"Our purpose is to be the most sustainable packaging company in the world. As part of that, we aim to create sustainable packaging solutions while reducing the amount of plastic. Platina is one such innovation that has met significant marketplace success,"CEO and managing director Anand Kripalu says.
EPL is the Mumbai-based tube packaging company in which Blackstone invested US$ 470 million in 2019 for a 75% share from its erstwhile promoters – the Essel Group and public shareholders. About a year later, Blackstone divested about 23% of its shareholding but continues to hold 52% of the company’s shares, which the company stated it will not dilute further.
The global company, which calls itself the world’s largest packaging manufacturer of specialty packaging, currently has its operations and manufacturing plants in more than a dozen countries on four continents. Even before Blackstone’s investment, Essel Packaging, as it was then known, was actively developing recyclable tubes for the food, pharma, and personal and healthcare industries.
In the past three years, it has expanded these developments with suitable recyclable laminates and barrier structures that allow its tubes to be recycled in recognized waste streams. Its recyclable tubes have been certified as such by ReCyclass in Europe and APR in North America. EPL has become a signatory to the New Plastic Global Commitment towards building a circular economy, an initiative led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with the UN environment program. EPL is also a founding member of the India Plastics Pact.
The Platina Pro laminate tube was one of the first tubes in the world to receive the RecyClass award
The newest EPL 100% recyclable tube is called the Platina, and this HDPE solution uses EVOH in acceptably recyclable limits for the barrier properties required by its customers. Platina volumes have ramped up in the past couple of years across large and small customers such as Colgate, P&G, Unilever, GSK, Hela, and Vicco – the globally established Ayurvedic personal care Indian brand.
The Platina Pro laminate tube was one of the first tubes in the world to receive the RecyClass award. The independent certificate applies to Europe in the ‘Code 2’ HDPE material stream (recycling) sector and confirms its sustainability. As its global CEO and managing director Anand Kripalu says, “Our purpose is to be the most sustainable packaging company in the world. As part of that, we aim to create sustainable packaging solutions while reducing the amount of plastic. Platina is one such innovation that has met significant marketplace success.”
Packaging South Asia — resilient, growing and impactful — daily, monthly — always responsive
The multi-channel B2B in print and digital 17-year-old platform matches the industry’s growth trajectory. The Indian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Middle East packaging industries are looking beyond the resilience of the past three years. They are resuming capacity expansion and diversification, with high technology and automation in new plants and projects.
As we present our 2024 publishing plan, India’s real GDP growth for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 will exceed 6%. The packaging industry growth will match the GDP growth in volume terms and surpass it by at least 3% in terms of nominal growth allowing for price inflation in energy, raw materials, consumables, and capital equipment.
The capacity for flexible film manufacturing in India increased by 45% over the past four years. With orders in place, we expect another 20% capacity addition in 2024 and 2025. Capacities in monocartons, corrugation, aseptic liquid packaging, and labels are grown similarly. As the consumption story returns over the next six months, we expect demand to return and exceed the growth trajectory of previous years. The numbers are positive for most of the economies in the region – and as shown by our analytics, our platform increasingly reaches and influences these.
For responsible and sustainable packaging, with its attendant regulations and compliances, there is significant headroom to grow in India and the region. Our coverage includes the entire packaging supply chain – from concept to shelf and to waste collection, sorting, and recycling.
We target brand owners, product managers, raw material suppliers, packaging designers and converters, and recyclers. This is a large and complex canvas – the only thing that can work is your agile thinking and innovation together with our continuous learning and persistence.
The coming year looks to be an up year in this region, and this is the right time to plan your participation and marketing communication – in our rich and highly targeted business platform with human resources on the ground. Share your thoughts and plans and to inspire and mobilize our editorial and advertising teams!
