Constantia Flexibles to Double Sales of Flexible Packaging in India in Five Year

Constantia Flexibles, the world’s fourth largest flexible packaging group, is aiming to double its sales in India within the next five years. This is the result of its recent acquisition of a majority stake in Creative Polypack and its group companies, as well as expansion plans of its existing subsidiary, Parikh Packaging.

Through the acquisition, Constantia Flexibles is already India’s third largest flexible packaging group and is expecting to reach the €200-mn sales mark (Rs. 1,600-crore) in 2022, through market growth and ongoing investments. The flexible packaging market in India is expected to grow by more than 10% in the next five years, driven by the megatrends of urbanization and expansion of the retail sector.

“We are proud to be here in India today to announce our ambitious growth plans in the fastest growing flexible packaging market worldwide. Our production footprint allows us to cover the whole of the Indian subcontinent and bring the latest innovative and sustainable packaging solutions to our valued customers,” Mr. Alexander Baumgartner, CEO, Constantia Flexibles, said in a press release.

Mr. Baumgartner was joined at a press conference in Mumbai by Mr. Pavan Parikh, Managing Director and founder of Parikh Packaging; Mr. B.K. Maheswari, Managing Director and founder, Creative Polypack; and his son Mr. Giriraj Maheswari, Joint Managing Director.

Creative Polypack was founded in 1986 and is one of the leading flexible packaging groups in India. It achieved sales of about €75-mn in the business year ending March 31, 2018, and currently has about 850 employees at eight production sites in Baddi, Kanpur, Kolkata, Assam and Puducherry, in northern, eastern and southern India. It manufactures film-based flexible packaging for the food and home & personal care (HPC) industries, as well as paper-based soap wrappers. The company serves leading domestic and international consumer goods companies in India.

New production capacity

Creative Polypack intends to invest on average €6-mn per year in new production capacity, as well as other infrastructure, at its Kolkata, Baddi, Kanpur and Puducherry sites, in coming years. It also plans to double its capacity at the newly-established Assam site.

Before the acquisition of Creative Polypack, Constantia Flexibles was already a leading supplier of film-based flexible packaging for the Indian market since acquiring Parikh Packaging, based in Ahmedabad, in 2013. It has more than 500 employees and achieved sales of roughly €35-mn in 2017, serving the food and HPC industries.

Parikh Packaging is investing double-digit million euros in a new greenfield site in Ahmedabad, which will be home to a polyethylene blown film extruder, high-definition Flexo printing press and laminators that will produce high barrier laminates that can be fully recycled. The extra capacity will come on stream in 2019.

“Major FMCGs are demanding the highest level of sustainability for their packaging material and the new investment will help them to comply with upcoming Indian Plastic Waste Management (PWM) regulations that promote only fully recyclable flexible packaging. The investment also fits in well with the Indian government’s campaign Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to clean the nation,” a press release issued by Constantia Flexibles said.