Cover Story

ACHIEVERS

Modernizing Medical Plastics Injection Moulding in India

The last few years have brought great opportunities for the Indian team not only in terms of manufacturing but also in terms of leading on the technology front. As a result, a huge expansion is planned. In three years, our manufacturing capacity will grow to 5,000 machines a year. We have already started shipping our machines to our parent company in the USA and we have also started exporting to Europe. But it’s just the beginning. We want to cater to this market in large numbers.

Fortunately, we are in a business where our products go into several applications and when you make the effort to visit and talk to your customers, you learn that there are many other opportunities for growth.

We place a lot of emphasis on developing trust with our customers.

As Milacron has grown it has never lost sight of the customer needs. We have always been a strong systems-oriented company and I think that also differentiates us from the competition. As businesses get bigger, there is a tendency to overlook customer needs. Systems and people resolve many areas of customer dissatisfaction.

MPDS : Has your company innovated to bring Covid—19 special products to the market?

SD: Milacron has always been at the forefront of innovation in plastics technology. We bring new & innovative products and technologies to deliver cost efficiency and high productivity to our customers. This pandemic also it was no different. While our factories were running at low capacity, our design engineers were busy innovating the machines with higher speeds, low wastage and better efficiency especially required by the customers in medical and packaging industries.

We have launched our new product ranges namely eQ Series (All-Electric Injection Molding Machine), N-Series (Entry level Injection Molding Machine). In addition to this, we have also developed MonoSandWich technology which is highly beneficial for recycling and weight reduction in articles produced. These products have been designed keeping in mind the renewed focus on sustainability and conservation.

Our quick turnaround times and ability to adapt to the dynamic world has been highly appreciated by our customers.

Our most noticeable launch this year has been the All-Electric eQ Series machines. It is an apt machine for the medical applications especially for the Clean Room Applications. It has grease free tie bars, almost no hydraulic oil, high reliability and dimensional accuracy. This machine is one of a kind being made in India at our factory in Ahmedabad.

MPDS : Did social distancing norms impact plant operations?

SD : In 2020, during lockdown, we were never prepared for anything of this magnitude. Nor this was ever anticipated. We had our share of learnings and experiences. Milacron was quick to adapt to the new normal. And in 2021 (this year) we were fully prepared. We were beginning to get in full force in Jan / Feb 2021 and we had record production too. However, as a part of ever learning attitude, our teams had planned for another wave disrupting the production schedule. The multiple shifts, less manpower, sanitization between shift change, temperature checks, had been planned well in advance. Social distancing has been followed religiously and is being maintained until today.

MPDS : Has there been a change in your go-to-market strategy for this period?

SD : There has been a considerable shift in the way we approach our customers. Face to Face meetings have moved to virtual platforms. Discussions have started happening on video calls. Exchange of documents, and marketing collaterals have all moved to online platforms. Milacron has invested in the IT infrastructure in the past and as a result, the shift from physical to virtual happened almost overnight.