Concrete

UFlex is the â€˜first company in the world to recycle mix plastic waste.â€™

Published

5 years ago

October 19, 2021

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India Cement Review took an exclusive interview with Shashi Garg, Business Head, Cement Packaging business at Uflex Ltd. about the entire Cement packaging scenario, the ??ain points??that generally intrigue manufacturers, and their ground-breaking solutions.

What is the best advantage of Uflex packaging to Cement customers?

Owing to the full backward integration into films (BOPP, Metalized and others), Chemicals (Inks, Coatings, Adhesives), Engineering (Converting & Packing Equipments), Holography (Films, Labels) and Cylinders (Electronic, Laser and even base-shell manufacturing), UFlex has an exclusive advantage to deliver customized solutions to customers. We provide end-to-end packaging support to our customers starting from design to delivery.

Uflex BOPP film, unlike other packaging films, is an innovation in itself. With their diverse and enormous features like transparent & matte, heat-sealable and non-sealable, direct embossible, superior ink adhesion, anti-skid, high barrier, cold release or direct extrusion coatable films, Uflex is able to make revolutionary BOPP bags.

Explain the role played by packaging of a product in brand building. How you have beenhelping the consumer industry in building a brand through packaging?

The primary objective of Uflex is to deliver our customers with a unique packaging experience. I think, that is only possible when they are able to observe and analyse themselves what difference packaging can bring them, in terms of market positioning, and product pricing. Packaging is one of the primary mediums in which suppliers communicate with their end consumers. In the Indian mind-set, an attractive packaging always influences the buyer decision. We always design our packaging keeping this in mind, and ensure that the dimensions have the largest branding exposure. With our high-end technologies, we are able to create a virtual reality in form of packaging bags, and we always encourage our customers, to take the most added benefits out of our technology and services. Our packaging is the face of any product.

Give us a brief idea about your association with cement industry. With what products you started and what are new products added in your bouquet?

Uflex began its venture into the Cement industry around seven years back with our fresh and new-born BOPP bags. We were the pioneers in BOPP and the journey has not been very smooth. The market was different then. Customers were limated to using the common and inferior PP sacks. Branding in cement bags was not commonly accepted. It took us quite some time to educate customers about the unchallenged benefits of BOPP bags, and the need for branding on packaging. However, in only a couple of years, our bags were a great success and were loved by our customers across the nation. We started with standard BOPP bags, and presently, our bags are available in glossy and matte variants, they are UV- protected, have a high co-efficient of friction for easy stacking, and our most recent launch have been the shower-proof bags to save any of our customer?? losses due to unwanted weather conditions.

Provide us some information on these Shower Proof bags. Are you in a position to supply this product? What is the advantage of using Showerproof bags?

Moisture ingression and product wastage has been a long-discussed concern with our customers that involved saving the products from random showers, and also moisture seepage at coastal regions. Products with comparatively slower consumption, stacked at the bottom rows are generally damaged at depot locations leading to entire product loss. Also the supply chain of Cement and Construction industry is exposed to severe mishandling concerns including uncontrolled exposure to weather conditions. Keeping this in mind, we designed very special shower proof bags which can be converted to complete airtight and moisture proof bags by debarring any chance of external air and moisture seepage into the bags. The bags are allowed with limited passage to release the air captured in the bags at the time of filling.

What is Uflex doing to handle the sustainability concerns of customers? Are your products eco-friendly?

UFlex believes in Environmental Sustainability and has taken several key initiatives in India towards reducing Carbon Foot Print and Improving Productivity. UFlex has constantly invested in newer technologies which consume less energy per Ton of Flexible Packaging. All in-house wastages are recycled and ploughed back in to the life cycle to reduce pressure on landfills thereby arresting pollution.

Our six prolonged sustainability initiative focuses on :

Lowering Carbon Footprint
Using Renewable Resources in Manufacturing
Recycling Wastages
Energy Efficient Production Technologies
Reducing Plastic consumption
Encouraging Green Polymers

What is Project Plastic Fix ?

UFlex Group has been a trendsetter when it comes to sustainable innovation and commitment towards the ??ircular Economy?? It was the ??irst company in the world to recycle mix plastic waste??for which it earned recognition at Davos Recycle Forum in 1995, way ahead of other companies from developed economies.

Our Project Plastic Fix is a mix of four innovative ways to create wealth from plastic waste:

Pyrolysis, Recycling, Biomass & Asclepius.

Recycling of plastic is the need of the hour. UFlex, India?? largest flexible packaging company recognized the need to recycle plastic waste more than two decades back and established recycling units in its plants that convert MLP Waste into Pellets. An added feature of the recycled material (pellets) is that it is re-used to manufacture industrial and household products like roads, outdoor furniture, paver tiles, ladders and many more such essential

items. Thus, UFlex is helping create a circular plastic economy by keeping plastic 'In the Economy' and 'Out of the Environment'.

Our Pyrolysis plant has also been setup at Noida, which is an upcoming resource recovery process that converts waste into energy helping environment clear the plastic waste. At its Noida Packaging plant, UFlex will be converting 6 tonnes of discarded waste material that??

generated every day from printing, unused trim, laminates, tubes and other unprocessed material into Liquid Fuel, Hydrocarbon Gas and Carbon Black.

