Glass container industry gallops ahead

Despite the slowdown, the Indian glass container industry has reported a double digit growth.

All India Glass Manufacturers’ Federation spokesperson V Sreeram said the industry registred a turnover of around Rs 4,500 crore as compared with Rs 4,000 crore, a year ago, a growth of 12 per cent. Of this exports accounted for 10 per cent.

The industry is currently dominated by 10 big players with a combined capacity of around 4,000 tonnes a day. Among these, Hindusthan National Glass & Industries, Gujarat Glass and Associated Glass Industries (AGI) have a market share of 80 per cent, said Sreeram.

The liquor and beer industry uses around 65 per cent of India’s glass container production, followed by food at 20 per cent and cosmetics consuming the rest.

“Most of our key customers in this segment are ramping up their liquor and beer capacities... implying a steep rise in demand for our products,” said Sreeram.

The glass-container industry in India has seen a period of consolidation in recent years. Investment in new furnaces and improved technology has been the prime focus.

Apart from competition from other packaging media like plastic, aluminium and tetrapack, the industry also has to deal with the growing usage of second hand glass bottles. “This is not only impacting our revenues but is also unhealthly. The industry is now planning to print the expiry date on the bottle to educate the end users,” he added.