ITC set to expand capacity of paperboard production at Bhadrachalam plant
Paperboards capacity is set to increase at ITC's Bhadrachalam plant. ITC will start its expanded operation by the end of October, 2012, said S N Venkatraman, vice president - marketing at ITC's paperboards and specialty papers division (PSPD) while speaking to PrintWeek India at the company's headquarters in Hyderabad.
11 Oct 2012 | By Samir Lukka
ITC set to expand capacity of paperboard production at Bhadrachalam plant
The company's spend on the pulp mill at the plant will enable the company to enhance it capacity by 1,00,000-tonnes per annum and tap in to the potentially growing packaging market.
"The packaging market is growing. Normally we say there's a 1:1 correspondence between the GDP and the packaging market growth. But the top-end, the ones with value-added board has been growing at the rate similar to the top-line consumer segment, and that has been reporting a 15-20% growth," said Venkatraman.
He added, "With PSPD, we have been growing for the last five-six years, and if you see the top-line growth which on an average is double-digit; close to 15%."
ITC was the first company to use virgin elementary chlorine free (ECF)material for its paper pulp, allowing Indian companies to source paperboards and specialty paper locally. "We were the pioneers in this area," said Venketaraman.
"Today the papers are made from pulp which has been bleached using ozone. It makes the production far cleaner and sustainable. Further the main paperboard lines at Bhadrachalam are certified to BRC-IOP (British Retail Consortium - Institute of Packaging) standards offering the best boards for food, pharma and beverage cartons "
The expanded capacity at ITC will enable the company to produce three main grades - the folding box boards; the solid bleached boards and the barrier coated boards, but it will decide which products to produce on which machine. "For us this expansion is an opportunity to shorten our turnaround time for delivery of these products in the marketplace and offer exemplary customer service backed by our pan-India supply-chain model of servicing customers", said Venkatraman.
He added, "With PSPD, we have been growing for the last five-six years, and if you see the top-line growth which on an average is double-digit; close to 15%."
ITC was the first company to use virgin elementary chlorine free (ECF)material for its paper pulp, allowing Indian companies to source paperboards and specialty paper locally. "We were the pioneers in this area," said Venketaraman.
"Today the papers are made from pulp which has been bleached using ozone. It makes the production far cleaner and sustainable. Further the main paperboard lines at Bhadrachalam are certified to BRC-IOP (British Retail Consortium - Institute of Packaging) standards offering the best boards for food, pharma and beverage cartons "
The expanded capacity at ITC will enable the company to produce three main grades - the folding box boards; the solid bleached boards and the barrier coated boards, but it will decide which products to produce on which machine. "For us this expansion is an opportunity to shorten our turnaround time for delivery of these products in the marketplace and offer exemplary customer service backed by our pan-India supply-chain model of servicing customers", said Venkatraman.
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