German packaging producer Südpack (Ochsenhausen; www.suedpack.com) has signed an agreement for a joint venture in India with Kamakshi Flexiprints (Ahmedabad, Gujarat / India; www.kamakshiflexiprints.com). Südpack did not offer details on the amount of the investment. The JV includes construction of a new plant near Kamakshi’s main facility in Ahmedabad with the aim of meeting the demand for flexible packaging materials on the Indian market. “We see a growing demand for high quality in barrier, medical and lidding flexible materials in the Indian market mainly due to the evolving matured packaging needs in the Indian sub-continent arising from constant demographic changes,” said Tharcisse Carl, managing director of the Südpack group.

The new location is scheduled for inauguration in summer 2021. The JV partners plan to install extrusion, printing, coating and lamination lines there, and the site will be in line with international regulations and standards of the food industry such as GMP, BRC, FSMS ISO 22001, QMS ISO 9001 and SMS-ISO 45001.

Südpack said the investment in the Indian JV is another step in its international growth strategy. The group has facilities in France, Poland, Switzerland and the US in addition to its sites in Germany (see Plasteurope.com of 11.10.2017). Südpack is among the leading producers of co-extruded, flexible and rigid films, composite films and vacuum pouches in Europe. In 2017, around 1,350 employees generated sales of EUR 379m. Current figures are not available.

Founded in 1994, Kamakshi produces flexible packaging for the food and non-food industries on an area of 45,000 m². The company uses a 3-layer blown film line manufactured by Windsor (New Delhi / India; www.windsormachines.com) for the production of around 2,400 t/y of multilayer polyethylene film. A 2-layer blown film line from Kolsite (Mumbai, Maharashtra / India; www.kolsite.com) adds another 3,600 t/y. Up to eight colours can be added to the films by rotogravure, and up to 20m prefabricated bags are produced per month on downstream assembly lines.