Unpacking the possibilities with Ex-Pack

With an upcoming IPO and listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange, Ex-Pack Corrugated Cartons Limited, Sri Lanka’s market leader in the corrugated carton industry, is preparing to embark on the next leg of its growth journey. The company is offering investors a handsome value proposition in both the medium and long-term, while potentially being the most sustainable and responsible manufacturer within the industry. Ex-Pack is also the most outward-facing corrugated carton manufacturer in Sri Lanka with half of its revenue generated in US Dollars from export earnings. Thus, we sat down with Mr. Zulficar Ghouse – Managing Director at Ex-Pack, one of Sri Lanka’s most respected businessmen, to gain a clear understanding of the business prospects and unpack the Company’s future possibilities.

Could you give us an overview of the business?

To capture our journey in essence, we started off as a simple manufacturer of corrugated cartons 24 years ago, and have since grown into a complete end-to-end corrugated carton packaging solutions provider. In the process, we’ve become the market leader in Sri Lanka, not just in terms of volume but also in terms of quality, sustainability and ethicality of our product. Today, 1 out of every 5 cartons made in Sri Lanka is produced by Ex-Pack. This is a significant achievement given that this is a highly competitive market, with a relatively large number of players. Still, we have managed to maintain our leading position for at least the last 5 years.

What is the current state of the business? Could you elaborate on your markets and international presence?

Presently, our team comprises of 295 full-time employees and, through our 203,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, we produce in excess of 2,600 metric tonnes of corrugated carton products each month. Among the players in Sri Lanka, we are also the most focused on export markets, and thus we serve over 600 customers worldwide, including major corporates and brands both in Sri Lanka and abroad. These customers represent a wide spectrum of industry, ranging from FMCG to consumer durables, apparel, tea, fisheries and some others. Of these, FMCG is presently the largest segment that we cater to and these customers account for 48% of our revenue.

Our edge has been our unparalleled quality coupled with our reduced lead times. In fact, even during FY 2021, which commenced 1st April 2020 and ended 31st March 2021, a time of great strain and upheaval, particularly in the logistics industry, we were able to achieve a remarkable 98% on-time delivery rate. This was made possible by our comprehensive, world class computerized manufacturing and stock management systems, coupled with our extensive storage facilities and dynamically responsive production model. In Sri Lanka, we maintain our own fleet of 16 delivery vehicles to ensure prompt and on-time delivery and end-to-end control of our process.

Over the years, we have become a strategic packaging solutions partner to our customers and we’re proud to say that we’ve maintained partnerships spanning over a decade with at least 30 of our best clients, and these relationships account for just over 50% of revenue. Furthermore, we serve customers in 8 countries including the Maldives, Qatar, India, the USA, Australia, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Reunion Island. This results in 52% of group revenue being derived in USD through export earnings, and we expect this figure to increase to 59% by FY2024.

Currently, our product portfolio includes regular slotted cartons, die-cut cartons, laminated cartons and a host of specialized products that are developed using recycled materials and designed specifically to meet customer needs. These specialized products include unique and innovative solutions such as wardrobe cartons made for the storage and transport of apparel items and light-weight fish containers.