UFlex Limited, India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and solution company continues to stay at the forefront of Aseptic Liquid Packaging Business, with its recent establishment of India’s first U-shaped paper straw manufacturing line at its existing Aseptic Liquid Packaging Plant in Sanand, Gujarat, in partnership with Tembo Paper B.V., a global market leader and supplier of high speed paper straw machines.
In this exclusive conversation with Claus from Food Infotech, Ashwani Kumar Sharma, President & CEO for Aseptic Liquid Packaging Business, UFlex Ltd. sums up the recent steps taken by UFlex Asepto in introducing U-shaped Paper Straws for the Packaged Drinks Beverage Market in an effort to minimize plastic straw use in the market, which is most certainly expected to create a profound impact on the Aseptic Liquid Packaging Industry in the coming days, including helping further their commitment in their efforts towards building a clean and sustainable environment and more.
Q. Firstly, could you begin by letting us know about the recently established as well as India’s first U-shaped paper straw manufacturing line and what do you foresee from such a move in the coming days?
This is a significant step forward for the beverage market in packaged drinks, which consumes about 5-7 billion straws annually. The U-shaped paper straws are a larger initiative by UFlex Asepto to reduce plastic straw use. Our paper straw will bridge the gap between the government’s single-use plastic restriction and the benefits that this move will bring to our partners. Our clients will have a choice from the very beginning. The Aseptic Liquid Packaging Industry will experience a huge change from plastic straw to a high-quality, environmentally friendly paper alternative as a result of UFlex Asepto’s initiative.
Food-grade, moisture-resistant UFlex Asepto paper straws are created from papers that are 100 percent recyclable and renewable. UFlex, through its aseptic liquid packaging brand Asepto, is continuing its efforts to build a sustainable and clean environment by becoming India’s first and world’s fastest-speed line U–shaped paper straw production company. The paper straw manufacturing line will use fully automated Dutch technology and have a production capacity of 2.4 billion straws per year.
Q. Any specific reasons behind choosing Tembo Paper B.V. as your partner in establishing the U-shaped paper straw manufacturing line? A bit about the same
We invest in future technologies that are compliant with global standards and help us achieve our goal of long-term growth. Our collaboration with Tembo B.V. is another step in our long-term strategy to bring technology and innovation together to the beverage industry. The first and most important reason to use Tembo B.V. is the company’s one-of-a-kind machinery that produces paper straws in large quantities, with great precision and 100 percent quality. Our machine will be the world’s fastest and India’s first U-Shape paper straw line. To summarize, there are always options available. Quality and long-term vision bring consistency and growth. Tembo paper straw-making machines provide ideal production – high precision, large volume, waste reduction and zero-defect performance.
Q. Would you explain a bit more on the recent technology applied by your company in the production of paper straws and its features and benefits and how has it been unique?
UFlex Asepto has always strived to provide its customers with cutting-edge technologies. Our endeavor to establish this technology will contribute in bridging the gap between market demand and government policies, resulting in a sector-wide dynamic shift. To help businesses meet their objectives and reduce plastic waste, we collaborated to design a 100 percent renewable and recyclable paper straw solution. The Tembo B.V. paper straw-making machines produce exquisite straws with exceptional precision, volume and low waste. Our origami-based corrugation makes use of the natural memory of the paper fibers, resulting in a considerably more durable and flexible part of the straw. In traditional corrugation, the paper fibers get damaged and the flexible section of the straw becomes weak. The food-grade, moisture-resistant, flexible and practical U-shaped paper straw is created from sustainably sourced materials and meets international requirements.
All of our domestic and international customers will have access to the product. With Asepto brand, we continue to seek to develop and optimize aseptic liquid packaging.
Q. A little on the steps initiated by your company to boost sustainability.
UFlex is committed to attaining operational excellence while remaining socially and environmentally responsible. In terms of technology, innovation, product development and sustainability, we take great pride in being a world-class player in our industry segment. We are motivated as a company to operate and contribute to society in an environmentally conscious manner. As a result, we are convinced that all packaging solutions must meet recycling and circularity requirements.
“The first and foremost is the introduction of our U-shaped paper straw, which is an environmentally beneficial method to boost sustainability in our portfolio. The paper straw is 100% biodegradable which is recyclable and renewable in nature.
We are currently using the compression moulding technology to recycle all our aseptic liquid packaging material PIW (Post Industrial Waste) and the Post-Consumer Waste (PCW) which are made available to us. This technology recycles all the waste into products used in domestic as well as industrial applications. Garden benches, doors, pallets, panel boards and 1000s of variety of other useful items are produced from waste, allowing us to remain in circularity. UFlex is also working on a technology of upcycling the paperboard component of the postconsumer Aseptic waste. The process employs an Enzymatic De-lam Technology to separate the paper portion and convert it into paperpulp. This upcycling technology is not only unique but an example of sustainability in the real sense.
Q. Finally, tell us a little on your expansion plans in the coming days.
We plan to produce 100 million straws in the first month and 200 million in the following months to kick off the project. Our aim is to produce 2.4 billion straws annually. We can foresee the straw market growing hugely in the near future, as a result of rising sustainability awareness and an increase in the number of restrictions on single use plastic and plastic straw comes under this restrictions. Straw is an integral part, I would say necessity of the overall packaging for ready to drink packs, without which packaging becomes inoperable. In last few years, we have seen many new categories entering especially small packs, like ORS drinks, energy drinks, milk products like lassi, chaas, smoothies, milk shakes in ready to drink category. I strongly believe this is just the beginning, this growth will certainly add up to the demand for straws.
Besides the new line for paper straw, in last financial year 2020-21, we announced doubling of our aseptic liquid packaging capacity to 7 bn packs per annum in Sanand in Gujarat. The project is near completion and is undergoing trial runs currently.