Interview with Mr. Hitesh Maheshwari Managing Director, Maheshwari Starchtech Pvt Ltd.
Driven by innovation since 1991, Maheshwari Starchtech delivers sustainable, technology-led starch solutions that power efficiency and performance across industries.
Corrugman : What inspired the foundation of Maheshwari Starchtech Pvt Ltd (MSPL), how has the company’s mission evolved over its more-than-20- years in business?
Hitesh Maheshwari : Maheshwari Starchtech Pvt Ltd was founded in 1991 with a clear vision to bridge the gap between traditional starch-based adhesives and the evolving needs of Indian manufacturing industries. What began as a modest operation has grown into one of India’s leading producers of modified starch and specialty adhesive solutions.
From the very beginning, our focus has been on research-driven innovation and customer collaboration. Over the past three decades, we have consistently invested in product customization, process automation and scientific R&D to deliver consistent, cost-effective and high-performance solutions across diverse industries such as corrugated packaging, paper converting and textiles.
Our mission today is firmly aligned with our foundation — to provide tailor-made, sustainable and technology-led starch solutions that enhance efficiency and performance for every customer we serve.
Corrugman : What guiding values or principles does MSPL operate by when making decisions about product development and manufacturing?
HM : Our operations at Maheshwari Starchtech are built on five core pillars Quality, Consistency, Service, Performance and Partnership.
Quality: We maintain strict process controls and testing standards to deliver products that meet precise performance benchmarks.
Consistency: Automated production and defined SOPs ensure uniformity across every batch, minimizing customer variability.
Service: Our technical and logistics teams provide prompt support, quick deliveries and on-site assistance to ensure customer satisfaction.
Performance: Each formulation is engineered for measurable results — faster drying, higher fibre tear and improved box strength
Partnership: We believe in long-term collaboration, developing tailor-made solutions that align with our customers’ machinery and end goals.
These values guide every aspect of our business and have helped us earn lasting trust across industries.
CM : Could you share a few key milestones in MSPL’s growth and how they shaped the business?
HM : Maheshwari Starchtech Pvt Ltd began its journey in 1991 with a modest manufacturing setup in Vasai, Mumbai, focusing on starch-based adhesives for the corrugated packaging industry. Our foundation was built on a commitment to quality and a strong belief in process innovation.
By 2010, we expanded operations to Pune, marking a new phase of growth and deeper penetration into Maharashtra’s industrial markets. In 2015, we commissioned our third manufacturing facility in Nashik, enhancing our production capacity and enabling faster response to regional customer requirements.
In 2021, we established our fourth and most advanced manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune. This plant features fully automated production lines, mechanized material handling systems and multiple high-speed bagging machines—allowing us to meet high-volume production demands with precision and consistency.
Since 2022, MSPL has expanded pan-India, setting up strategically located warehouses and distribution hubs across Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. This robust logistics network ensures faster delivery timelines and superior service reliability for our customers across central and eastern India.
Each milestone has strengthened our operational backbone and reaffirmed our commitment to innovation, consistency and customer-centric growth.
CM : Can you list MSPL’s major product categories and their primary applications?
HM : Maheshwari Starchtech Pvt Ltd offers a complete range of modified starch-based adhesives designed for diverse corrugation, packaging and paper applications. Our formulations are engineered to ensure fast drying, high bonding strength and consistent results across different machines and climatic conditions.
Our key product categories include: Autoplant Adhesives: High-performance adhesives developed for automatic corrugation lines. They deliver superior compression strength, faster drying and excellent board flatness — even at high machine speeds. Ready-tomix One Bag Mix (OBM) variants eliminate the need for complex glue kitchen setups.
Neutral Pasting Adhesives: Thermally modified, caustic-free adhesives with neutral pH (7–8), ideal for humid and monsoon conditions. These maintain board moisture below 10%, prevent flute marks and ensure strong, 100% fibre-tear bonding.
Corrugation & Pasting Adhesives: Versatile adhesives for semiautomatic and manual corrugation setups, available for both cold and hot processes. Known for high mileage, stable viscosity, minimal foaming and enhanced box compression strength.
