Switzerland-headquartered SIG entered the Indian market in 2018 and says it has seen a rapid expansion of its business over the last five years. It already has a direct sales and service team in the country, where it works with leading juice and dairy players including Amul, Coca-Cola, Dabur and ITC.
The new plant will supply its growing filler base, which now serves all leading dairy and non-carbonated soft drink players.
Capacity could reach up to 10 billion packs a year
The new aseptic carton plant will be located in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat. It will be able to produce up to 4 billion packs per annum, although there is room for subsequent investments to increase capacity of up to 10 billion packs per annum.
The investment will cover state-of-the art production capacity, for the printing and finishing of aseptic carton packs. Construction will commence in Q1 2023, and the start of the commercial production is expected towards the end of 2024.
Phase one of construction is expected to create around 300 jobs.
Angela Lu, President & General Manager Asia-Pacific South at SIG, said: “India is fast becoming the world’s most populous country and has a very low per capita consumption of entry level packaged food and beverage goods.
“Since entering the market five years ago we have grown exponentially. We are looking forward to further expanding our presence and driving our market share. An established local infrastructure, will allow us to fast-track innovations and build strong and long-lasting partnerships with our customers.”
SIG will invest approximately €60m ($64m) between 2023 and 2025. Land and buildings will be financed through a long-term lease with an NPV of approximately €30m ($32m).
Vandana Tandan, Head of Markets for India and Bangladesh at SIG, said: “We are thrilled to announce that soon we will have locally produced Made in India aseptic carton packs. With this plant we will be able to further develop the range of products available to Indian consumers. Our long shelf-life packaging increases access to vital nutrition and avoids food waste through an array of sizes to suit all consumption occasions at affordable price points.”
SIG has around 9,000 employees worldwide and produces around 49 billion aseptic carton, bag-in-box and spouted pouch packs a year.