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Flexible pkg materials co Uflex launches aseptic liquid pkg brand Asepto
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Thursday, 12 January, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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Uflex Limited, one of India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and solutionscompanies, has unveiled Asepto, its aseptic liquid packaging brand. The company’s aseptic liquid packaging manufacturing plant, which will be commercially operational by April 2017,echoes the government of India’s Make In India ethos.
Asepto is derived from the word aseptic, which means sterile.Aseptic packaging ensures that food remains free from bacteria and other harmful microorganisms for a period of at least eight months under room temperature.
Aseptic packages are made by laminating polyethylene with paperboard and aluminium foil. This multi-layered construction enables the carton to protect the contents from various factors responsible for spoilage, thereby preserving the product freshness and value.
- The aluminum foil layer is a strong barrier for O2 and light
- The innermost layer made of polyethylene makes it possible to sealthrough the pack
- The paper layer provides stiffness, making it possible for the cartons to assume a brick shape, thereby enabling maximum utilisation of the available storage and transportation space
Printing, creasing and punching of paper board is done on the printing machine. This is followed by the lamination of paper board on the extrusion machine with aluminium film and a different type of polyethylene.
The rolls from the lamination machine are converted to rolls of smaller width as per the required size of packages (i.e. 200ml, 100ml, 1,000ml, etc.)
The finished rolls are sent to the customer, where these rolls are run on the forming and filling lines and the desired products (juices, milk, other dairy and distillery products) are filled and packed in the packages.
Good surface material, coupledwith superior graphics, enhances the brand equity on the retail shelves.
The packaging increases the shelf life of the product, also saving from the dependency on cold chain, besides enunciating ease of handling for the marketers and consumers alike.
Launching ASEPTO,Ashwani Sharma, president and chief executive officer, new business initiatives, Uflex Limited, said, “The aseptic packaging market in India is majorly classified into three segments (i.e. juices, dairy products and liquor).”
“Packaging of flavoured milk, other dairy items and liquor in aseptic packaging material will play a key role in propelling the growth of aseptic packaging in the coming years, both in India and overseas,” he added.
“Our total manufacturing capacity of seven billion packs per annum will cater to 90 per cent of the domestic market demand. In Asia-Pacific (APAC), the market growth is around seven per cent, and in India, the growth has been in double digits for the last three to four years,” Sharma added.
“Presently, the Indian aseptic liquid packaging market is growing at 17-18 per cent per annum, and the market is expected to double in the next five years to approximately 20 billion packs per annum,” he stated.
“Drawing parallels, China boasts of a tremendous growth story, which has already reached approximately 80 billion packs. In India, which has a similar population, the growth potential is humungous,” Sharma added.
“Aseptic packaging manufacturing is the big thing to take Uflex to the next level of business excellence. We are all set to take off in the Indian market and position this business globally,” he said.
RK Jain, group president, corporate finance and accounts, Uflex Limited, said, “The aseptic packaging manufacturing plant is coming up on 21 acres of the 72-acre land parcel that Uflex has bought at Sanand, Gujarat.”
“The remaining land may cater to any future expansion of Uflex’s existing business as well as for aseptic packaging manufacturing, as the need arises,” he added.
“Upholding our commitment towards environmental sustainability, the aseptic packaging manufacturing facility has been designed to be a zero-discharge plant. Solar panels and passive architecture-envelopeinsulation have been used to preserve natural light, besides conserving power energy,” Jain stated.
“The investment towards the aseptic packaging plant is Rs 580 crore (approximately $85 million)and once operational, it will employ around 250 people. Our total investment over the next two-three years is Rs 1,500 crore in a phased manner,” he added.
“This already includes Rs 580 crore towards setting up the aseptic packaging manufacturing plant,” Jain stated.
“The balance will be utilised for modernisation of manufacturing systems and processes and research and development (R&D) towards yet better flexible packaging solutions using the most contemporary technology,” Jain said.
“From the current topline of $1 billion, we are very positive of doubling up in the next three-four years,” he added.
Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director, Uflex Limited, said, “Being the fully integrated multinational flexible packaging materials and solutionscompany that we are, we will also be offering the specialised filling machines to our clients as a well-rounded packaging solution for their liquid products.”
“Our engineering business at Noida is designing and manufacturing machines with a filling speed of 7,500 packs per hour for a typical 200ml pack,” he added.
“We already have a wide customer base to whom we offer fully integrated flexible packaging solutions for their solid, semi-solid, granular, powder, paste, gel and viscous fluid products,” Chaturvedi said.
“Now with our aseptic packaging manufacturing plant going operational, getting orders from the existing clients for their liquid products will be a natural extension of our long-standing business relationship of several decades,” he added.
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