BTG Group, a multinational player of advanced process solutions for the global pulp and paper industry, has invested significantly to advance its ‘India-for-India’ and ‘India-for-World’ strategies. In an exclusive interaction with Paper Mart, Mr. Akhlesh Mathur, Head of Business for South Asia & Southeast Asia, shared that BTG works closely with leading Indian paper manufacturers, offering instrumentation, paper machine consumables, data analytics, and process optimization technologies. Supported by the global subject matter expert network, BTG India team provides tailored solutions to meet India’s unique challenges, such as raw material variability, water scarcity, energy reduction and cost efficiency. Looking ahead, BTG plans major investments in India to position the country as a hub for select global activities, strengthening its local footprint while driving innovation for worldwide growth.
Paper Mart: Can you give an overview of the company and its international footprint?
Akhlesh Mathur: BTG Group is a multinational provider of integrated, highly specialized process solutions for the global pulp and paper industry. A wholly owned subsidiary of Voith Paper, BTG is committed to helping its customers achieve significant, sustainable gains in business performance.
Being a global company with a niche workforce of around 700 employees, and more than a century of expertise in the pulp & paper sector, we are passionate about solving our customers’ challenges.
Headquartered in Switzerland, we serve an international customer base. Our manufacturing footprint spans across Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States, while our sales organization is present worldwide with our local resources strategically located across various pulp & paper mill hubs to ensure proximity and responsiveness to our customers.
This combination of deep industry heritage, precise knowledge about our customers’ production process & their products and global reach allows us to deliver both innovation and local support wherever our clients operate.
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PM: How does BTG cater to the pulp and paper market of India? Who are your key clients in India in the pulp and paper segment?
AM: BTG has had a presence in India & servicing the pulp & paper industry for over two decades. In the last 5 years, we have invested extensively to support our ‘India-for-India’ and ‘India-for-World’ strategies.
BTG dedicated a brand-new Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Hyderabad in 2023, housing an R & D center, service center, training center, a digital experience center and an office. We have been supporting our customers through this new facility in a much more efficient way.
Supported by our global subject matter expert network, BTG India team provides tailored solutions to meet the Indian industry’s unique challenges, such as raw material variability, water scarcity, energy reduction and cost efficiency. BTG works closely with major paper manufacturers in India, providing advanced instrumentation, analytics, and process optimization technologies that enhance fibre consistency, quality, and sustainability.
Spanning across our paper & tissue machine consumables business, our traditional process instruments business and the digital business, we have an active customer base of over 100 pulp & paper customers in India. We have had very strong support and partnerships established with some of the forward-looking customers like Kuantum Paper, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited, Orient Paper, JK Paper, ITC, TNPL to name a few.
BTG’s latest innovations include MEK STRATUS, the most advanced consistency sensor for highly reliable real-time measurement; FITNIR’s analyzers based on its patented Fourier-transform Near Infrared Spectroscopy for accurate analysis of green, white, and black liquors and chlorine dioxide generator liquors; the MACS solution that integrates advanced measurements with model-predictive controls; and dataPARC software for easy-to-use data visualization and analytics.
PM: Please tell us about the recent innovations in BTG Group’s catering to the pulp and paper industry.
AM: Innovation is truly embedded in BTG’s DNA, which makes it difficult to select just a few examples. Let me highlight four recent solutions that we are particularly proud to have introduced in India.
The first is MEK STRATUS, our latest and most advanced consistency sensor. It delivers highly reliable measurements in real time, is fully connected, and quickly became a global benchmark across the pulp and paper industry.
The second innovation is FITNIR products, that are now being launched in the India market after this company’s acquisition in 2024. Based on advanced Fourier-transform Near Infrared (FT-NIR) Spectroscopy, FITNIR’s analyzers are state-of-the-art, patented technology, that provides reliable and accurate measurements of green liquor, white liquor, black liquors, and chlorine dioxide generator liquors for use in process monitoring and advanced control. Our recent development has also led to online woodchip moisture measurements using diffused reflectance NIR spectroscopy.
Enabling digitalization is a significant trend in pulp & paper industries which has not left India behind.
dataPARC suite of software solutions is another innovation that we have had very good success in India.
Answering the growing needs of ITOT convergence, but more importantly enabling fast and data driven decision making at all levels.
Another innovation is our MACS solution which has proven success in combining innovative process measurements with process controls based on model predictive controls.
This proprietary software enables customers to optimize processes and reduces operation costs through customized projects that address their specific operational needs.
Having recently launched MACS in India, we are already seeing strong results and positive impact for our customers.
Together, these innovations reflect BTG’s commitment to combining cutting-edge technology with practical solutions that drive measurable improvements for the industry worldwide.
Automation and digitalization projects have now taken a front seat in the Indian market. However, the challenges still remain to be lack of basic infrastructure (field instruments & analysers), lack of quality resources in mill operations, fiber availability & cost, energy efficiency and economy of scale.
PM: How do you ensure fibre management and consistency with your technological solutions for tissue paper, packaging paper and graphic paper manufacturers?
AM: Our strategy is to integrate technologies with powerful process optimization tools. This unique combination defines BTG’s approach and sets us apart in the industry. It enables pulp, tissue, packaging, and graphic paper manufacturers to achieve consistent quality, greater efficiency, and significant cost savings—delivering measurable value across their operations.
Fiber mass flow control and quality measurement has been a backbone of BTG’s business through our consistency and fiber quality management portfolio. Though graphic paper is declining in markets elsewhere in the world, India still continues to grow in this vertical where BTG has had a strong presence through our well-established solutions including wet-end process measurement and controls, size press optimization and coating solutions.
Providing end-to-end solutions for tissue paper makers has been an extremely solid ground for BTG as we continue to help tissue makers make softer, stronger and cheaper tissue utilizing our core competencies from wet end through to creping complimented by our Yankee asset preservation programs and digitalization. For packaging customers, BTG has been leading efforts to provide tools and solutions to utilize lower cost of raw materials, optimizing processes and chemical additives to make acceptable products at lowest possible cost.
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PM: How has the pulp and paper industry in India evolved in terms of technological adoption? What are the limitations that you still face in the Indian subcontinent?
AM: Though the paper industry in general has been a slower adapter of new technology, post COVID-19, we have seen a significant ramp up in the Indian pulp & paper industry’s appetite in not only embracing new technologies but significant investments are actually being made.
Automation and digitalization projects have now taken a front seat for not only big players but even the smaller ones as enabling competitive advantage. The challenges still remain to be the lack of basic infrastructure, field instruments, analysers and lack of quality resources in mill operations. With the Indian market becoming a global open marketplace, fiber availability, fiber cost, energy efficiency and economy of scale will continue to be the challenges for mill owners. Strong cooperation and innovative partnerships across the entire value chain and fixing foundational infrastructure will allow the Indian paper industry to weather the competitive landscape as the border opens for large international players.
PM: What are your future plans in the next 5-10 years? Are there any investment plans in the pipeline?
AM: Looking specifically at India, we are making significant investments to develop the sub-continent as a hub for selected global activities. We have discovered an exceptionally skilled workforce here, and we are proud to leverage this talent to strengthen both our local presence and our global capabilities. These investments reflect our longterm commitment to combining innovation with international growth.
In the last 5 years, we have invested extensively to support our ‘India-for-India’ and ‘India-for-World’ strategies.
