Think about the last thing you ordered online or picked up from a supermarket shelf. Before it reached your hands, it travelled through factories, warehouses and delivery trucks — all protected by a simple cardboard box.

It's something most of us rarely notice. Yet without it, products could be damaged, delayed, or never reach us at all.

As India's manufacturing and e-commerce sectors continue to expand, the need for strong, reliable and eco-friendly packaging has never been greater.

Recognising this growing demand, Udaan Paper Industries, an Indore-based manufacturer, transformed its operations by moving from manual production to automated manufacturing. Today, the company produces nearly 50 lakh recyclable corrugated boxes every month, helping businesses receive high-quality packaging faster while reducing waste and supporting the shift away from plastic.

Turning an industry challenge into an opportunity

For decades, much of India's corrugated packaging industry depended on manual processes. This often resulted in inconsistent quality, slower production and difficulties in keeping up with rising demand. At the same time, businesses were actively looking for sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging.

For Yash Bakliwal, Managing Director and Chairman of Udaan Paper Industries Limited, this presented an opportunity.

"India's manufacturing and consumption economy was growing rapidly, but the packaging industry was still largely fragmented and dependent on manual processes," says Yash.

"We saw a clear gap between the growing demand for high-quality packaging and the industry's ability to deliver it consistently. Businesses were also looking for sustainable alternatives to plastic. That inspired us to build automated manufacturing facilities capable of producing recyclable paper packaging quickly, consistently and at scale."

Although Udaan Paper Industries traces its roots back to 1986, the company entered a new phase of growth in 2021, when the current promoter group took over with a renewed focus on automation and sustainable packaging.

Their goal was to solve three long-standing industry challenges:

Inconsistent product quality

Inconsistent product........

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