Austrian firm to set up unit in Himachal

ALPLA group, the $2 billion plastic packaging major from Austria, announced its entry into the country through ALPLA India Private Limited, a joint venture company in partnership with Vagish Dixit, promoter director of the Hyderabad-based Yodeva Plastics Private Limited.

Under the joint venture, ALPLA group is setting up a state-of-the-art-plant in Baddi near Chandigarh with a majority stake of 74 per cent and an investment to the tune of $5 million.

This is stated to be the first foreign direct investment in Himachal Pradesh in the plastics sector. The facility is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for around 600 people.

"This is a strategic step for ALPLA group, which believes in being close to its customers. Our Indian partner brings regional capabilities and a wealth of information on the Indian market. We will also be exploring opportunities in other parts of India as we see immense opportunities in the Indian plastic packaging industry," Guenther Lehner, chief executive officer of ALPLA group, stated in a press release here on Thursday.

According to Lehner, the demands of the FMCG industry in India will not be very different from those in other countries.

The FMCG sector requires very resilient partners in rigid packaging, capable of adapting to the ever changing needs of the market, be it design-related, speed of bringing new ideas to the market, scale up to spurts in demand or brand extensions.

Many times, companies lose sales and forego profits because of improper support from packaging supplier partners.

ALPLA is capable of producing bottles that address a variety of needs of barrier properties. The technological superiority allows ALPLA to work on almost zero tolerance levels, thereby offering products that are not only lighter in weight and more appealing but also help create economies of scale for the clients, Vagesh Dixit said.

Setting up 'in-plant' facilities is one of the specialties of ALPLA. This enables the 'site-Client' to make significant savings on freight, packaging and inventory costs, Dixit said.