In mid-2018, Dwipayan Patnaik, an Electrical Engineer, decided to take a sabbatical from his PhD and return to India in search of new business opportunities. His family already had over 50 years of experience in mining and they wanted to diversify into a promising new vertical - one that showed high growth potential in the future. They felt the packaging industry in India offered the immense potential they were seeking.
The per capita consumption of paper in USA is an average of 225kg, the global average is 30kg, while in India it’s currently only 15kg and is poised to grow exponentially. The flip side to this is the increased deforestation, the volume of packaging waste that ends up in landfills, and ground-water pollution from paper mill effluents which in turn harms communities that rely on the ground water. The paper industry has long been an environmental hazard, and the Patnaik Group decided to be part of the solution, not the problem.
With all this in mind, the Patnaik Group took their first steps into the eco-friendly packaging industry in 2019. They acquired Stark Ridge Paper from its previous owners (an incomplete project at the time), upgraded it with state-of-the-art green technology, and began manufacturing 100% recycling-based kraft paper. Kraft paper manufacturing diverts tons of paper and cardboard waste away from landfill and converts it into fresh paper, thus preventing deforestation and protecting the flora and fauna of the forests.
The rise in demand for kraft papers across the board for end-use industries – food and beverage, cosmetics and personal care, consumer durables, building and construction, automotive – is a key factor that is projected to drive the growth of the kraft paper market across India. This rise in demand is in turn driven by the evolution of consumption patterns, which are becoming more at par with the west.
E-commerce has completely changed the dynamics of shopping and packaging. As the consumption of packaging materials grows, so does consumers’ demand for eco-friendly packaging, from both e-commerce and offline businesses alike. For Stark Ridge Paper, it’s all about being vigilant to these ever-changing dynamics, adapting to them to grow along with the market, and predicting future changes to leapfrog their competitors. One way to predict changes in demand is to drive it yourself.
When the Jharkhand Government banned single-use plastic bags, Stark Ridge Paper stepped in and supplied 200 tons of kraft paper to the HRD Ministry, to train Women’s Self-Help Groups for making paper carry bags, envelopes, etc. Increased availability of kraft paper packaging drives increased adoption and thus demand. In the process, over 100 women found a new source of livelihood.
It’s not just the end-consumers who are more aware or demanding. Unlike the India of old, B2B clients are much more quality conscious now, and they demand utmost efficiency in servicing their requirements.
“It’s imperative to be on top of things”, says CEO Dwipayan Patnaik. “In a competitive industry, clients have so many alternatives to choose from, that if we don’t maintain pace, we will simply cease to exist in a few years.”
Stark Ridge Paper strives to meet and surpass client expectations on multiple fronts - from investing in the right technology to focusing on the right supply-chain models that allow them to service the market better. Having said that, delivering this degree of service is impossible without the right team.
Hence they’ve invested a significant amount of time and attention into hiring people with the utmost honesty & integrity, and creating a team that is committed to being the best in the market.
People like to be heard. Clients like to work with suppliers who understand their needs as well as challenges and offer them solutions. In this sector, clients regularly face two major challenges.
Their first challenge is the utter lack of transparency & professionalism in this sector. The paper industry is dominated by small & medium sized companies, that are owner-driven rather than systematically run. This leads to many breach-of-trust instances, unethical as well as illegal practices that are often detrimental to the growth of the entire industry, especially now, when India is competing with the world.
“In a bid to combat such malpractices and assure customers of complete transparency and professionalism, we’ve implemented Microsoft ERP systems from our first year itself,” explains Dwipayan. “This gives us the added advantage of having all our data in one place, so that when we have to take a decision, we can back it with numbers.”
Their second challenge is the frequent fluctuations in raw material prices. Clients who supply to MNCs cannot frequently renegotiate prices with their customers. Thus, they’re always on the lookout for steady suppliers who can offer consistent pricing without compromising on quality. “It’s a fine balancing act for us to navigate the price fluctuations while remaining affordable for our clients,” says Dwipayan, “but compromising on the quality of our product is completely out of the question!”
It’s easy to see why Stark Ridge Paper is so firm on their quality and pricing. In just one year, they’ve earned a stellar reputation for being a consistent quality supplier who’s always reasonably priced compared to the market. “Using our product gives clients a great value proposition” says Dwipayan.
Aiming to establish an environ mentally friendly kraft paper manufacturing facility that would meet India's rising needs with standards that meet European quality
Perhaps, most importantly, they’re known for being suppliers who are willing to learn. Clients know that their feedback will be well-received by Stark Ridge Paper and implemented to constantly improve both products and customer satisfaction. They’re willing to accept an error and make necessary corrections, the hallmark of a company that’s bound to succeed.
The company currently operates out of one plant in Dhalbhumgarh (Jharkhand) with a capacity of around 60,000 tons per annum and plans to expand it to 80,000 tons per annum by the end of the current financial year. They employ about 400 people, and provide livelihoods to many more by supporting ancillary industries. For instance, they have provided machinery & training to local community members for making core pipes & edge protectors used to package their paper, and by-products from the paper making process are given to locals to make papier-mâché egg trays, thus generating employment while further reducing wastage from the paper-making process.
Stark Ridge Paper supplies a wide variety of kraft papers to the corrugated box industry, shopping bag segment, food packaging industry, and tea/powder packaging sack industry. They offer specialty products for the lamination industry and are currently developing other high-value items for the insulation industry which they hope to launch within the next financial year.
“Focused On Promoting Ancillary Indus Tries In Our Local Community Like Corrugation Units, Paper bag Making Units, Core Pipe And Edge - Protector Making Units Etc”
Stark Ridge Paper is focused on developing value-added products which will give them a larger exposure in the international market. To this end, they are constantly interacting with experts from around the world to understand various requirements and judge if these specialty products can be developed in their own facilities. For their product development –and indeed for setting up the plant itself – Stark Ridge Paper has leveraged some of the best minds and technology from across the world.
For instance, their effluent treatment plant is a joint venture effort with Dutch company Paques International, a world leader in effluent treatment technology. This ETP not only makes them environmentally friendly by creating a completely Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) environment, but also allows them to achieve quality parameters that are at par with leading European counterparts, thus making Stark Ridge Paper a globally competitive company. In fact, they’ve already entered the global market with exports to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Stark Ridge Paper was always envisioned as an integrated packaging company rather than only a paper manufacturer. The kraft paper plant in Jharkhand was their first venture in this industry and its success has given them the confidence to build up further capacity. They are simultaneously exploring opportunities to move upstream and downstream along the value chain, to ensure they can offer the best value to their customers.
“Stark Ridge Paper today is like a 1-year old child who is just learning to walk. My hope is that it has a lot of growth potential in future”, says Dwipayan optimistically.
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