Changing demographics, awareness, and desire for quality products are the major drivers that have assisted the Indian packaging industry to flourish over the last decade. Apart from securing goods and transporting them, quality packaging impacts consumer’s choice for a product. Research analysts have forecasted the industry to grow up to $73 billion by 2020 – with a staggering 18% annual growth rate.
This narrative is about Punj Packaging Industries – Gurgaon, who have been in the industry over three decades and continues to carry the family legacy forward. An ISO 9001, D&B certified company and life member of India Institute of packaging, Punj Packaging is a pioneer in setting new benchmarks in the industry by elevating ethics, principles, and values over business. The company is associated with the industrial leaders from Energy, Electronics, Auto, Pharma, Food, Logistics, Warehousing and so on. The company provides complete packaging solution from inner packing to transport packing. The company has provided end to end solution from design development to capacity optimization. The total solution and trained manpower for contract packaging service. The PPI and group companies have strength of more than 500 people currently.
The Maverick Leader
Very few business leaders have the ability to craft an exceptional pathway that is driven by ethics and adaptability. One such business leader who brings in passion and honesty to his work is Ayush Sharma, CEO of Punj Packaging Industries. Post completion of his B-tech in 1984, he was offered lucrative jobs from various MNC’s and companies and he finally joined one of them. As destiny had some other plans, he realized that he was not suitable for a peculiar 9-5 job and wanted to do something more effective and fruitful in his life.
After a brief stint of 7-8 months, Ayush finally quit his job and joined his father’s wood working business in 1985. With a desire to make it big on his own and self-belief made Ayush commence this new life. In-between 1986-87, the family decided to enter in the domain of packaging business. As the packaging industry was in a nascent stage at that time, the business had a very narrow scope and the targets and turnover were also limited, however, Punj Packaging continued to sail through the initial tenure of their business.
Initial Challenges and Concerns
Ayush candidly admits that the first few years were the most difficult phase of the business and it was quite challenging to stay afloat in the industry. As the financial inflow was not very smooth, surviving the period was the ultimate objective. The fact that, they didn’t take any financial loans during the period and didn’t jump to every opportunity and accelerate the business to the extent that the situation can go out of control proved to be very rewarding decisions. It assisted them immensely to come out of the testing times and persist in the wooden business. By 1990, Punj Packaging had evolved as an independent and known player in the industry and the business started to expand at a rapid pace. The company was associated with multiple big clients and continued to expand their business in the unexplored territories.
As time progressed, Ayush decided to commence a new business of packaging stones alongside as India was exporting huge quantity of stones in that period to countries like Australia, UK or the US. This gave him an exponential exposure in the packaging arena. The stone-packaging market had stringent norms and regulations that had to be learnt and followed and in the process; Ayush was acquainted with this business.
Later in 1991, his Father decided to leave him on his own and it was one of the most eventful moments of his entrepreneurial journey. However, by this time Ayush had acquired the expertize and business acumen and was competent enough to manage the business on his own. Slowly and steadily, he took Punj Packaging to new heights of success and had successfully marked his presence all across India. Alongside, the stone packing venture had also tasted success and was flourishing by each passing day as they started sending export packaging system for stone export to Jhansi and Gwalior to name a few.
Taking the Journey Ahead
Further elaborating the journey of Punj Packaging, Ayush reveals another very unique experience. At a young age of 26, Ayush bagged a contract to build packaging components that were to be used for transporting heavy machinery. It was a daunting task as they had to dismantle the bulky machines and pack them accordingly. After the packaging was done, out of the 10 boxes, 9 of them gave in with the weight of the components. Terming the incident as an ‘interesting’ one, Ayush says that “I learned what to do and what not to do in such demanding scenarios”.
An opportunity came knocking his doors within 2-3 months as he bagged an export contract to package very heavy machines. This time however it was a race against time as the timeline given for creating the packaging components was just a single night! Extending the credit to his team of 6-7 members, he states that all the boxes were ready by 5am in the morning. However remembering his last encounter, he was scared and anxious to see the outcome. He patiently waited till all the shipment was put into the containers. The entire process of loading the machines went off in a very seamless manner and that was undoubtedly the most cherished moments of Ayush’s life. More than anything, it was the punch of confidence that laid the roadmap of the future.
Unveiling the Philosophy of Punj Packaging
Taking a walk down the memory lane, Ayush recalls the era of 1992 when he proactively approached people for work. After having analyzed the market he was sure of one thing – he wanted to ease the art of packaging. He further asserts that “the packaging should not be so typical; it should be easily assembled as well as easily dismantled. Definitely, the basic concept in our mind was like the product which we are packing should be as much as safe as a baby in her mother’s womb!”
Accepting it as a challenge, Ayush was determined to simplify the existing packaging procedures, for the benefit of the customers. It stood as a basic principle that the safety and security of the client’s material was of utmost priority for Punj Packaging.
Nail-less Boxes – An Insight to the Future
Today’s business eco-system is very competitive and lively. Every day is a new beginning and the only thing that is constant is – change! Even the packaging industry is not an exception to this rule as by each passing day, innovations and development keep surfacing. Nail-less boxes are one of the USP’s of Punj Packaging as it’s the perfect example where technology meets innovation. Talking specifically about the boxes, Ayush explains that he acquired this technology from a person from abroad. It was God’s grace that the person came to India and he met this person and understood the requirements. These boxes are multipurpose, as these boxes can be used many a times, without any damage. In the long run, it becomes highly cost-effective for the customer because of the usability and quality factor of these boxes. Eventually, everything started to get in the perfect places and within 2-3 months Ayush was able to manufacture these boxes.
Defining the Success Mantra
Educating the customer about the products has been the ultimate objective of Punj Packaging. Elaborating this philosophy, Ayush firmly states that Irrespective of the fact whether they buy the product from us or not, it’s our moral obligation to inform the customer about the product. “We try to build a clear thought in the customer’s mind regarding every minute detail of the product – quality, build, process, systems, and cost. This further ensures that the customer is not cheated from other vendors even if they eventually buy it from them. We are not just doing business, following business ethics and principles are the virtues that have transformed Punj Packaging as a major contributor in the packaging industry today”.
Crossing the Horizons
Ayush carries a very optimistic view of the future of the packaging industry in India. Backing his opinion, he asserts that “unlike other resources that are limited or going to be extinct within some years, wood is here to stay forever. This is one of the most durable businesses and the industry is embracing innovative technologies and methodologies”. Passing on the baton of success of the company to Aditya Punj and is confident that Punj Packaging will attain new heights of success in the domains like returnable packaging solution for various industries helping in reducing the carbon foot print and also in the equipment renting and pooling business.
