Uflex’s Rs 580-crore liquid packaging unit to go commercial from April

New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS) Uflex, a global flexible packaging materials and solutions company, on Wednesday said its Rs 580-crore aseptic liquid packaging manufacturing plant will be up and running by April this year, with the solution sold under the "Asepto" brand.

Aseptic packaging -- derived from the word sterile -- ensures that food remains free from bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms for a period of at least eight months even under room temperature.

Made by laminating poly-ethylene 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.

"With our aseptic packaging manufacturing plant going operational, getting orders from existing clients for their liquid products will be a natural extension of our long-standing business relationship of several decades," said Ashok Chaturvedi, Chairman and Managing Director.

At present the Indian aseptic liquid packaging market is growing at 17-18 per cent per annum and is expected to double in the next five years to approximately 20 billion packs per annum, the company said in a statement.

"Our capacity of 7 billion packs per annum will cater to 90 per cent of the domestic demand. In the Asia-Pacific region, the market growth is around 7 per cent and in India it is in double digits for 3-4 years," said Ashwani Sharma, President and CEO, New Business Initiatives.

"The plant is coming up on 21 acres of the 72-acre land parcel that Uflex has bought at Sanand, in Gujarat. Remaining land may cater to any future expansion of Uflex's existing business as well as for aseptic packaging manufacturing as the need be," added R.K. Jain, Group President.