DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY (Dec. 17, 4:10 p.m. EST) — Small caps and closures are giving Precious Products Pvt. Ltd. of Pune, India, its own niche in the global market.
The 14-year-old mold maker specializes in precision molds for caps and closures used in the cosmetics, personal-care and pharmaceutical industries. With 25 high-speed computer numerically controlled machining centers and $1.2 million in sales, the company makes molds that have as many as 96 cavities and fit injection presses with up to 250 metric tons of clamping force.
The company is growing, expanding its capacity by 50 percent to meet market demand.
“We'll be able to make 20 molds per month in about 12-14 months,” General Manager Rajendra R. B. said in an interview at K 2007, held 24-31 in Dusseldorf.
Growth is coming from home and abroad. “The Indian domestic market is very stable, increasing 12-15 percent annually,” he said.
Exports now represent 30 percent of the firm's sales, mainly to Iran, Egypt, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
Growth at the tooling operations marks a significant turnaround, since the unit was losing business just a few years ago.
“We lost a lot of customers to China during 2002 and 2003,” Rajendra R.B. said. “Now we are regaining export business,” as customers have realized that price should not be the only consideration.
He also claimed specialization helps to protect the company from global competition.
“We don't compete with Chinese companies. We are highly specialized in our own segment,” he said.
Precious Products employs 70 and supplies to L'Oreal India Pvt. Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. and Johnson & Johnson. It also manufactures hot runners and blender systems.
Since 1997, the firm has had a sister company, Precious Plasto Packing Pvt. Ltd. in Thane, India, that makes injection molded packaging.