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Pure sciences to the challenges of packaging,  29 November 2008
 

 

    Mr. A C R Chaitanya  Managing Director - Eltete India TPC Pvt. Ltd.  
 
“I would like to change the perception of the Packaging industry in the eyes of the consumer, electronics and other industries in India. Packaging is still given step-motherly treatment in India…”
 
PackagingConnections: What is your educational background? How did you get involved in the Packaging industry?
Mr. Chaitanya: I’m from a pure science and mathematics background and have a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. After my basic degree, I was doing the routine thing most youngsters do, i.e., attempting entrance exams for MBA and other programs. It was my father who introduced me to the world of Packaging. My father was then working as Vice President of Marketing at Godrej Soaps and was well aware of the potential of Packaging as an industry and as a profession.
 
I took up the two-year master’s program in Packaging Technology at the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), Mumbai. I am from the fourth batch at IIP.
 
After graduating from IIP, I worked as a management trainee for about a year with a new flexible packaging company in their Chennai office. Even while I was working in Chennai, I was simultaneously appearing for my GRE and TOEFL exams and applying for higher studies to universities in America.
 
I got admission for a M.S. Degree at University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA. I got my M.S. Degree in Management Technology with Packaging as my operational specialty.
 
PackagingConnections: Your key activities at work?What is the most rewarding part of your work?
Mr. Chaitanya:I am primarily responsible for the top line and bottom line of the entire business operations of Eltete India in South Asia and the Middle East. This includes setting up systems to stabilize existing operations and successfully drive expansion by building a team of professionals.
 
The most rewarding part of my work is the freedom to conceptualize, develop and implement strategies to drive growth and profitability.
 
Packaging Connections:What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Mr. Chaitanya:For sometime, we used to import some of our raw material when paper prices were cheaper to import. For this purpose we had to take an advance license and deposit huge sums of money as bank guarantees under export obligations. For one such import, our customs handling agent made a mistake in the shipping bill, which went unnoticed until we decided to close the advance license and get the bank guarantee revoked. After a lot of visits and discussions and paperwork, the DGFT decided not to issue EODC (Export Obligation Discharge Certificate), without which we could not close the license. Eventually the bank guarantee was encashed by the Customs department. Dealing with the Customs & Excise departments and also EPCGS and DGFT, has been troublesome and full of headaches as these departments are extremely slow and unfriendly. Instead of promoting business in India, these government departments slow down business and frustrate honest companies. This has hampered our business development and we have had to incur unexpected costs.
 

Packaging Connections: Your key achievements?

Mr. Chaitanya: Some of my key achievements at Eltete India are stabilizing operations after taking over as managing director and taking my company from a loss making entity to a profit making company. Building an excellent team and setting up a distributor network all over India, as well as in Sri Lanka, UAE & Oman is my other achievement.
 
Packaging Connections:what is one thing about the industry that you would change?
Mr. Chaitanya: I would like to change the perception of the Packaging industry in the eyes of the consumer, electronics and other industries in India. Packaging is still given step-motherly treatment in India. When it comes to cost-cutting, the first casualty is always packaging. User industry always tries to cut packaging costs, sometimes at the risk of their own product safety.
 
Secondary packaging is treated very badly in India and it is considered just a shade better than transporters. Secondary and tertiary packaging allows user industries to compete effectively in the export markets by ensuring that their goods reach their export markets/customers in the desired condition – damage free.
  
Packaging Connections:What are your views on the status of the packaging industry in India? What is the way forward?
Mr. Chaitanya:Packaging material converters get squeezed between the customers (end users) and their raw material suppliers and are sometimes made to sell at ridiculous prices. Companies should be willing to pay more for packaging as the consumers (end customers) are willing to pay a little more for the convenience and security offered by packaging.
 
Packaging awareness has to be created by having more seminars and exhibitions in India. More investments are needed by Indian companies to bring the latest packaging technologies to India.
  
Packaging Connections:Could you share with us your key plans for the future?
Mr. Chaitanya: We are planning to put up one more manufacturing facility in South India and manufacture more of our products besides edgeboards & flatboards currently being manufactured at our Vapi facility. We will have a complete line for making Cartonboard Pallets, Detach Boxes and U-profiles.
 
 Packaging Connections: What has been your biggest challenge? How did you overcome?
Mr. Chaitanya:Building a good team and retaining talent has been my biggest challenge. We had to let go of a few team members who were not working effectively in the interest of the company. Learning and growing from past hiring mistakes and also by offering a good sales commission program and other incentives we are able to hire and retain good people. We also promote an informal and fun working atmosphere so that the working day is stress free.
 
 
Packaging Connections:What are three important tenets that you work by when beginning a new packaging project? 
Mr. Chaitanya:By asking the following questions:
1) How much can the customer pay / willing to pay for this packaging solution?
The answer to this question helps us decide whether we are able to offer a cost effective solution or are we wasting our time and customer’s time.
2) What are the volumes (quantities) involved? 
The answer to this question helps us decide whether we should devote any time at all for this project and if yes, how much time.
3) What value addition can we offer from the customer’s point of view?
This question helps us unleash creative inputs from our team members so that we are able to offer an optimum packaging solution.

Packaging Connections:Your packaging dream?
Mr. Chaitanya: To be able to start my own manufacturing facility for eco-friendly, new age packaging materials made out of natural, recyclable products., to see the whole world accept only eco-friendly packaging and to reject all non eco-friendly packaging.
 
 
 
 
              
             

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"Here we bring the interviews from the packaging experts who have done something different at their workplace in packaging and ready to share their packaging challenges. You can also recommend people known to you or if you would like to be covered. Kindly email the details to info@packagingconnections.com with brief details about your recommendation/yourself and contact details, our P-interview team will then be in touch to take it forward."

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