CPMA and EPBS organises Speciality Films and Flexible Packaging Global Conference

Attended by 581 participants representing companies from over 20 countries, the conference, which was directed at various segments of the packaging industry such as FMCG, film manufacturers, raw material manufacturers, flexible film converters, printers etc, addressed the market opportunities and industry trends.

S. Mitra, executive director - petrochemicals, Indian Oil Corporation began the proceedings with a welcome speech after which the keynote by Ulrich Reifenhauser, managing director, Reifenhauser provided an overview of global packaging industry while Puneet Madan, vice president – PE business, Reliance Industries, highlighted the insights of Indian packaging industry.

The consumption of flexible packaging is highest in Asia, driven by the booming economies of China and India. The estimated growth in flexible packaging globally is 17% by 2016 as compared to 2011. The usage of polypropylene (PP) as a packaging material is groowing faster than polyethylene (PE). The global production of BOPP in 2011 was 6 million tonnes. “The packaging industry which recorded a growth of 25% in 2011 is estimated to reach upto 40% by 2016," said Reifenhauser.

Indian packaging industry which is worth $20 bn is expected to grow up to $60 bn in next five years. In recent past sustainability has become a new dimension of business other than profitability. “The businesses which are not sustainable are in danger,” said Madan. “The low per capita consumption of flexible packaging in India is an indication of immense scope for growth. Demand for flexible packaging in the country will continue to grow.”

Consumer packaged goods – Industry overview
The session discussed the global overview of consumer-packaged goods provided by Karan Sehgal, principal packaging analyst South Asia, Euromonitor; while Chitranjan Dar, divisional chief executive, ITC, presented his views on the road ahead for the consumer sector.

Dar, who has a vast experience in food industry claims that the Indian consumer is upgrading himself towards premium products. Dar said,“The glucose biscuit was the most widely consumed biscuits among all the categories for many years. Two years back it was replaced by cookies.” According to Dar constant focus on innovation and development of new products which are consumer friendly is the key for growth.

The other trend that is lately observed is micro segmentation in India. “The packaged Aata available in the north is different in terms of quality of wheat or grain size from the one available in the south though the brand is same. If we consider the sambar masala, there are three different products of same commodity for three different states,” said Dar. Newer categories will emerge in next six to seven years which will be the combination of two or more categories.

The organisations need to be more sustainable. According to Dar, a high performing organisation would be the one which has the capacity understanding the consumer needs; relationship with trade and can build low cost flexible supply chain.

The flexible packaging in India including flexible plastic, flexible aluminium/paper, flexible paper, and flexible aluminium/plastic accounts to 65% of all the packaging forms. The trends suggest that consumers opt for large sized packages; also, the small sized packages are seeing a lot of action. The easy-to-open packages like pumps or sprays are becoming popular especially in beauty and personal care products. Sehgal said, “There is continued growth in emerging economies. The consumers are going back to basics; they are opting for value-added products.”

“The cultural differences in emerging economies as in case of the ban on flexible packaging of gutka can be regarded as the threat to the industry,” concluded Sehgal.

Developments in materials
 Dr Fabian Siberdt, PE product manager, Ineos Technologies enlightened the audiences with next generation metallocene (grade of polyethylene) products for flexible packaging solutions, HPLL (High Performance Linear Low). Siberdt said, “Starting 2013, Ineos HPLL products will be produced on a worldwide basis including in India as it is the second mLLDPE market in Asia. Indian mLLDPE demand was estimated at 70ktpa (kilo-tonnes per annum) in 2010 and will exceed 200 ktpa by 2020. Target markets are dairy products, edible oil, food, detergents, cosmetics etc.”

According to Siberdt, the HPLL products can be processed on all kinds of equipments including old extrusion lines. They provide excellent film properties, sealing performance (high tack) and environmental stress crack resistance.

The trends in the industry towards sustainable development include minimisation of material usage and energy consumption. “Both of these solutions can be applied using metallocene PE. They allow material savings via downgauging. At the same time, they allow energy savings via easy processing and easy sealability,” said Siberdt.

Roger Kant, marketing director-Asia Pacific, Dupont, said, “We are applying our science to find solutions to three big challenges: feeding the world; reducing our dependence on fossil fuels; keeping people and environment safe.”

The innovations in resin technology for packaging market by Dupont is focused on reducing food wastage by improving barrier technology in resins; reducing carbon footprint of the package by down gauging the materials, recycling and using renewable materials; adding value to the package by incorporating convenience features.

Nilesh Shah, technology manager-South Asia, ExxonMobil Chemicals India

presented on performance and economics of metallocenes in flexible packaging. Shah said, “ExxonMobil Chemical (EMC) first introduced mPE resin to the market in 1995. The metallocene PE has very good mechanical properties as compared to LDPE or LLDPE but due to long chain branching the processability is lower. We are developing the mPE resins that have both good mechanical properties as well as processability.”  

The consumption of polyamide (PA) film for packaging in India was 9.3kt (kilo tonne) which is very low as compared to that of China’s 98.5kt. Choate Xu, senior regional manager, market development Asia Pacific, BASF said, “Biaxially oriented PA technology will come soon to provide standard PA film for diversified flexible packaging converters in India.” According to Xu, PA contributes gas and flavour barrier, puncture and impact resistance, heat resistance, thermoformability, controlled shrinkage and printability and hence can be used for various applications such as sausage casing, vacuum bags, thermoforming web, jelly lidding, retortable pouches etc. Other than this PA also has specialised applications in pharma and industrial packaging.

The market provides extensive variety of alternatives for every single product. Therefore, it has become necessary to add uniqueness to the product so that it stands out from the crowd. “The role of masterbatch industry is to make your product different and stand apart from the competition and add value to the packaging,” said Ajay Bijwe-sales and marketing director-Asia Pacific, Ampacet. “It is necessary to convert the need into his want.”

Bijwe highlighted Ampacet’s master batch solutions to counter faking, Secure Trace; to improve shelf life, Shelfquest; and others to improve mechanical properties and convenience of the pacakage.

The sessions on developments in multilayer films; developments in lamination and coating; converting industry; and sustainability and environment will be covered in the coming week.