36 INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY » JANUARY 2019 BHS CORRUGATED HELP REBUILD DAVID HAYES A freelance business journalist who has reported on the Asia-Pacific region for more than 25 years, David covers the paper and metal packaging industries, the travel retail and energy sectors and various other sectors. He can be contacted on [email protected]BHS CORRUGATED COMES TO THE RESCUE! FOLLOWING A DEVASTATING FIRE AT IS EKACHAI 2 BOARD PLANT, HIANG SENG FIBRE CONTAINERS RELIED ON THIS GERMAN MANUFACTURER TO SUPPLY A NEW 2.8M CORRUGATOR IN RECORD TIME. AN ARTICLE BY DAVID HAYES B HS Corrugated saved the day for Hiang Seng Fibre Containers Co Ltd by completing a high priority corrugating line installation contract in record time, after a serious blaze destroyed a large part of the Thai company’s Ekachai 2 corrugating plant. Faced with a seemingly inevitable lengthy loss of output after damage from the fire halted production at the company’s largest factory, Hiang Seng decided to award BHS Corrugated a contract for a 2.8m corrugating line after the German supplier submitted a proposal to supply and install the new line in the shortest time possible. To accommodate Hiang Seng’s urgent request, BHS Corrugated reorganised its production schedule and delivered the new 2.8m line in time to begin commissioning at the end of 2016, just seven months after the Ekachai 2 plant was engulfed by fire.
Transcript
36 INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY » JANUARY 2019
BHS CORRUGATED HELP REBUILD
DAVID HAYESA freelance business journalist who has reported on the Asia-Pacific region for more than 25 years, David covers the paper and metal packaging industries, the travel retail and energy sectors and various other sectors. He can be contacted on [email protected]
BHS CORRUGATED COMES TO THE RESCUE!FOLLOWING A DEVASTATING FIRE AT IS EKACHAI 2 BOARD PLANT, HIANG SENG FIBRE CONTAINERS RELIED ON THIS GERMAN MANUFACTURER TO SUPPLY A NEW 2.8M CORRUGATOR IN RECORD TIME.
AN ARTICLE BY DAVID HAYES
BHS Corrugated saved the
day for Hiang Seng Fibre
Containers Co Ltd by
completing a high priority corrugating
line installation contract in record
time, after a serious blaze destroyed
a large part of the Thai company’s
Ekachai 2 corrugating plant.
Faced with a seemingly inevitable
lengthy loss of output after damage
from the fire halted production at the
company’s largest factory, Hiang Seng
decided to award BHS Corrugated a
contract for a 2.8m corrugating line
after the German supplier submitted a
proposal to supply and install the new
line in the shortest time possible. To
accommodate Hiang Seng’s urgent
request, BHS Corrugated reorganised
its production schedule and delivered
the new 2.8m line in time to begin
commissioning at the end of 2016,
just seven months after the Ekachai
2 plant was engulfed by fire.
www.thepackagingportal.com 37
BHS CORRUGATED HELP REBUILD
Market FirstAfter using the first 12 months
to ramp up production as the
Ekachai 2 operations team became
familiar with their new corrugating
line and state of the art factory
automation system, Hiang Seng
has enjoyed the full benefits of
owning Thailand’s first 2.8m BHS
Corrugated line for the whole of 2018.
“We had a serious fire and our
original 2.5m corrugator suffered
a lot of fire damage. It was going
to be very difficult to repair, so we
decided to find a new machine
for our Ekachai 2 plant,” explained
Pongsiri Tejavibulya, Director of
Hiang Seng Fibre Containers Co
Ltd. “BHS Corrugated offered the
fastest delivery and installation. We
asked other companies for proposals,
but none were as accommodating
as the German manufacturer. This
is our first BHS Corrugated line.”
He continued, “The fire occurred
in our Ekachai 2 plant at the start of
April 2016 and we started production
on our new line in November, so we
had seven months not only to install
the new machine but also to build
a new factory to replace the old
building, which was totally destroyed
in the fire. “We have installed our BHS
Corrugated line on the same spot as
the old corrugator line. In fact, the
new line is longer than our previous
corrugator, so we had to buy more
land next door and to carry out piling
to extend the factory floor area.”
“BHS CORRUGATED OFFERED THE FASTEST DELIVERY AND INSTALLATION. WE ASKED OTHER COMPANIES
FOR PROPOSALS, BUT NONE WERE AS ACCOMMODATING AS THE GERMAN MANUFACTURER. THIS IS OUR FIRST
BHS CORRUGATED LINE.”
PONGSIRI TEJAVIBULYA, DIRECTOR OF HIANG SENG FIBRE CONTAINERS CO LTD.
Pongsiri Tejavibulya, Director of Hiang Seng Fibre Containers Co Ltd
38 INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY » JANUARY 2019
BHS CORRUGATED HELP REBUILD
Big Player Bangkok-headquartered Hiang Seng
is one of Thailand’s largest corrugated
packaging and paper companies
– owning five corrugated factories
(that are equipped with six
corrugating lines) and a paper mill.
