Bosch Packaging Technology, a subsidiary of German multinational engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch, is one of the largest makers of packaging machinery and confectionery equipment in the world.
In August 2012, the company’s Indian subsidiary, Bosch Packaging Technology India, announced the opening of a second manufacturing facility in Goa, the country’s smallest state by area.
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The factory was officially inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Manohar Parrikar. It was built with an investment of INR340m (approximately €5m or $6.1m) and features state-of-the-art manufacturing technology.
The new plant manufactures and assembles packaging machines for confectionery and pharmaceutical industries. The demand for these machines is expected to grow by ten percent a year in India.
Details of Bosch Packaging Technology’s facility
The new manufacturing facility is built on approximately 8.15 acres of land in the Verna Industrial Estate located in the South Goa district.
Bosch Packaging Technology had acquired this piece of land in October 2010.
Construction on the plant commenced in 2011 and was completed in the third quarter of 2012. The plant has the capacity to manufacture 200 packaging machines per annum. This will further be increased to 400 machines in the next three years.
The plant currently manufactures horizontal form fill seal machines, vertical form fill seal machines, confectionery machines and pharmaceutical machines.
Facilities at Goa’s state-of-the-art plant
The Goa packaging technology manufacturing facility is a combination of shop floor and office area. The state-of-the-art factory is equipped with modern testing infrastructure. It boasts advanced test rooms and machines, which facilitate the testing of packaging products and product parts.
The plant is also incorporated with an internal and external training facility. It allows buyers and customers to acquaint themselves with operating and maintaining new machines.
Plans for Bosch’s Indian facility
Bosch Packaging Technology considers India as the hub for countries representing South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as the countries in Western Asia and Northern Africa. The company, therefore, decided to build its new plant in India.
Bosch planned to carry out capacity expansion and strengthen its leading position in the national and international markets through the Indian plant.
The new facility has helped the company to take advantage of the fast growing packaging market in India by meeting the increasing demand for packaging machines.
The company also intends to make world-beating German technology available to the Indian market at an affordable cost, through the new plant.
Growth of India’s packaging industry
India’s packaging industry is reportedly the 11th largest in the world. It is currently valued at $13bn and is growing at the rate of 15% per annum. The industry is estimated to reach $16.5bn in value by 2015 at a projected growth rate of 18% to 20% per annum.
Growth of the Indian packaging industry is fuelled by the evolution of food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries, as more and more investment is being made by domestic as well as foreign companies.
The growth of packaging industry, in turn, has opened new prospects for packaging machines and equipments in the country.
Commentary for Bosch’s Indian operations
Bosch Packaging Technology commenced its Indian operations in 1995 from Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka and a hub for India’s information technology sector.
The company transferred its packaging division to Verna, Goa, and opened a new manufacturing facility there in December 2007.
This first plant in Verna is built on 0.6 acres of land and had an initial installed capacity of 120 machines per annum. The facility is used to manufacture and assemble packaging machines used in candy wrapping, as well as solid food and biscuit packaging. The factory also produces packaging equipment used in packing ampoules, phials and syringes.
The company’s Indian division is involved in design, development, production and sales of form, fill and seal machines for flexible pouch packing, flow wrap machines (for pillow packed candy) and liquid pharmaceutical products.
As of July 2012, Bosch Packaging Technology’s Indian division had sold more than 1,200 machines in India and abroad. These machines were purchased by leading players in the food, confectionery and pharmaceutical industries.
