SIG, a global packaging solutions company based in Switzerland, is developing an aseptic carton plant in Gujarat, India. It will be the first such plant in the country and the tenth globally.
Announced in February 2023, the new plant will be developed with an estimated investment of Rs8.8bn ($105m). It will serve the growing dairy, beverages and non-carbonated soft drink market in India.
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The ground-breaking ceremony for the project was held in September 2023. The facility is expected to be fully operational by 2025 and will produce four million carton packs a year.
The first phase of the construction is expected to create approximately 300 jobs.
Location of SIG’S new aseptic carton plant
The new aseptic carton facility is being developed in Horizons Industrial Park Bhayala, 45km west of Ahmedabad city in Gujarat, India.
The park is operated by Horizon Industrial Parks, a logistics platform owned and managed by Blackstone Real Estate. It offers Grade A industrial and warehouse space.
It can be accessed through the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway and is well connected to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), which provides links to other states.
SIG’s aseptic carton facility details
SIG’s aseptic carton facility will occupy 800,000ft² of space in a 900,000ft² build-to-suit facility that will be developed by Horizon Industrial Parks.
The carton facility will incorporate advanced production technology for the production, printing and finishing of aseptic carton packs that will meet high environmental standards.
SIG will invest €60m ($63.4m) between 2023 and 2025 to achieve an annual capacity of four billion a year. Additional investments will be made in later stages to increase the production capacity to ten billion packs a year.
The facility will be similar in design and scale to other SIG facilities in Suzhou, China, and Queretaro, Mexico, and comply with the highest safety and hygiene standards.
SIG’s product portfolio details
SIG offers aseptic carton solutions for a range of products for the food and beverage industry. The aseptic cartons are lightweight, durable and can be easily transported.
The company’s flexible carton packs are available in different formats, shapes, volumes, closures and packaging materials. The carton packaging material is delivered to customers with a sealed longitudinal ridge, which provides additional food safety.
SIG also produces aseptic and retortable carton packs for liquid foods such as soups, sauces, purees, fruit spreads, baby foods, ready meals, and desserts.
The SIG Bloc and SIG Fit beverage packs are designed to deliver high protection, safety, and quality without preservatives and refrigeration. SIG Vita, SIG Dome, SIG Smile, and SIG MidiStyle are some of the other innovative carton solutions provided by the company.
SIG also offers digital printing solutions for aseptic carton packs, including complete colour digital printing without using cylinders or printing forms, which enables active design changes and modifications to be made easily.
Marketing commentary on SIG
SIG is a packaging solutions provider offering a unique portfolio of aseptic cartons, bag-in-box, spouted pouch packaging, filling and packaging solutions. It offers end-to-end solutions to address the changing needs of consumers.
Established in 1853, SIG is based in Neuhausen, Switzerland. It employs approximately 9,000 people worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries. SIG produced 49 billion packs and generated €2.78bn ($2.94bn) in revenue in 2022.
SIG has been operating in India since 2018. In April 2023, the company opened its second manufacturing plant in Palghar, India, for manufacturing bag-in-box and spouted pouch packaging.
