The Power List — K–O

Team WhatPackaging? has followed Lester Pinto since the Betts days. He believes in the long term, which is what ensures that Albea is a solid brand in India. Today, the French-headquartered company operates two facilities in India — one in Goa and the other in Baddi. The two plants have three manufacturing activities — printing, tube-making and moulding components for tubes and CRP rigid cosmetics packaging. Plus, the factories are triple ISO certified. 

The Rathis are a success story. For more than two decades, the Rathis deployed a focused approach, an eye for detail, and an aggressive growth strategy. All this has made Shrinath Rotopack notch packaging heights. They have strong support from their extended family. As a group, it is integrated. Be it: paper, films, foils, master batches and recycling. Naresh Rathi is involved in philanthropy and is a patron of the Thalassemia Society.

Under Manish Gupta’s leadership, B&B Triplewall became the first company in India to have an installed capacity of 5,000 tonnes per month, within a single facility and a combined installed capacity of 9,300 tonnes per month from three of its box manufacturing facilities and 7500 tonnes/month from its paper manufacturing unit. With a combined built-up area of 5,95,000-sqft, the company boasts labs, extensive technology, and a top-class workforce. It operates from three locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. In 2023, the company started the operation of its subsidiary, B&B Colour Cartons, in Attibele, Bengaluru, to manufacture E/F flute and mono-carton packaging. 

Ball Corporation is a 140-year-old global company that specialises in aluminium packaging. The company invested Rs 1,000-crore in two aluminium can and bottle manufacturing plants in India. Of this, the Sri City plant was set up as a greenfield plant. In addition, the group has an aerosol can manufacturing unit in Sanand. Manish Joshi was in the news when the group introduced retort two-piece aluminium cans for a popular milkshake brand.

In the pre-pandemic era when WhatPackaging? visited South India Paper Mills’ (SIPM) Printing and Packaging Division (SIPM-PPD), the team produced a record number of corrugated boxes in an eight-hour shift on its Bobst FFG 8.20 Discovery flexo folder-gluer. In the post-Covid era, SIPM introduced new grades at its factory near Nanjangud (20-km from Mysore). The man who has been conducting the symphony with the SIMP orchestra is Manish Patel. He has enabled the SIPM revenue from operations for FY 2023-24 to be Rs 312.31-crore. 

Today, Nippon Paper Foodpac is the largest player in custom-printed cups and beverage cups in India. A few years ago, Japan's Nippon Paper acquired Plus Paper Foodpac for Rs 100-crore. Nippon, which operates two factories in India, boasts of top brands and other fast-food chains on its roster. The Japanese behemoth intends to use its manufacturing knowledge to boost factory productivity and quality.

Since 1989, Ahmedabad-based Vimalachal Print & Pack (VPPL) has been a packaging powerhouse. GV Shah and family in Ahmedabad started it, but under Mimish Shah, it received a fillip. Shah keeps the company innovating and winning from anti-mould soap wrappers (because soggy soap is passé) to bagging Unilever’s Symphony Bronze Award. In 2016, VPPL doubled its capacity by establishing a new plant in Rajoda. Recent highlights? A CI flexo Expert press in 2021, a Pentafoil five-layer blown film line in 2022, and a new plant, Enviro Vimalachal, in 2023. With 2,000-mt of printed jobs monthly, Shah and his team are proving that the future of packaging is bold, bright, and anything but boring.

Everyone who knows him says Mohan Kumar is “a gem of a person”. He helms operations at Vijayneha in Hyderabad with 30 years of technical experience. He says he has a proven track record in holding profit and loss responsibility for business units, overseeing governance, and contributing to strategic decisions. His USP is to bring a combination of strategic vision, effective governance, and excellence to the Indian packaging industry.

Naman Jain, the head of Aadinath Flexipack, is disrupting Central India’s packaging scene. With a mere six years in the business, he’s making waves, launching the region’s first seven-layer blown film line—because why settle for less? Situated in Indore, this 3,00,000-sqft  facility boasts a nine-colour Rotogravure press for eye-catching PET/BOPP prints, alongside solventless laminating for chic four-layer flexible laminates to create eco-friendly barrier films and FIBC liners with a capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes annually. With a splash of EVOH and Polyamide, the packaging is ideal for the popular snacks in the region. Jain’s vision? To keep pushing boundaries while keeping it green and glamorous.

Last month, Manjushree Technopack entered into definitive agreements to acquire the plastics packaging business of Oricon Enterprises. But the group helmed by Napanda Poovaiah Thimmaiah is in the news because Advent is likely to sell Manjushree Technopack for nearly Rs 8400-crore to the Asia-Pacific focused alternative investment firm PAG. Today, Manjushree Technopack is India’s largest rigid plastics packaging manufacturer. With more than four decades of expertise in the PET industry, the company serves more 400 brands and operates over 20 facilities across 10 states, with a production capacity of over 2,50,000-mt.

At 70, Narendra Paruchuri leads Pragati Offset with unmatched experience and a wry sense of humour. With factories in Hyderabad and Noida and a team of 1,178 employees, he’s committed to excellence. In recent years, its packaging division has established itself as a leader, with a trophy case full of accolades, including recent wins at the AWA Awards 2024 in Jakarta. Known for its expertise in labels, rigid boxes, and premium packaging, the company has transformed itself into a super-specialist, setting high standards. Paruchuri’s proudest recent moment? Securing land for a new factory in eCity, Hyderabad. After 46 years in the industry, he believes packaging will be crucial to tech’s future. A lover of black coffee, Paruchuri uses Zoho and is always learning.

Nayasen Mulky heads the family-owned and managed company, which boasts of quick decision-making, flat hierarchy and open channels of communication. Its history as a conservative, entrepreneurial company has endowed it with the flexibility to invest in new technology. With its head office in Mumbai, the company’s factory in Killa Pardi, Gujarat is spread over a sprawling 2.6 acres with 150,000-sqft of built-up space. It has been designed to meet international quality norms, hygiene and safety standards. The unit is ISO 9001:2016, ISO 22000:2005 and BRC IoP certified.

Canpac Trends, an Ahmedabad-based packaging company founded by Nilesh Todi in 2012, specialises in diverse packaging solutions, including folding cartons and flexible laminates. Recently, it secured Rs 340-crore (USD 41-million) in funding from Investcorp to boost production capacity, and the State Bank of India acquired a 6.35% stake, reflecting investor confidence. Canpac launched a sustainable packaging division, Altpac, and a food service unit, Sweetdisp. With plans to reach Rs 1,000-crore turnover in three years, the company is positioning itself as a leader in the packaging industry, driven by Todi’s vision for innovation and growth.

Established in the early 1990s by the late Devulapally Bhikshapati and transformed into a private limited company in 2010, Lorven Group has become a leader in comprehensive packaging solutions under the leadership of Nitesh Kumar Devulapally. The Telangana-based Lorven Group employs 700 people and boasts extensive infrastructure, including dust-proof and laser screen flooring for hygienic packaging. Its sustainability initiatives include three-megawatt solar roof panels. In August 2024, the company installed the W&H Varex ll blown film extrusion machine, delivering an output of over 900-kg per hour. 

A packaging vertical is not the core business. The parent company is Paharpur Cooling Towers which is one of the world's largest cooling systems providers for industrial applications. These cooling systems are installed at the Statue of Unity. But Sundaram, who has come up the hard way, and worked through the ranks has ensured packaging has carved a niche in the group. He was the lead person at the new plant in Sri City. After it was commissioned, he became the CEO. An A-lister whose heart beats for the industry.