competition between the local manufacturers to deliver innovative products, and as a result, the entire ecosystem is gearing up for change.

Likewise, local manufacturers are now importing state-of-the-art machinery to ensure that packaging is of the highest standards. If trends are anything to go by – seeing is believing! Consumers who have attended any packaging event of late will be able to identify with the above scenario. Packaging machines for labelling, bar coding and scanning, to metal and plastic packaging – every contraption is now available to local manufacturers, Moti explains.