UAE-based Hexxa Flexible Packaging plans to invest in a new facility next year, following an expected 25 percent jump in sales in 2021 thanks to the installation of a new rotogravure press.
It was in the year 2006 that label and flexible packaging converter Hexxa Flexible Packaging started its operations from a rented warehouse in UAE’s Jebel Ali free zone. In 2010 the company invested in a factory of its own in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in UAE.
Raja Kumar Gandhi, managing director at Hexxa Flexible Packaging, says that 2021 marks the fifteenth year of the company’s production in rotogravure and narrow web UV flexo printing.
‘We’ve had an excellent journey so far as we have continuously grown over the years after investing in the new factory in 2010. Every year we make a new investment in machinery and technology, except for last year due to Covid.’
Hexxa invested approximately 2 million USD (7.3 million AED) to construct the factory back in 2010.
Gandhi says that the current state of label and flexible packaging market in the Middle East is ‘decent and growing’. However, with travel restrictions the consumption of packaged food has reduced from 2019 levels, impacting the packaging sector. But he is optimistic about an increase in business of this segment once tourism in the region reopens.
The company’s fastest selling product is traditional laminates, mainly used for food packaging.
‘20 OPP and 20 BOPP laminates are used by the snacking industries and PET + PE films are used by the meat industry,’ he says. ‘Both substrates are fast-selling for the company. A lot of mineral water companies use wraparound and shrink sleeve labels, which again are fast-selling products for us.’
He sees a shift in UAE’s label industry: the market is demanding shorter runs as FMCG companies are launching multiple variants in their product segments to attract consumers. ‘The number of SKU’s are increasing rapidly, and the average run of printing jobs is getting shorter. We are gearing ourselves for that.’
This year we are eyeing a 25 percent jump in sales. Now we have extra capacity with less lead time