The $2 billion global plastic packaging major Alpla Group today announced its foray into the Indian rigid plastic packaging (bottles and caps) sector with the setting up of its first manufacturing unit in Himachal Pradesh at an investment of $5 million. | |
| The Austrian company set up a 74:26 joint venture company "" Alpla India Pvt Ltd "" with Indian rigid plastic packaging solutions company Yodeva Plastics Pvt Ltd for the foray. |
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| The manufacturing unit in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, is onstream with an initial capacity of 0.5 million bottles a day, which will be doubled next year, said Vagish Dixit, managing director of Alpla India, and promoter director of Yodeva Plastics. |
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| The domestic rigid plastic packaging sector is pegged at about $2 billion and is growing at 15-20 per cent every year. The sector, delisted from the small-scale industries list three years ago, is dominated by small regional players. |
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| "We are hopeful of generating revenues to the tune of $15 million in the next couple of years," said Gunther Lehner, chairman, Alpla India. |
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| Reckitt Benckiser is the anchor client for Alpla's first plant in India. The company is looking at other locations for setting up more plants. |
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| On its radar are Uttaranchal, Hyderabad, Pondicherry and Silvassa. "I would be disappointed if we don't announce another plant in India by the end of this year," said Dixit. |
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| The location of the manufacturing unit would be determined by the location of the client's plant, as transporting bottles for a distance of over 200 km is not economically viable, said Lehner. |
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| Companies with turnovers in the range $100-300 million are ideal clients for Alpla India, said Dixit. |
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| Alpla Group, which is present in over 30 countries, has seven plants in Asia, including the one at Baddi, and plans to set up one in China early next year. |
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| The region, which currently contributes less than 5 per cent to Alpla Group's turnover, is expected to contribute about 15 per cent over the next three years, said Lehner. |
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| The company, which has four technical centres worldwide, is also planning to set up one in Asia, India being one of the preferred locations, said Dixit. |
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