Flexible packaging firm Uflex is planning to commence the production of packing liquid products at its new aseptic packaging plant in Sanand in Gujarat, a state in India by April 2017.
Being built with an investment of Rs5800m ($85.2m), the aseptic packaging plant will employ around 250 people and will have production capacity of 7 billion packs per annum.
Uflex president and CEO Ashwani Kumar Sharma told The Economic Times that the new plant, which will be the company’s biggest globally, will also allow for future expansion of Uflex’s existing business as well as for aseptic packaging of liquid products.
Under the first phase, Uflex is building the new plant in 21 acres site of the total 72 acres of land bought by it in Gujarat.
The company has allocated another 21 acres at the site for phase two of the project while the remaining area will be used for further expansion projects in future. The firm estimates the total investment at Rs15bn ($220.4m), Mint reported.
Sharma was quoted by the publication as saying: “We’re coming up with aseptic packaging for the first time with our new plant in Gujarat. With that we will complete our product portfolio.
“When I say product portfolio—we already package solids, semi-solids, powdered materials, gels, etc. We were not doing liquids. With this plant we will be doing liquids.”
Uflex expects the new plant to complement the existing six other factories in India as well as its other plants in countries including the US, Poland, Mexico, the UAE and Egypt.
The firm intends to optimize the aseptic packaging plant capacity in the next 3-4 years, Sharma said.
