Tetra Pak, a food processing and packaging solutions company has invested Rs 700 crore in Chakan facility near Pune and will have a straw production unit, a processing systems workshop, a filling machine renovation and a technical training academy.
With this, its production capacity has been doubled at 8.5 billion packaging materials per year to cater to the growing demand of India, South East Asia and Middle East. The plant has a annual capacity of manufacturing 16 billion packages.
The new plant is Tetra Pak's second largest plant after its plant in Sweden.
The company has posted turnover of Rs 965 crore in financial year 2012-13 is targeting a growth of 15 to 20 per cent this year.
Commenting on this, Dennis Jönsson, president and CEO, Tetra Pak Group said, "Today, India ranks among our fastest growing markets. Investing in this factory demonstrates our strong commitment to supporting our customers to meet the growing consumer demand in the region.Its young urban consumer and the growing middle class are shaping and transforming the Indian food and beverage industry. Being ahead of the curve, Tetra Pak is geared to meet the growing demand for food safety and convenience. Today's consumer looks for nutritious and healthy products in a convenient packaging format, something that Tetra Pak is well equipped to deliver."
With the new plant spread over 45 being operational, Tetra Pak would close its manufacturing facility at Takwe, near Pune by this year and shift the operation to Chakan. It will also house a product development and innovation centre which will have a laboratory, a pilot processing plant and a pilot packaging plant to meet the product formulations and development needs of customers.