Paper Tube & Cone Adhesives: High-solid, thermally treated starch adhesives suitable for paper tubes, fibre drums, edge protectors and angle boards. They provide quick setting, high green bond strength, and allow faster machine speeds.
Across all categories, MSPL adhesives are eco-friendly, costeffective and tailored to customer machinery, helping manufacturers achieve superior quality with operational efficiency.
CM : How are your corrugation & pasting gum powders engineered to offer advantages like fast drying, 100% fibre tear, and superior adhesion?
HM : At Maheshwari Starchtech, every adhesive formulation is scientifically engineered through a research-driven approach that considers machine type, production speed and even seasonal weather variations.
Our corrugation and pasting adhesives are designed to deliver consistent bonding performance, faster drying and high compression strength while maintaining ease of use and operational efficiency.
Weather-Responsive Formulations: For humid and monsoon conditions, we offer chemical-free Neutral Adhesives that maintain box moisture below 10% even at high humidity levels. These formulations prevent warping and ensure stable box strength during storage and transit. During dry and summer seasons, our specialized adhesives help retain controlled moisture within corrugated boards, effectively preventing cracking and brittleness.
High-Performance Autoplant Adhesives: Our adhesives for automatic corrugation lines are precisionengineered to enhance compression strength by up to 20%, ensuring stronger boards and improved durability. These products support high-speed production, consistent bonding across flutes and smoother machine runnability.
Customized Recipes & Formulations: Every adhesive we manufacture is tailor-made based on customer requirements—considering machine design, paper GSM, speed and local climate. Our technical team continuously refines formulations to offer a futuristic, adaptable product portfolio that aligns with evolving corrugation technologies.
This balanced approach between science and customization enables our customers to achieve superior adhesion, faster turnaround, and costeffective performance across every season and production setup.
CM : For textile-sizing starches, MSPL mentions “one-shot” sizing and improved efficiency on high-speed looms. Can you elaborate on the technology and benefits behind those starch products?
HM : Our “one-shot sizing” starches are specially formulated to eliminate the need for multiple additives in warp sizing. The product offers a ready-to-use solution that simplifies preparation and ensures uniform coating on yarns.
The benefits include:
- Reduced preparation time and chemical usage
- Enhanced film flexibility, improving yarn performance during weaving
- Improved efficiency on high-speed looms, with fewer breakages and smoother weaving cycles
- Easier desizing, reducing downstream water consumption and energy usage
This innovation demonstrates our commitment to developing sustainable, high-performance starches that deliver measurable process efficiencies to textile mills.
CM : What role does the in-house laboratory play in product development and quality assurance?
HM : Our in-house R&D and quality control laboratory is at the heart of MSPL’s operations. Equipped with modern testing instruments such as edge crush testers, pin adhesion testers, Cobb testers and viscosity analyzers, the lab enables us to simulate customer conditions and validate product performance.
The lab supports:
- New product development tailored to specific machine parameters and paper grammages.
- Batch-wise quality control, ensuring consistent viscosity, moisture and bonding strength.
- Continuous improvement, by evaluating feedback from customers and correlating it with lab data for formulation refinement.
This scientific and data-driven approach allows us to maintain product reliability while innovating rapidly to meet industry demands.
CM : Can you provide an example of a customized starch or adhesive solution MSPL has developed for a specific client challenge?
HM : At Maheshwari Starchtech, our R&D team frequently works with customers to develop tailor-made adhesive formulations that address unique production and environmental challenges.
In one recent case, a corrugated box manufacturer faced low compression strength and inconsistent bonding due to variations in paper GSM and climatic humidity. After analyzing their process and board specifications — 140 GSM top paper, 120 GSM fluting and medium liners on a 3-ply A-flute board — our team formulated a high-compression “2BM” autoplant adhesive optimized for their setup.
The results were significant:
- Compression strength increased from an average of 97 kgf to 111 kgf.
- Delivering an overall 13–14 % improvement in box performance Along with better sheet flatness and faster drying on high-speed lines.
This example reflects MSPL’s ability to translate on-ground trials into measurable performance gains, ensuring that every customer benefits from a solution designed precisely for their machine, paper and climatic conditions.
