JSW Steel eyes packaging market, to invest Rs 1,000 cr in tinplate capacity

JSW Steel is investing close to Rs 1,000 crore in tinplate capacity, in tandem with India’s pledge of eliminating single-use plastics by 2022.

JSW Steel has an annual installed capacity of 350,000 tonnes tinplate of which 100,000 tonnes are being produced by its joint venture, JSW Vallabh Tinplate. The balance 250,000 tonnes, at the newly established facility in Maharashta’s Tarapur, are being doubled to 500,000 tonnes in a bid to capture the growing packaging market.

JSW is also rolling out JSW Platina, a premium tinplate targeted at the packaging industry.

Jayant Acharya, director of commercial, marketing & strategy for JSW Steel, said it was the first steel company to introduce continuous annealing technology for making tinplate products in India.

JSW Platina would be thinner, brighter, and stronger, said Acharya. It can be used as packaging material for a wide range of products from food cans to battery and crown corks.

The technologically advanced continuous annealed tinplate is currently imported, and JSW hopes to offer manufacturers an import substitution through JSW Platina.

“Our investment of close to Rs 1,000 crore in establishing our current tinplate making unit at Tarapur as well as its capacity expansion reflects the burgeoning opportunity for JSW Platina to become a preferred packaging alternative in India in the long term,” he said.

The packaging industry is growing at 8-9 per cent. However, Acharya believes the Indian packaging industry was going through an evolution and the growth rate could increase, going forward.

In 4-5 years, it is expected that the tinplate capacity of the industry could increase to 1 million tonnes.

But Acharya cautioned the projections could go haywire as the potential possibility of the industry could increase sharply with the increase in income.  

“As income grows, the tier-II and rural segments would also get around to using packaged materials once the kirana stores start replacing the current form of packaging,” said Acharya.