Rigid-packaging solutions provider Manjushree Technopack (MTL) has commissioned a new greenfield plant in Silvassa in western Indian. The new plant has a capacity of 10,000 MTPA and the company has committed an investment of more than INR 100 crore for the project. The Silvassa plant will focus on the production of plastic containers and bottles to cater to diverse sectors of clients including FMCG, lubricants, agrochemicals and paints. The plant is equipped with extrusion blow moulding technology, which is best suited for packaging products like shampoo bottles, surface cleaners, toilet cleaners, lubricants, paints and fertilizers.
“MTL’s total capacity is 145,000 MTPA, with the Silvassa plant, the company’s total capacity will become 155,000 MTPA. The plant was commissioned in February 2020 and commercial supplies have started. We are ramping up capacity steadily. We are estimating 10% of MTL’s business coming from this region,” says Sanjay Kapote, CEO, MTL.
Including the Silvassa plant, MTL now has eight manufacturing plants. The other seven plants are in Bommasandra & Bidadi in Bangalore, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Manesar (Haryana), Amritsar and Guwahati. The recycling plant coming up in Bangalore will be the company’s 9th plant in India.
The new Silvassa plant is part of MTL’s Vision 3x under which the company has an aggressive growth strategy to emerge as a dominant pan-India player. “Expanding to west India is a part of this vision and Silvassa was an ideal choice as it has a strong presence of plastics, textiles, FMCG, chemicals and other industries. Dadra and Nagar Haveli district contributes to 28% share of India’s plastic production and is the epicentre of filling units of brands that extensively use rigid plastic packaging. Brands like Castrol, Proctor & Gamble, Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Nivea and others have a huge presence in and around Silvassa,” says Kapote.
MTL now has plans to expand its footprint further across India. As per Kopte, the company is actively discussing with several brands wanting to engage with MTL in the proximity of their large factories for setting up captive miniature plants for them.
“We are also looking for acquisitions which will help us expand our range and reach,” he adds.
Committed to sustainability
With sustainability now abuzz word in the India, MTL too is committed towards building a circular economy and with that intent it has partnered with PET Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE) in their initiative Karo Sambhav. The company jointly working with some of the top FMCG companies in the country to set up a plastic waste collection and treatment ecosystem.
“Our biggest move towards sustainability, will be the commissioning of our recycling plant in Bidadi, Bangalore. We are in discussion with NGO’s like Saahas to collect post-consumer plastic waste. With this recycling plant, we will be able to convert tonnes of plastic waste to good quality post-consumer recycled (PCR) resins. This is one of our ambitious projects that is in works and we hope to replicate it across India, a few years down the line,” says Kapote.
Kapote believes that from F&B to personal care to home care packaging, every segment will undergo a packaging re-haul. Sustainability, he argues, will emerge as a mega packaging trend adopted by the rigid packaging industry. “The global market size of rigid recycled plastics has the potential to grow by 500,000+ MT in the next four years, the majority of which will be driven by APAC countries like, India, Indonesia etc. Brand owners and retailers will aim to reduce the negative impact on the environment with responsible packaging solutions,” he says.