The Ekachai 2 plant is one of two
neighbouring factories belonging
to Hiang Seng in Ekachai-Bangbon
in Samut Sakorn, south of Bangkok,
near to the company’s paper mill.
Hiang Seng also owns two
neighbouring corrugated factories
in Samrong, Samut Prakarn,
in Bangkok’s eastern outskirts, while
the fifth and newest corrugating
plant that opened in 2008 is located
in Wangnoi in Ayutthaya, about two
hours drive north of Bangkok.
The devastating Ekathai 2 plant
fire coincided with a full order book
that the company was keen not to
lose. “One of our six corrugators was
down and we needed a new line
as quickly as possible,” Pongsiri
said. “Fortunately we had some spare
capacity at our other plants, but it
was a difficult time as customers
kept ringing us to see if we could
supply them or not. Luckily we
didn’t lose a single customer, but
our other factories all had to work
hard to fill the missing corrugated
sheet and box production.”
More Production CapacityOne of the benefits of installing the
wider 2.8m corrugator is that Hiang
Seng has expanded its Ekachai 2
sheet production capacity by 50%. The
company has matched the increase in
sheet capacity with a similar expansion
in the plant’s converting capability
and customer delivery facilities.
To accommodate the longer
corrugator and provide additional
warehouse space, Hiang Seng bought
an adjacent 10,000 sqm plot of land,
which has increased the overall factory
area to 35,000 sqm from 25,000 sqm
previously. “Our production area in
the rebuilt plant has expanded by an
additional 50%, so we had to redesign
the whole factory to accommodate the
new capacity,” Pongsiri explained. “We
bought more land to store materials
and production stock and to increase
the parking area for trucks.”
Sheets TooHiang Seng’s decision to install
the 2.8m corrugator has increased
the plants monthly production
capacity to 9,000 metric tons,
depending on the season, compared
with 6,000 mt before the fire.
“A lot of our corrugated sheets
are for small converters who are
located in areas where the fruit
picking season creates box demand
for export, especially for durian
and longan fruit crops,” Pongsiri
said. Fruit boxes produced at the
Ekachai 2 plant are sent to fruit
farms across Thailand, some up to
700km away in northern Thailand.
In addition, the plant supplies
corrugated sheets to converters who
are located mostly within a 100km
radius of Bangkok and who also
supply fruit farms across the country.
“Durian and longan fruit are
packed in heavy duty boxes. Such
boxes might weigh around 1kg and
tend to be made of B, C or BC flute,”
Pongsiri said. “This is a Q2 and Q3
box business – durian season starts in
Q2 and longan season starts in Q3.”
High Speed LineOperating speeds for the 2.8m
BHS Corrugated line at Hiang
Seng depend on the size of the
individual orders. They occasionally
run the new line up to its 350
mpm maximum speed – however,
few orders are large enough to
operate the line at full speed.
“There are not many orders
that we can produce at full speed,
as it needs to be a big order,”
Pongsiri remarked. “The average
speed we run our line at usually
is about 250 mpm for single wall
sheets. For double wall sheets the
average speed is 200 mpm.”
“A LOT OF OUR CORRUGATED SHEETS ARE FOR SMALL CONVERTERS WHO ARE LOCATED IN AREAS WHERE FRUIT PICKING SEASON CREATES BOX DEMAND FOR EXPORT, ESPECIALLY FOR DURIAN AND LONGAN FRUIT CROPS.”
PONGSIRI TEJAVIBULYA, DIRECTOR OF HIANG SENG FIBRE CONTAINERS CO LTD.
40 INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY » JANUARY 2019
BHS CORRUGATED HELP REBUILD
One benefit of installing the new
line has been the improvement in
quality of the corrugated sheets
being produced, which helps in selling
sheet to independent converting
companies. “When planning our
newly rebuilt Ekachai 2 plant, we knew
that we wanted to produce better
quality sheets for the local market,”
Pongsiri explained. “Also, our box
strength has to be top quality, so
we had to look for a corrugator that
solved these requirements.”
Helping Hand“BHS Corrugated sent a lot of
engineers and trainers here to look
after the machine and to train our
staff,” Pongsiri noted. “Their customer
service is good here through the
Thailand office in Bangkok.”
In addition to installing the
corrugating line, Hiang Seng has
improved on its original Ekachai
2 plant production layout by
incorporating a Dücker automatic
conveyor system to increase operating
efficiency and reduce waste. “There is
more efficiency on the corrugator too;
paper waste is down from 12+% to 8%,”
Pongsiri said. “The new corrugator
is fully automatic, so sheet quality is
constant and sheet defects are less.”
Seasonal ProductionProduction of single and double wall
board depends on the season. In the
fruit harvest season, the ratio of single
wall and double wall board production
is equally balanced at about 50:50.
