Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022 - 16

16 * Plastics News, October 19, 2022
SHOW DAILY
RAJOO
ENGINEERS LTD.
Hall 16, D40
India's Rajoo Engineers Ltd. is touting a new fi ve-layer blown fi lm line.
Rajoo Engineers Ltd. photo
Rajoo touts new fi lm line,
eyes Russian market
By Satnam Singh
Plastics News Correspondent
Rajoo Engineers Ltd. is introducing
a new blown fi lm line at K 2022
focused on Industry 4.0 technologies,
while on the commercial side
it's joining other Indian fi rms eyeing
the Russian market as Western
competitors grapple with the impact
of Ukraine war sanctions.
At K, the Rajkot-headquartered
company wants to focus on giving
its equipment technology upgrades
to support digital technologies
like remote diagnostics.
" Our focus is now on immersive
technology, where the customer
feels the machine; the idea is to
make the whole experience engaging, "
said President Sunil Jain. " We
identifi ed it as a way forward. "
The company held an open house
in early September to showcase an
automated version of one of its Pentafoil
fi ve-layer coextruded polyolefi
n dedicated blown fi lm lines.
" The blown fi lm line is adapted
with all Industry 4.0 standards to
remotely support the customer, "
Jain said.
The line is designed for both
barrier and nonbarrier POD fi lms
for application such as collation
shrink fi lms, lamination-grade
fi lms, milk and water pouches and
edible oils, with outputs ranging
from 250 kilograms per hour to
1,500 kilograms per hour and layfl
at width ranging from 1,200 to
5,000 millimeters.
The company said the fi lm line
is equipped with Industry 4.0 and
automation features, including a
cylindrical spiral die head with a
500-millimeter die delivering an
output of 720 kilograms an hour,
integrated
material conveying,
gravimetric blending and dosing,
automatic thickness control and a
fully automatic center-gap-surface.
It said the machine has a 27 percent
higher output compared with
previous models and supports remote
diagnostic technologies. It
has a maximum line speed of 150
meters per minute.
Rajoo said the new variant puts
the company head-on with the
global competitors.
" The new variant has everything
that is offered by any of the best of
the European machines, " Jain said.
40 percent growth
The company, which is listed
on the Bombay Stock Exchange in
Mumbai, reported robust growth
in its most recent fi scal year ending
March 31.
It said it sold 130 machines, which
amounted to 40 percent growth over
the prior fi scal year. Exports and the
domestic market each accounted
for about 50 percent of machine deliveries.
During the pandemic, the
company said it continued to grow
12-15 percent annually.
Rajoo reported solid export
performance in Vietnam, Malaysia
and Thailand, as well as in the Latin
American markets of Ecuador
and Colombia. But Jain said the
company - and India's domestic
industry - are headed toward a
challenging phase because of supply
chain issues in Europe.
" The supply chain is a major issue
as a lot of automation comes
from Europe, " Jain said. " The prolonged
confl ict in Ukraine and the
ongoing energy crises in Europe
will have a major impact on the
supply chain in the days to come. "
He said the company has a solid
order book, but looming problems
in Europe have to be resolved before
they escalate and disturb delivery
schedules.
" We have orders, but dispatching
them on time would be a major
challenge, " he said.
Eyeing the
Russian market
The company is looking to expand
its footprint in Russia, with
that country under sanctions from
the U.S. and Europe over the confl
ict with Ukraine.
" We are keenly exploring opportunities
in the Russian market, " Jain
said. " The market is now open for
us as U.S. and European suppliers
[have been] forced to withdraw
from that market due to sanctions. "
Amid the weakening Indian rupee
against the U.S. dollar, the
Reserve Bank of India announced
that companies could conduct
imports and exports in rupees, a
move aimed at facilitating trade
with Russia.
That
country
is
virtually cut off from standard
cross-border payment platforms.
" The move to allow rupee settlements
for international trade
would greatly help Indian companies
engaged in trading or exporting
to countries under sanctions,
like Russia, " Jain said.
Rajoo is also set to enter the solar
panel fi lm market in the next few
months. It plans to debut a sheet extrusion
line to manufacture ethylene
vinyl acetate fi lm for solar panels.
" The Indian government has
also taken certain policy initiative
to develop a solar manufacturing
ecosystem that will spur growth in
the domestic solar industry, " Jain
said. " The government has also introduced
tariffs on imports of EVA
to encourage the development of
local capacities. "
Currently, no domestic manufacturer
in India produces a sheet extrusion
line capable of making EVA
for solar panels. The machines, as
well EVA fi lms, are largely imported
from China and Europe.
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