Pharma Impurity Conclave 2023

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Cosmo First expands new businesses while temporary inventory corrections impact specialty sales

Cosmo First Limited today declared its financial results for the quarter ended Dec 2022. During the quarter, BOPP and BOPET industry faced excess supply caused due to bunching of new production lines and on the other hand demand disruptions in overseas markets. The contribution margin dropped below sustainable levels and impacted everyone in the industry. The Company mitigated the impact on the back of its strong presence in specialty films segment. The performance could have been better but for:

  • One-time inventory loss in Raw materials and Finished Goods (both in India and subsidiaries)
  • Planned maintenance of some of the production lines
  • Restricted flow of orders for specialty films due to festive and holiday season in Europe and USA
  • Larger funding of operating deficit in the rapidly growing Petcare vertical.

The BOPET line which was commissioned towards the end of last quarter continued to focus on perfecting recipes, processes, and quality parameters for various specialty and value-added films in line with the company’s entry strategy in polyester films. 

The company’s petcare vertical is rapidly expanding and clocked monthly run rate of Rs. 1 crore in sales revenue from its 11 experience centers in various locations and increasing online presence through its website and mobile app. 

The company’s financials remain strong with annualized ROCE and ROE at 20% and 25% respectively and net debt to EBITDA of less than one time. 

In December 2022, the company announced the Buyback of its shares from all the shareholders via the tender route with an outlay of Rs.108 crores. The offer period ended on 9th February 2023 and the shareholders should receive payment by 20th February 2023 as scheduled. 

Commenting on the company’s performance Mr. Pankaj Poddar, Group CEO, Cosmo First Ltd. said “the near-term outlook for BOPP and Polyester films is expected to be challenging though the company’s strong speciality films portfolio should deliver superior returns. Zigly is rapidly becoming well known among pet parents benefitting all pet lovers and the company’s shareholders. Specialty chemicals division should double its net revenues while actively focussing on new product launches.”

Founded in 1981, Cosmo First today has a presence across 100+ countries around the globe. Cosmo First is a global leader in specialty films and an emerging player in specialty chemicals (Masterbatches, Adhesive, Coating & Textile chemicals) along with digital-first Omni channel Pet care business under the brand name ‘Zigly’.

Thursday, February 9, 2023

CII Awareness Session on Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Work (POSH)

The Government of India has enacted The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“Act”). The Act requires every employer with 10 or more employees to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (“IC”) that will deal with complaints regarding sexual harassment at the workplace.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) over the years has been committed towards Women Empowerment and works closely with industries to strengthen women’s role and participation in the economic sphere and community affairs. In the forum of empowering and strengthening women, our focus areas had always been, Gender equality at workplace; Prevention of sexual harassment at workplace and Women empowerment at the community level. Sexual Harassment at a workplace is considered violation of women right to equality, life and liberty. It creates an insecure and hostile work environment, which discourages women’s participation in work, thereby adversely affecting their social and economic empowerment and the goal of inclusive growth. 

Against this background, CII WUP is organizing Session on “Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Work (POSH)” from 1500 – 1700 hrs on 3rd March 2023 at Virtual platform (Cisco Webex). Please note that the POSH Training once a year is mandatory for every organisation to keep in accordance with the law

This workshop is aimed at enabling participants to develop greater understanding of behaviours that maybe considered inappropriate at the workplace in context of Sexual Harassment and the impact of such behaviours. It will also help develop deeper understanding at the leadership level about the responsibilities, impact, and risks for the organization, as a result of behaviour and complaints relating to Sexual Harassment at the workplace. Building skills and enabling the leadership team to carry out its duties as per laid down procedure and follow the law in its true spirit. 

The workshop will focus on following key area:

  • The Scope and Applicability of the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal) Act 2013.
  • What amounts to Sexual Harassment?
  • The importance of constituting an Internal Committee and its powers and responsibilities.
  • The redressal mechanism available under the Act.
  • Compliances required under the Act.          

The Faculty, Ms Raddhika Singh is a lawyer with over 16 years of experience and is the Managing Partner at Aletheiaa Legal a law firm she founded in August 2014. She is an Intellectual property & commercial lawyer and startup advisor. Ms Singh has worked with tier 1 law firms of India - Remfry & Sagar, K&S Partners, Luthra & Luthra. She has conducted trainings and workshops for over 8000 participants on matters pertaining to Intellectual property rights, Information Technology laws and Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace and has advised over 350 start-ups on various legal compliances and policy requirements. She has done LLM in Intellectual Property Laws, Kings College London and University of London and LL.B from Delhi University.

