Promoted: Innovative and sustainable packaging for the automotive industry

The automotive industry, seen from a global perspective, has immense complexities in terms of its supply chain and quality. Due to backward integration of more than 4,000 different parts, vehicle variants and other complexities, maintaining seamless supplies throughout the entire supply chain becomes critical.

Today, automotive packaging, which is specifically designed for shipping and storage of vehicles and their many parts and components, calls for more focused attention due to substantial growth in the supply chain industry globally. Add to that the need for cost competitiveness and the intense environmental pressure that automakers face. Based on ACMA’s FY2019 data, auto parts export input automotive packaging spend is approximately US$1 billion (Rs 7,400 crore), which has grown at an average rate per annum of 12.6 percent in the last six years.

The most exported made-in-India automotive components include gearbox, engine, drive axles, suspension system, transmission, braking system, hydraulic system, wheels and BIW.

Logistics and packaging cost play a key role in the decision making for export viability. There is an urgent growing need for cost-effective, sustainable packaging solutions that ensure that the parts arrive at the end destination fully intact and damage-free. There have been many instances where an entire consignment has got rejected in destination countries because of rust and termite issues. Hence, it becomes a priority to address this issue by ensuring corrosion and termite-free packaging solutions.

Growing need for quality packaging
Export packaging must additionally strengthen and withstand the conditions of maritime transport, while also capably handling even more severe stresses. Such stresses not only occur during maritime transport but also during multiple cargo handling due to impact, pushing and overturning. Sometimes to meet timelines, part shortages and shelf life of certain parts, there are different sets of packaging requirements for air cargo logistics which companies use.

Industry has also to contend with the different logistics, container, environmental safety and legal requirements of destination countries. Automobile companies derive their own packaging standard and guidelines to consolidate all the aspects of requirements that would be handy for their company and also for the supplier base.

In view of the high sustainability vision in the global automobile industry, all companies are targeting development of a green supply chain. Many companies have already started working towards identifying areas to reduce their carbon footprint, based on carbon lifecycle assessment (LCA) and sustainability reports. The purpose of reducing the carbon footprint is to offset the existing emissions to make companies’ plants carbon-neutral.

Automotive packaging is one of the important contributors to achieve reduction in the carbon footprint. There is an immense need for addressing this problem in order to meet the overarching goal of sustainability. Ensuring a chain of custody and collective responsibility would lead to sustainable packaging.

Axle and fender packaging.

Other challenges faced by the automotive packaging industry are cost competiveness, sustainability, stackability, branding, safety, regulation, responsible sourcing and extreme protection. Specialised, customised and precision packaging solutions can address all these challenges.

With design software tools i.e. solid works, supported by design thinking, co-innovation, co-design capabilities and use of eco-friendly technological material, there is possible to bring about 30-40 percent additional efficiency in container optimisation and also 15 percent reduction in packaging cost by box optimisation.



What is Econovus Packaging?
Econovus Packaging Pvt Ltd is a packaging engineering company, which offers eco-friendly, cost-effective, heavy duty and high technological AAA material for export packaging. Our unique engineering packaged solutions not only help reduce the packaging carbon footprint by up to 93 percent but also can help save up to 15 percent in packaging cost. Furthermore, through specialised design solutions, there is scope to improve up to 40 percent efficiency in container optimisation.

Econovus Packaging, which was incorporated in January 2019, has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune with an all-India presence through business partners. With a strong focus on quality, innovation and design, we are already ISO 9001:2015 certified with in-house design capability. Further, we are implementing ISO14001-2015, ISO45001-2015 and FSC-COC (part of sustainability drive) by 2020.

Econovus has been recognised as one of the winners of innovative start-up by ASSOCHAM, supported by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Trade and Electronics. The company has also received the ‘Emerging Company Award’ from the Indian Achievers Forum that recognises outstanding professional achievement and inspiring social contributions.

Our mission as a young and technology driven team is to diligently work on our vision to ensure zero complexities in terms of automotive supply chain quality, adhering to minute process details as well as environmental effects.  Our mission is to precede the 4Ps to the P that refers to people first, through building sustainable relationships and goodwill.
www.econovus.co.in