In an interview with Manufacturing Today, Mukul Sareen – Director, Business Development at Hi-Tech International, share more about the technology, production process and growth prospects of their products.
Here are the excerpts:
Please explain the innovation done by the company?
It has been our vision to improve the sustainability and to anticipate market trends and future environmental regulations. Our bio polymers are produced from corn starch in the agriculture rich region of Punjab and are available in 45 countries. Hi Tech Group’s commitment towards sustainability is oriented to reduce the greenhouse gasses impact, minimize the dependence on fossil oil derivatives, and promote the use of renewable energies and to reduce the plastic waste in the environment.
Dr. Bio is another innovation from our stable, which is a testament to our vision and values. Dr. Bio is India’s only compostable polymer, which means the plastic made from this polymer will disintegrate after 12 weeks and will completely biodegrade after six months. That means that 90 percent or more of the plastic material will have been converted to CO2. The remaining share is converted into water and biomass, which no longer contains any plastic. No heavy metal contents and no harmful substances should be left behind.
Talk about the impact of this innovation on the environment and industry?
According to some reports, Urban India generates 62 million tons of waste (MSW) annually, and this will reach 165 million tons in 2030. 43 million tons of municipal solid waste is collected annually, out of which 31 million is dumped in landfill sites and just 11.9 million is treated. Contrary to the composition of waste in western countries, the majority of India’s waste is organic which means that there is a tremendous opportunity to compost it. This waste ends up in the landfills and result in polluting land, ground water.
The usual methods of recycling are not that effective. For example, there is a limit to recycling paper and every kg of paper uses 70 liters of water to recycle, which is counterproductive. Similarly, the process of recycling aluminium and recyclable plastic has high upfront capital costs and these processes themselves are unhygienic and unsafe. Even the recycles products are not of very high quality. The major advantage of Dr. Bio is that the bio-based polymers replace fossil carbon in the production process with renewable carbon from biomass. This is indispensable for a sustainable, climate-friendly plastics industry. The second advantage is that they are biodegradable (depending on the environment) and can therefore be a solution for plastics that cannot be collected. This results in elimination of micro plastics from our environment.
Where is your manufacturing plant? Is it a complete Make-in-India product?
The company has set up a 200,000 sq ft plant in Ludhiana for production of Dr. Bio. It’s a 100% made-in-India product. The company has agreements with the farmers for the supply of corn starch.
Please talk about your manufacturing process and latest technologies you are using?
Dr Bio compostable biopolymers are produced using Hi-Tech Groups proprietary F2F Process. In this process, biodegradable polymer, natural polymers, organic and inorganic materials are reactively blended in the presence of proprietary plasticizers and compatibilizers and polymer modifiers to produce bio plastics and compostable polymer resins that exhibit environmental friendly, sustainable, balanced and stable chemistry.
Dr Bio polymer resins are available in various grades customized for a wide variety of applications such as film extrusion, extrusion coating, injection molding and rigid, engineered plastics, paper like films, straw/pipe, filament extrusion etc.
Dr Bio biopolymer resins are engineered for ensuring sustainability is achieved through its high performance, easy to process, low cost, and versatility to use on conventional and contemporary extruders without any change in equipment specifications. With our unique Farm to Polymer model we are working closely with farmers to procure and secure our highly refined corn starch supplies and other essential bio mass inputs. The supplies are assured even if we 10X our production capacity than that of today. We manufacture Biodegradable products since 2014 and are one of the pioneers leading to a sustainable green future.
Renewable feed stocks such as corn, sugarcane, and algae are utilized instead of petroleum, thereby reducing global dependence on crude oil and lessening the impact on climate. Despite growing global environmental awareness, bio-plastics currently account for only around 1 per cent or 3.8 million tonnes of the >360 million tons of plastics produced annually, but with annual growth of 20-30%.
Due to the development of advanced biopolymers and materials, reduced costs, regulations and increased consumer awareness demand is rising at a very rapid pace. We manufacture bio degradable polymer and selling it to packaging industry. No up gradation of machinery is required for users using Dr Bio Polymer.
In which countries do you export Dr. Bio and also explain about the application of this product?
Our international partners located in 45 countries have seen great potential and are willing to invest in India with us for this technology. The products offered by the company are used in different sectors and applications such as packaging, home textiles, appliances, plastic bottles, cards, apparel, fresh food packaging, folded cartons, cell phone cases, service ware, lactides, polymers, polymer additives, nonwovens, adhesives, coatings, cosmetics, laptops, other durable goods, printing toners, and surfactants.
Future plans of Hi-Tech International and growth prospects of your products?
Hi Tech Group’s commitment towards sustainability is oriented to reduce the greenhouse gasses impact, minimize the dependence on fossil oil derivatives, promote the use of renewable energies and to reduce the plastic waste in the environment.