NDigitec introduces benefits of Catena exposure technology to the Middle East


A new ThermoFlexX Catena-E 80 exposure unit from XSYS has allowed the UAE-headquartered company to elevate its plate-making capabilities to new heights. By integrating this innovative UV LED technology, NDigitec can now supply customers with higher-quality digital flexo plates and enjoy faster processing times than before, while reducing plate waste and energy consumption.

Namma Int’l Digitec FZ LLC – known as NDigitec – is a family-run business founded in 2005 in Dubai (UAE). As the industry leader in the MEA region in terms of production facilities, staff members, and square meter consumption, the prepress division of the company supplies a complete package of services – from file reparation to final processed flexo printing plate.

Employing a total of 125 staff across two branches in Dubai, a facility in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and an office in Yerevan (Armenia), NDigitec also offers digital printing solutions, e-commerce, creative media production, and fabrication of exhibition equipment. Some 500 customers in 25 countries avail themselves of the company’s many high-end competencies, which also include Online competencies: the DUBAIPRINT.COM web-to-print platform with solutions for the widest variety of print applications, and FLEXOEASY.COM, an unprecedented digital platform that makes flexographic plate-making easy and allows customers to access high-quality Prepress and Premedia services from anywhere in the world.

Plate innovation leader with big ambitions
NDigitec Prepress is known as an innovation trailblazer, always seeking out the latest plate-making technologies to stay ahead of developments and to deliver leading solutions to its global brand owner customers. Some 55% of the annual 50,000 sqm plate output is supplied to the flexible packaging industry, another 25% goes to the corrugated segment, while the remaining 20% is divided between folding cartons and labels.

“We were the first prepress company in the region to bring in LED exposure technology for making flexo plates with the Flint Group nyloflex® NExT system back in 2016,” said Shahe Kavlakian, Executive Manager for Prepress at NDigitec and brother of the company’s CEO Vatche Kavlakian, who as a pioneer of integrated prepress and printing services, laid the roots for the business in the early 1990s.

“Now we are once again taking the lead as the first to install the XSYS ThermoFlexX Catena-E system; an investment we have made because we believe that this solution will best support us in responding to the many varied customer demands we are currently facing and to allow us to continue our global expansion.”

Improving quality and reducing waste
Providing high-performance LED exposure for precise image reproduction, the ThermoFlexX Catena-E 80 is an open system that can process plates in sizes up to 1270 x 2032mm (50 x 80”) and all thicknesses for any type of flexo printing. With a very high level of automation, the unit can also be combined with a ThermoFlexX imager and Catena washer, dryer, and light finisher units for a full end-to-end plate production line, an option that NDigitec is closely evaluating as part of its future strategy. While the Catena-E 80 has been installed in Dubai, there are more immediate plans to upgrade the company’s exposure hardware across the other sites.

“The effect of the new Catena unit has been very noticeable,” said Shahe Kavlakian, who explained more about the team’s criteria in evaluating the technology. “We are looking for standardization, durability, efficiency, and stability in plate production; these aspects are key to maintaining productivity and quality. Particularly in flexible packaging, consistent solid ink density with perfect highlights is a challenge, but with the Catena system and our own micro surface screening, we can deliver results that are much better than with other LED solutions.”

Among the other immediate benefits enjoyed in Dubai was a reduction in waste compared to the existing system. “The Catena-E is definitely helping to improve the sustainability of our plate-making operation because we can combine different jobs on the same plate. By our latest estimations, plate waste has gone down from around 26% to 16%, and we know that with the latest LEDs in the machine, energy consumption will also be less. So, from an environmental point of view, as well as in terms of costs, this is a great improvement.”

Quick and effective implementation
With any new technology, there is inevitably a learning curve, but the near plug’n’play nature of the Catena system meant that the unit was in full production at NDigitec within a week. Mr. Kavlakian praised the simplicity of the design and the user interface, and in particular, highlighted the ability to access the unit controls remotely.

“The Catena is very easy to operate with straightforward instructions and options, so training was pretty quick. It also comes with remote capabilities which means that calibration and regular maintenance checks can be done without having anyone coming on-site. This is of course a fantastic feature as we can avoid unwanted downtime because we don’t have to wait for an engineer to attend in person,” he said.

