SIG Lays Foundation of Its First Indian Aseptic Carton Plant In Ahmedabad, Plans To Invest INR 525.98 crores The investment will be made in a phased manner over the period of 2023-2025 to reach a production capacity of up to 4 billion packs per annum.

SIG, the packaging solutions provider, laid the foundation of its first aseptic carton plant in India yesterday. Expanding its presence in the country, the company plans to invest approximately INR 525.98 crores in the facility being constructed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This will be the 10th aseptic carton plant of the global packaging solutions provider who celebrated its 170th anniversary this year.

The investment will be made in a phased manner over the period of 2023-2025 to reach a production capacity of up to 4 billion packs per annum. Subsequent investments are expected to increase capacity up to 10 billion packs per annum. SIG's investment of about €60 million (INR 525.98 crores) encompasses state-of-the-art production technology for printing and finishing aseptic carton packs. All the packages will be made adhering to stringent environmental, quality, and safety standards to meet the diverse needs of food and beverage producers and consumers.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, Samuel Sigrist, CEO SIG said, "The Indian market is undergoing a transformation, leading to an increase in demand for sustainable aseptic packaging solutions. With our aseptic carton plant in India, we will be even closer to our customers and serve them in the best possible way. We are drawing from the insights and experience we have gained over the past 5 years of our presence in India. The new plant is a testimony of our unwavering commitment to our customers and believe in the prosperous future of India's food and beverage industry. It is our next big milestone in delivering innovative, high-quality and sustainable packaging solutions for this diverse country full of opportunities."

Vandana Tandan, Head of Markets India and Bangladesh SIG, added, "India's exponential growth positions it as one of the most prominent markets for us especially with the tremendous potential we see in the dairy and juice segments. We have accordingly decided to set up our 10th aseptic carton plant globally in India in the western city of Ahmedabad. With this new state-of-the-art facility, we will cater to the demands of our customers even more promptly and efficiently. The facility will be fully functional by 2025 and will create 300 jobs in the region. It aligns with the country's 'Make in India' initiative."

SIG entered the Indian market in 2018 and has been rapidly expanding its business across the country. Headquartered in Gurgaon (Haryana), the company is already working with some of India's leading juice and dairy players, including Amul, Parle, Coca-Cola, Dabur, Varun Beverages and ITC, to name just a few. Recently, it extended its reach to the Southern part of the country by partnering with Milky Mist Dairy Food Private Limited, a Tamil Nadu-based dairy product manufacturer.

One question which arises is that which such large scale operations, how have they adapted to the need for sustainability in these times?

According to Sigrist, SIG had begun to work on the same long before sustainability became a buzzword. "Environmental performance of the packaging in general can be defined along multiple dimensions. There's the question of renewable resources, and in our instance 75% comes already from the forest, which is a renewable source. 80% of terrestrial biodiversity lives in the forest, and with our approach we are going to protect it. The forests need to be sustainably managed in order to withstand global warming and to be more resilient. The other one is the CO2 footprint. The beverage carton needs to protect dairy products which are very sensitive. It's sensitive to aroma, light and oxygen, and we protect it. We are the best performing solutions from a CO2 footprint perspective. At SIG we are able to strip out the aluminium foil, which is a very efficient barrier when it comes to aroma, light, oxygen. We replace that without the barrier technology and reduce the carbon footprint of the best performing substrate by another 30%. The third one is recycling. And recycling for many reasons is front and centre, also for the consumer. Our advantage is that we have fiber and these are virgin fibers and high quality long fibers that are very valuable as an input for paper mills. That helps us because here in India waste pickers bring it to collection points because there is value in them for them," Sigrist explained.