With one eye on the future ITC rolls out expansion plans

R Senguttuvan, CEO, packaging division, ITC, said “The need for differentiated packaging and change in lifestyles along with the apparent foreign direct investment (FDI) down pour in the retail
sector is going to drive never seen before growth in the packaging industry. Increase in demand from rural markets, branded packaged products and organised retail growth is seen to fuel the volume growth.”

The packaging sector in India has seen a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 16% and is one of the fastest growing packaging markets in the world. Moreover low per capita consumption of packaging in India is an indication of immense scope for growth.

“During 2012, we have continued to invest in contemporary technologies in flexibles and paperboard packaging at our Hardwar and Chennai facilities. We have also undertaken expansion projects at both facilities to address growing opportunities in external trade and to enable manufacture of a full range of packaging solutions from both locations. The expansion programme includes the addition of a carton line for meeting the growing demand from the northern region, apart from balancing investment in flexibles packaging to enhance competitiveness. A new paperboard machine with a capacity of 1 lakh tonnes will be operational in the first quarter of 2013,” added Senguttuvan