Tetra Pak, a leading global food processing and packaging solutions company, has announced an EUR 24 million (Rs. 173 crore) investment in its very first plant for packaging closures in South Asia, East Asia and Oceania. The facility is set to capture the region’s rapid market growth for packaging with closures, forecast to grow by more than 30% between 2015 and 2018.
The advanced regional manufacturing facility will be located within the company’s existing Straws and Strips Plant in Rayong, Thailand, and will become operational in early 2018. With a production capacity of more than three billion units per year, the new plant will enable customers across the region to access locally produced closures for the first time.
Says Michael Zacka, regional vice president, Tetra Pak South Asia, East Asia and Oceania, “Consumers in our region are increasingly looking for packaging that is functional and convenient, in order to suit their progressively busy lifestyles. Being the industry leader, we are committed to drive innovation and help our customers address the evolving market needs. With this new facility, we will be able to provide our customers with a wider portfolio of caps and closures, with shorter lead time and enhanced quality, efficiency and flexibility.”
Besides producing new-generation closures such as HeliCap23, HeliCap27 and DreamCap26, the factory will also produce bio-based closures, to help drive the sustainability agenda. Additionally, the location of the new factory will reduce CO2 emissions through reduced transportation from the production site to the end user. Moreover, the technology used in the plant will also minimize energy consumption during production.
The announcement comes two months after Tetra Pak declared an EUR 100 million investment in a new regional packaging material manufacturing facility in Vietnam, to strengthen the company’s manufacturing footprint in Asia, alongside existing production facilities in Singapore, India and Japan. “We are extremely positive about the growth outlook in our region and are quite confident that the new closures plant will help us open many new opportunities,” said Zacka.
