Charudatt Joglekar, An expert technical faculty and consultant to national & international paper mills said Vidarbha has locational disadvantages so far as the paper industry is concerned since neither the major raw materials nor the market is in Vidarbha. Hence the economics of units is affected due to the heavy expenditure of double transportation. He further stated that, if the projects with high margin & the latest technologies are selected then this aspect of heavy expenditure in transportation can be taken care of. The raw material is being imported from other regions or countries for processing. He also said the majority of paper mills in India are working in segments of high volume and low margin products. In national & international markets there is a huge gap and demand for specialty papers that can be catered.
The segment of specialty paper is a low volume and high margin segment suitable for investment in MSME size units. Further, he said industries over here just focus on the final product and the costing but they should also chase efficiency in their units & it will help them to do well. He said there are high capital investment projects for commodity paper and low investment size specialty paper projects which are suitable for Vidarbha Region. Mr. Joglekar explained the technicalities of such low investment projects which are thick board grades which are SunDry Greyboard / Kraft Board, Grey board / Kraft board with automatic drying, Mosquito Coil board, Pulp sheets from Tissue waste, Kappa board etc. And MF/MG grade paper projects. Later on, he added any paper in the world, the thickness of the paper should be uniform.
There is a high scope of margin in high thickness products if they are sold unit wise rather than selling in kg. Another specialty MF paper of low thickness has great scope to set up units in low investments, there are various machines available that can be installed having advanced features and enhanced capacity. Special MF papers are filter paper, cooler pad paper, Paper bag paper, greaseproof paper & decorative laminates etc. In the last he added the Paper industry is an ocean opportunity and having good scope in the coming time for investment. He discussed 15-20 feasible projects in MSME Sector in Vidarbha. The session lasted for three hours and was very lively and interactive. He was accompanied by his team members Dilip Andhare & Shriniwas Andhare were engineers and having vast experience in the paper industry.
Earlier, Girish Deodhar, Chairman of MSME forum welcomed all the dignitaries on the dais and participants from the Paper trading segment and said keeping in mind the Atma- Nirbhar theme of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, our own Hon’ble MSME Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari has urged to industrialist & businessmen to set up import substitute & export-oriented projects in Vidarbha. VIA had organised an introductory session on ZOOM on innovative projects in Paper Industries and more than 80 participants had attended and as a followthrough, this program was organised focused primarily on industrialization in Vidarbha. He also explained various subsidies available for MSME for setting up of industries in Vidarbha.
Suresh Rathi, President of VIA appreciated this initiative and interest shown by the community of paper trades in setting up their units in Nagpur. Being paper traders they had firsthand knowledge of the paper industry and after understanding the technicalities and advantages it will help them in setting up their paper units in Vidarbha. VIA is tirelessly working on the 15 potential sectors of Vidarbha like Pharmaceutical, chemical, Minerals, Food Processing & Paper etc. At present we have seen the replacement of paper over plastic in many sectors for packaging purposes. This session is useful not just for the traders but for the upcoming generation also. Many companies are now using biodegradable material as an option in their various operations. VIA is committed to provide all kinds of possible support to make people entrepreneurs.
Anita Rao, Jt. Secretary of VIA introduced the guest speaker Charudatt Joglekar and stated that he is a nagpurian and a Chartered Engineer & is working as a consultant in Indonesia Malasia, China etc. and has vast international experience in paper industries in countries like – Hungary, Poland, Romania, Italy, U.K., Sweden & Norway etc. Satish Ahuja, President of the Paper Traders Association gave a floral welcome to the guest speaker.
Aseem Bordia, Past President of The Paper Traders Association said getting guidance from Charudatt Joglekar is a very valuable asset for Paper trades to explore new opportunities in the paper industry. We as paper traders are not aware of specialty products which we can manufacture over here also we are unaware about many schemes of the Central & State Government. This session will surely work as an eye-opener for us.
Manoj Jain, Secretary of The Paper Traders association thanked Charudatt Joglekar, Dilip Andhare & Shriniwas Andhare for sharing insightful information about specialty papers and paper traders of this region and also said that despite being in paper line for many years this is the first time he comes to know about such products. He also thanked Vidarbha Industries Association for taking this initiative to support the local businesses of Nagpur. Prominently present were representatives from Hardoli Paper Mills, Triveni Packaging, Tikamdas & Sons, Fatepuriya Traders, Ahuja Paper Mart, Jejani Paper Mart.
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