Supporting future growth
Looking to the future, NDigitec has major plans to take more of the global market share. To further this goal, it opened a new state-of-the-art 50,000 sqm factory in Dubai Production City in 2020. Another 3,000 sqm facility operates as an incubator for joint venture projects aimed at advancing innovation in flexo print production, complemented by more investment in best-in-class imaging, processing, and screening technologies.

“In addition to the immediate benefits we have already experienced, the ThermoFlexX Catena-E 80 exposure technology will give us a stable platform to build our future plate-making infrastructure, stay competitive, and support our ambitious growth strategy,” concluded Shahe Kavlakian.

Register Now to Visit Pamex 2023 Mumbai

Friday, February 3, 2023

PrintWeek is celebrating the power of women with The Women to Watch in 2023

 PrintWeek is celebrating the power of women with The Women to Watch in 2023. The Women to Watch Awards are for outstanding women who lead, inspire, and motivate greatness in the printing and packaging community. As part of PrintWeek’s commitment to promote the advancement of diversity, inclusion, and equality in the printing industry, these awards, in their first ever year, celebrate the achievements of India’s business leaders, change makers, trailblazers, and rising stars.

We invite the industry (that is, you) to help us recognise the women who, over the last 12 months, have shown outstanding leadership and fostered groundbreaking innovation in the printing, packaging, research, and development, as well as the future leaders of tomorrow. Women may nominate themselves or any women, team and businesses that have inspired them and made an impact in the community.

We look forward to celebrating the achievements and championing the advancement of Women in 2023.



Wednesday, February 1, 2023

6th Annual Pharma Project & Portfolio Management 2023 awaits you


Eminence Business Media is proud to announce the 6th Annual Pharma Project & Portfolio Management 2023 to the most demanding and accountability-driven teams of the Pharma Industry! The success of the previous 5 editions of Pharma Project & Portfolio Management tempts EBM to, once again, proudly announce the 6th Annual Pharma Project & Portfolio Management 2023. It is the perfect one-stop destination to learn everything from dealing with the day-to-day complexities to developing a futuristic vision within the industry.

True to its essence and intention, this year's program has been designed in the most creative sought-after method that collates and captures the most relevant and essential discussion areas to promote conversations based on provocative thinking. The sessions have been planned to cater to and solve the existing head challenges by addressing the current skill gap and lack of competitors' knowledge and analysing the pharma trends about IP and finance. 

The forum comprises expertise-based creative sessions, live-case studies, dedicated Q&A rounds, hands-on soft skill learnings, and peer-led networking. Top-level management and pharma experts from project and portfolio management teams will share their insights and present solutions and strategies that help individuals meet their organisational goals. Join us at the 6th Annual Pharma Project & Portfolio Management 2023 and witness the most intriguing and niche topic discussions with the most unique problem-solving perspectives. 

WHY ATTEND?
1. Be a part of the one-of-a-kind Pharma Auction and learn concepts with real-time competition.
2. Learn Technical and Soft Skills by the application of Game Theory.
3. Solve Live-case studies and form practical solutions and frameworks.
4. Discuss and resolve queries with the dedicated Q&A session after every session.
5. Benefit from the 6-month support of continuous learning.
6. Carefully designed interactive and creative sessions to enhance holistic learning.
7. Multiple Networking Sessions.
8. Rejuvenating activities to enhance the learning potential.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
President, Managing Directors, CXOs, Sr. VPs, VPs, GMs, Sr. Managers, Managers and Professionals from :
1. Portfolio Management Teams
2. Project Management Teams
3. IP Teams
4. Finance Teams
5. Supply Chain Management Teams
6. Academia

“For the past five editions we have thrived on our unique event format and content. In the last couple of years, we have adopted innovative ways of working learned from them and realized their benefits. At Eminence Business Media we believe learning should not stop. Hence after deliberating with the experts with immense experience in the industry, we bring to you the 6th Annual Pharma Project & Portfolio Management 2023 Mumbai where we are focusing on the challenges and opportunities thrown at the Project and the Portfolio teams in the new normal. In this edition dig deeper into the innovative technologies like AI & ML that can be leveraged to enhance our decision-making. Envisioning the future let us discuss how hybrid working will help us perform better on our projects. With innovations also comes challenges and risks so let's discuss the solutions together. On this open platform let us come together and use this opportunity to meet each other learn from the experiences of our peers and grow together,” concludes Ravnish Juneja of EBM.

For more details, log on to http://www.pharmaprojectandportfolio.com/