“If fruit boxes are not needed
then it’s 90% single wall and 10%
double wall sheets,” Pongsiri
commented. Single wall sheets
are used mostly for packing FMCG
products, especially beverages
including energy and other soft
drinks, along with snacks and instant
noodles for the domestic market.
Customers’ box requirements are
increasing as more Thai companies
export food, beverage and other
household goods to neighbouring
Association of Southeast Asian
(ASEAN) countries. “Neighbouring
countries like Thai products, they
see them as high quality,” Pongsiri
commented. “We have customers
producing soya milk, beer, fruit
products and food items. They stress
that these are made in Thailand as
neighbouring countries see them
as superior to local brands.”
SINGLE WALL SHEETS ARE USED MOSTLY FOR PACKING FMCG PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY BEVERAGES INCLUDING ENERGY AND OTHER SOFT DRINKS, ALONG WITH SNACKS AND INSTANT NOODLES FOR THE DOMESTIC MARKET.
42 INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY » JANUARY 2019
BHS CORRUGATED HELP REBUILD
As the logistics infrastructure
in most neighbouring countries is
still developing, boxes purchased
to be packed for export typically
have slightly thicker flute profiles to
provide more secure handling. “We
make thicker sheets and anti-slip
boxes for export that do not slide
when transported or in factory
warehouse storage,” Pongsiri
explained. “The anti-slip coating
is like applying another colour in
the converting process. Beverage
companies ask for this – usually
bottlers request this coating for
beer and energy drinks boxes.”
Converting TooMeanwhile, in addition to installing
the new corrugating line, Hiang Seng
has upgraded printing facilities at
the Ekachai 2 facility with the arrival
of the factory’s first four-colour
printer. Although the factory fire
destroyed the original corrugating line
and about half the buildings, the blaze
was brought under control before
reaching the plant’s five flexo printing
lines – an assortment of models from
Mitsubishi, Dong Fang and Bobst. All
five printers are now installed in the
rebuilt Ekachai 2 plant along with
Hiang Seng’s new flexo printer.
“We installed a four-colour
Bobst 924 in 2017, the rest of our
printers are three-colour models,”
Pongsiri explained. “We chose the
Bobst 924 as there is increased
demand for high quality printing,
especially for food products for
which customers want good quality
designs. Customers use a lot of
pictures on their box designs. Some
customers’ sales are slow in Thailand,
so they want to increase sales. They
think better box designs can increase
their sales. When one company
starts this, the others follow.”
Hiang Seng produces an average
of 20,000 mt of corrugated products
monthly at its five Thai corrugating
and converting plants. “We produced
250,000 mt in 2017. Business is stable
and in 2018 we achieved the same
production number, particularly thanks
to the solid start-up of the new BHS
Corrugated line,” Pongsiri said.
“The economy in Thailand is
not growing really and population
growth has slowed down. Also
there are political problems and
the private sector is investing
less. Some foreign investment
has moved away - electronics and
footwear have moved to Vietnam and
clothing to Cambodia. But Thailand
remains strong in automotive,
petroleum, semiconductors,
rubber and agriculture and thanks
to the solid output from our
Ekachai 2 plant, we are expecting
another good year in 2019.” ■
Left to right: Dullaphat Mahathanaphanij, Assistant Managing Director and Pongsiri Tejavibulya, Director
KEEP ABREAST OF WHAT IS HAPPENING
IN THE UNITED STATES, EUROPE,
MIDDLE & FAR EAST!Brunton Business Publications Ltd,
together with NV Business Publishers Corp of America, now publish the most comprehensive range of titles covering
the paper and board packaging industry. From weekly newsletters through to monthly trade journals, every aspect of folding carton and corrugated box manufacturing is regularly reported.
With worldwide coverage these publications ensure readers are kept
abreast of news, technical developments and investment throughout the industry.
YES, Please enter my subscription to:
■ INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD INDUSTRY, the world’s leading monthly corrugated trade journal (UK – £45.00 per year, Europe and Rest of the World – £79.00 per year, North America – $130.00 per year)
■ THE PACKAGING PORTAL, the alternate week newsletter serving corrugated and folding carton plants in Europe (UK – £70.00 per year, Europe and Rest of the World – £89.00 or €110.00 per year)
■ BOARD CONVERTING NEWS, the ‘popular’ weekly newsletter serving the corrugated and folding carton plants in the United States and Canada. (US and Canada – $223 per year, Europe and Rest of the World Airmail – $355)
■ FOLDING CARTON INDUSTRY, Europe’s only trade journal exclusive to the carton industry (UK – £40.00 per year, Europe and Rest of the World – £79.00 per year. US and Canada – $130 per year)
■ RECOVERED FIBRE NEWS, monthly newsletter for the European wastepaper industry. (UK - £47.00 per year, Overseas – £57.00 per year)
■ CORRUGATED TODAY, the bi-monthly publication for American and Canadian Integrated and Independent Boxmakers. (UK – £55.00 per year, Europe and Rest of the World – €65.00 per year, US and Canada – $50 per year)
