Amber Packagers at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh is a mogul of packaging printing and conversion, which needs no introduction today. However, it had no prominent position in the industry around two decades ago when its journey just started. How has Amber Packagers as a brainchild of a man with no business background turned out to be a packaging prodigy is not merely a striking but also an inspiring story! In the story, KOMORI India plays a pivotal role, providing Amber Packagers the requisite machines and support.

Here goes the story, narrated by Mr Wafa Abbas, Managing Director of Amber Group. He tells, “We under Amber Group are basically two companies—one is Amber Press Pvt Ltd and the other is Amber Packagers (India) Pvt Ltd. It all started gradually after my graduation in 1998.” He continues, “I was born and brought up in a middle-class family with no connection to any business; so, many around me opposed to my idea of starting a business. But my passion and determination finally brought me to this stage of where we are today at Amber Group.”

First print order

“In 1998, I was ‘Mr UP’ and ‘Mr Lucknow’. At a fashion show in Delhi around the year 2000, I met an IAS officer who was chief guest at the event. After that I started meeting him regularly. Being unemployed, I had no work, and even covering weekly expenses was difficult for me. The officer gave me a visiting card to print and said, ‘Wafa, get this printed somewhere. It will at least cover petrol expense of your motorcycle.’ I got it done at a friend’s printing company at Rs 350 or Rs 250, out of which I saved Rs 100 and it truly covered my petrol expense for a week then. I felt it was good and should pursue it. This is where and how my business journey started, with small orders,” recounts Mr Abbas.

In the year 2002, Amber Group incorporated Amber Press Pvt Ltd as a commercial division specialising in offset printing. Recognising the growing demand for premium packaging boxes, the group launched Amber Print Pack in 2018 for producing packaging boxes. In 2021, the group further expanded business to engage in manufacturing non-woven fabric products like bags. In the following year, all the activities of Amber Print Pack were totally shifted to the newly unveiled Amber Packagers (India) Pvt Ltd—a grant move to introduce the group’s fully-automated packaging plant equipped with a line of highly-advanced KOMORI presses.

Major technological transition

For the period from 2002 to 2015, Amber Group used to run only a set of pre-owned machines. “Our major technological transition took place in 2015 when a sales team from KOMORI India contacted us. From the team, Mr Sahil Ajmani, who is still with the company, instilled us to buy near about 5 to 6 machines. I’d always like to thank him for his mutual support and all-time amiable co-operation,” tells Mr Abbas, adding, “In fact, our decision to invest in the first machine of Rs 2cr was a big challenge. We had to build up our mindset for it, but we successfully did it.”

Mr Abbas continues, “Still the first brand new KOMORI machine we bought in 2015, a Lithrone GL37, is running efficiently in our facility. With the machine, we printed as much in 24 hours as what other six pre-owned machines collectively produced. This is indeed a tension-free machine. Plug and play—you just load the job and forget about it as Lithrone GL37 can handle the rest flawlessly. If it stops, a simple phone call brings the team KOMORI to resolve anything within 24 hours. Problems normally don’t occur with the KOMORI press. If they do, the solution is instant.”

Growth & expansion

With the brand new Lithrone GL37 in 2015, Amber Group significantly grew its business. “After the all new KOMORI machine, our growth graph had shot up rapidly because we tremendously increased our production capacity and print quality. We could maintain the strictest delivery deadlines for finished products as per our customers’ demands and desire. All could be done with our confidence boosted by the tension-free brand new KOMORI machine,” tells Mr Abbas.     

Amber Group’s production plant initially occupied a small area of around 10,000sqft, a combination of three floors with each having an area of 3,000sqft. “As we grew from one level to another, we had set up a new campus of about 80,000sqft of constructed area at Kakori, around 20km from Lucknow city. After that we bought our second brand new KOMORI machine in 2018, again another Lithrone G37, a substitute for the 28x40 size unit (commonly used for book printing). This is the best machine for book printing for us as it saves plates, time, power, and takes up less space. It offers the same trouble-free experience as our first brand new KOMORI installed in 2015,” mentions Mr Abbas.

Latest acquisitions

Satisfied with the KOMORI technology, Amber Group in 2019 bought their third Lithrone G37. “With our constant expansions of both infrastructures and machine portfolio, we gradually grew in the packaging sector. In 2023, we made a deal with KOMORI India for a brand new 6-colour machine with a coater—Lithrone GL40 Advance, which was installed in the subsequent year,” informs Mr Abbas, adding, “Today, we capably and confidently run four KOMORI machines, delivering everything to our customers 100 percent on-time.”

On sustainability front

“Here the question is: What are we giving to our future generation? Is it a polluted country or a city or a clean one? In this regard, I feel that running a raft of KOMORI machines has benefited us and we are contributing to the society. These Lithrone presses do not use alcohol, making them eco-friendly. Secondly, power consumption of every KOMORI machine we run is comparatively lower than other machines in their classes. For these reasons, I believe we are making a contribution to the global move toward eco-friendly and sustainable printing and packaging conversion,” says Mr Abbas.  

Further, as an initiative related to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), Amber Group has formed Amber Foundation Trust. “We put a portion of our income into our trust through which we have done a lot of social works over the last three years. So far, we have conducted over 2,500 cataract operations and distributed spectacles to 25,000 people—these are the people who couldn’t afford even Rs 100-500 on their eyes. Today, the lives of these 30,000-35,000 people have been bettered under the Amber umbrella,” tells Mr Abbas. Collector Bitiya (Collector Daughter) is yet another social responsibility campaign of Amber Group for helping girls who wish to prepare for Civil Service Examinations.

Be it in printing or packaging conversion or social responsibility, Amber Group is playing its crucial role and contributing to making Hindustan a better place to live in.