Shashi Garg is a Chartered Accountant having 38 years of wide experience in Finance, Production and Marketing. He looks after overall packaging production, sales & marketing as Business Head of the Cement Packaging Division.

About UFlex: It is India?? largest flexible packaging company with headquarters and three manufacturing facilities in Noida, the National Capital Region of Delhi, supplies to a majority of customers in India and also to multinational companies across the globe. With a strong presence in North America, Europe, Africa, Hungary, Russia, South East Asia and the Middle East, UFlex has established itself as the largest flexible packaging manufacturer and exporter. UFlex has its manufacturing capacity of over 135000 TPA with plants is located in Noida and Jammu.

Concrete

Jammu Division Begins First Cement Rail Traffic to Anantnag

Cement Loading From Kathua for Anantnag to Begin on September 14

Published

5 days ago

September 21, 2026

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Jammu Railway Division has placed an indent for the first movement of cement by rail within the division, linking Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station with Anantnag Railway Station. Loading for the consignment is scheduled to begin on September 14.

Concrete

Hard Worker Wins Three Honours at Kyoorius Design Awards

Ramco Cements’ brand secures Grand Prix and two Blue Elephant honours.

Published

5 days ago

September 21, 2026

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The Ramco Cements Limited’s construction chemicals brand, Hard Worker, has won three honours at the Kyoorius Design Awards 2026, including the Grand Prix – Grey Elephant in the Design in Action category.

The brand also secured two Blue Elephant honours, one for Design in Action and another for Packaging, recognising the design approach behind its brand identity and packaging.

Launched in 2025, Hard Worker entered the construction chemicals segment with the brand promise, “Hard-working products for hardworking people.” Its visual identity uses animals and birds to represent product benefits. The camel represents the water-retention capability of Hard Worker Eco Plaster, while the cheetah represents the speed and performance of Hard Worker Block Fix.

The visual language has been extended across packaging, retail, communication, literature, digital platforms and other brand touchpoints. Hard Worker uses bold colours, distinctive animal illustrations and simple visual storytelling to communicate product benefits across markets and audiences, including construction workers and applicators.

“For Hard Worker, design was never an afterthought. It was fundamental to how we wanted to build the brand. In a category that is largely functional, we wanted to create a brand that people could recognise, understand and remember instantly. The Kyoorius recognition is a wonderful validation of this design-led approach,” said Mr. AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, The Ramco Cements Limited.

Mr. Balaji K. Moorthy, Executive Director – Marketing, Ramco Cements said “In a category where communication has traditionally been product-led and functional, we wanted Hard Worker to stand apart by making design an integral part of the brand experience. From the distinctive animal-led packaging to our communication across consumer and trade touchpoints, every element was designed to make the brand more memorable and the product benefits easier to understand.”

Within its first 12 months, Hard Worker crossed Rs 3.5 bn in sales. The latest recognition follows six honours secured by the brand’s campaign at the Kyoorius Creative Awards earlier in 2026, including the Grey Elephant Grand Prix for its Eco Plaster film.

The Kyoorius Design Awards recognise outstanding design work in India’s visual communications sector across multiple categories and platforms. The 2026 awards were announced on 12 September in Goa.

The Ramco Cements Limited is part of the Ramco Group and operates across cement and allied building-material solutions. Hard Worker is its construction chemicals brand, offering solutions across key construction applications.

Concrete

Cement Firms to Invest Rs. 130 bn in Green Energy by FY28

Cement companies plan to expand clean energy capacity to 6 GW by FY28

Published

1 week ago

September 17, 2026

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India’s major cement companies are set to raise their clean energy capacity to 6 GW by March 2028 from around 4 GW at the end of March 2026, according to ratings agency ICRA. The planned expansion is expected to involve investments of Rs. 130 bn over the next two years.

The additional capacity could generate annual savings of Rs. 62 bn to Rs. 67 bn, resulting in an estimated payback period of 1.8 to 2.2 years. Cement is an emission-intensive industry, and leading producers have established net-zero roadmaps covering the next 15 to 20 years.

The calcination process accounts for 57 to 60 per cent of the sector’s total emissions, while fuel combustion contributes 27 to 30 per cent and electricity consumption accounts for 10 to 13 per cent. ICRA said the figures highlighted the need for a broad decarbonisation strategy involving green power, blended cement, alternative fuels and improvements in clinker efficiency.

Green energy is considered one of the most commercially attractive decarbonisation options because it can reduce emissions while lowering operating costs. Every 5 per cent increase in green power replacement can reduce power and fuel costs by Rs. 15 to Rs. 16 per tonne. A 25 per cent replacement level could therefore save Rs. 75 to Rs. 80 per tonne and expand operating margins by 140 to 160 basis points.

Cement producers are also assessing carbon capture, utilisation and storage, although high implementation costs, energy requirements and limited transport and storage infrastructure are expected to slow commercial adoption. The government has proposed Rs. 200 bn over five years to support deployment across key sectors. Meanwhile, companies are targeting thermal substitution rates of 10 to 15 per cent over the next three to five years, compared with the current industry level of around 6 per cent.