Cherat Packaging Limited, the largest producer and supplier of packaging to the cement industry in Pakistan with a capacity of 600 million bags annually, has made over half a billion cement bags with Mondi’s Advantage Select sack kraft paper in more than 15 years of partnership. Working together exclusively with Mondi, Cherat Packaging switched production from three-ply to mainly two-ply bags, which has reshaped the market and allowed considerable material and cost savings without compromising strength or quality. The company has country-specific exclusive rights to use Mondi’s brown sack kraft paper to produce high quality cement bags and has bought only Mondi paper for it’s use since 2002.

In industrial applications especially, the use of paper bags in primary packaging is gaining traction, thanks to their flexibility and high performance credentials. Having partnered with Mondi since 2002, Cherat Packaging Limited was looking for paper alternatives to satisfy its customers’ growing demand for strong, high quality cement bags.

Amer Faruque CEO of Cherat Packaging Limited, explains: “The bags had to be suitable for rough handling and fast, dust-free filling, and we wanted to deliver further benefits, such as material and cost savings. Mondi’s Advantage Select paper was the perfect choice. The 80/85 gsm variant has revolutionised paper bag sales in Asia as it has provided us as well as our customers with high quality, low cost solutions. It has allowed us to use two plies instead of three and to dispense with perforation, which has significantly reduced paper consumption and dust at our clients’ premises. The bags are lighter, yet stronger than the previous three-ply versions.”

Over the past years, Cherat Packaging Limited successfully launched its two-ply bags, which are now used by almost all cement plants in Pakistan and are highly appreciated by its customers. The company’s paper division has exclusive rights from Mondi for procurement of sack kraft paper in Pakistan and supplies two-ply 80/75 gram 50 kg bag to Cherat Cement, an affiliated enterprise within its group.

Mondi's sack kraft paper supports new universal paper sack line for  packaging

The next big step in the company's business development was taken in October 2017 when Cherat commissioned its brand new Windmuller & Holscher universal paper sack line. Once more the packaging company has put its trust on Mondi sack kraft paper experience and high-quality paper grades to enter a brand new market with the Universal packaging line.“  Amer Faruque CEO of Cherat Packaging commented that there is a potential for smaller 5/25 kg bags in the Pakistan market and for us of course there is only Mondi as the sole choice for sourcing of quality paper.

Sharing technical service and bag know-how

Mondi Sack Kraft Paper not only contributed significantly to this success with its Advantage Select paper, the company’s technical experts also supported Cherat Packaging’s team with finding the right set-up and performance parameters for its converting machines over the years. In addition, Mondi evaluates the bags on an ongoing basis at its Bag Application Centre. Conny Josefsson, sales director Sack Kraft Paper, Mondi Group, comments: “Our Bag Application Centre conducts full-scale tests of bag filling and handling, and evaluates the performance of the paper as well as the finished bags under the predicted environmental conditions. By testing before we deliver, we help our customers create the best possible solutions to meet their needs. Working in close cooperation with Cherat Packaging, our application engineering team regularly tests the performance of the bags to ensure that they fulfil every requirement – from dust-free filling to increased efficiency.” 

The technical sales service team's know-how is highly valued by Cherat Packaging and therefore regularly invited to share knowledge and expertise at special events and seminars of the packaging group. “We highly appreciate Mondi`s technical sales service approach which is based on the credo to share knowledge with customers and to grow trusted, long-term partnerships. Combined with high-quality sack kraft paper Mondi makes the perfect match for our products and business development”, explains Amer Faruque CEO of Cherat Packaging Limited at Cherat Packaging Limited.