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India important from packaging machinery perspective for F&B sector
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Wednesday, 26 October, 2016, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d India is extremely important from a packaging machinery perspective for the food and beverage sector. This was stated by Ashok Gourish, business head, Bosch Packaging Technology India at company’s flagship event, Beyond Mobility Tech Day, in Bengaluru.
“This is because food packaging in the country has matured. India is also a key exporter of foods, and here too, packaging is intrinsic. Another perspective to substantiate this fact is packaging is now indispensable and its usage is generating rapid growth of packaging machinery too,” he added.
“While India is core to our packaging operations, we have a significant presence in the emerging markets. Our packaging plants are located in China, South Africa, Brazil and India (Goa),” Gourish said.
“It would be difficult to quantify the India business value specifically. However, the larger picture is that Bosch is a key player in this segment and even emerging markets are also being catered to from this site at Goa,” he added.
“The growth of packaging machinery is on an upward trend. In the last few years, the primary and secondary packaging have rapidly grown. A decade and a half ago, the packaging for food was nascent, but now the scene is different because the demand is huge,” he said.
“Although Bosch has made some strides with its robotic packaging machine portfolio, its use is currently limited in India. But application of robotic technology is definitely going to come,” said Gourish.
He added that even in the areas of sealed paper packaging and dedicated packs for bars and baked foods, the test trials are on before it is available for commercial use.
“The whole world is now looking at environmental safe solutions. There is a keen interest to ensure that product packaging is eco-friendly too,” Gourish stated.
When asked how soon technology developed at the Bosch headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany will be available for India, he said all of it was accessible instantly.
“The reality is that currently in India, we do not want to run behind all the rabbits. We need to perceive the actual needs of our customers,” Gourish said.
Key innovation in packaging are twofold. One is the ability to produce a distinctive pack or address a niche market segment, and the second is the packaging machinery technology.
From a Bosch perspective, it has both. The company has catered to the needs to a growing secondary packaging requirement in India. In the last expo at Mumbai, it displayed its new machines for the premium market and mid-segment confectionery machines.
“In terms of technology, all our machines have a superior human interface module. It is all server-driven and state-of-the-art,” Gourish said.
“Specific to the occasion where the company is showcasing its connected and smart solutions, we are working to offer mobility-driven solutions in the coming years. It is too early to delve in this. The projects are going on. Going by the need of the market, Bosch is working to be ahead of the race,” he added.
The four-year-old Packaging Technology India plant at Goa is equipped to deliver the demands from the Indian market for the next five to six years.
In the last few years, it has been registering double-digit growth even if it sells less of machines and more of systems. “Now this is the market requirement and our strength,” he said.
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