Citing growing market demand for the latest bottle packaging technology, PET liquid packaging specialist Sidel (a division of Tetra Laval, it also has expertise in glass bottles and cans) said it opened its seventh such center worldwide to provide global expertise on a local level in India.
Since it opened in December, Sidel’s center has provided expertise in areas such as bottle design, line engineering and life cycle management.
Sidel said that Indian soft drink sales were rising at an annual rate of 9%, and that per capita consumption of soft drinks rose from 2.9 liters in 2006 to 6.4 liters in 2011.
Rising incomes, health consciousness
“Rising incomes and health-consciousness are pushing sales of bottled water, as well as low-calorie carbonated beverages,” the company said.
“In future, time to market will be key for customers and Sidel’s new packaging and tooling center can now help to provide the right solutions,” it added.
The firm said that it wanted to be close to Indian customers, in order to meet their specific expectations, offer them optimized solutions and services and shorter future delivery times.
Ravi Prasad, Coca-Cola Wada, said that visiting the center allowed him to witness Sidel’s global packaging and tooling expertise.
“It was also enlightening to hear of new developments taking place, as we are naturally interested in any energy-saving and quick-changeover opportunities,” Prasad added.
The Pune mold shop has a capacity of 1,500 units per year, and Sidel said this meant it had the potential to significantly cut the time needed to introduce new products to market.
Sidel’s six other packaging and tooling centers are based inChina(two),France,Mexico,Brazil and the US.