Optimistic about the Indian Market, Chiripal Poly Films ventures into aluminum foil manufacturing and sets various other investment plans.
Chiripal Poly Films is one of India’s leading manufacturers of flexible packaging solutions, producing Biaxially Oriented Poly Propylene (BOPP) and Biaxially-Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) films and PET resin chips. It was founded in August 2009 and started production operations in January 2012 by installing its first production line of BOPP films with German technology in Ahmedabad, with easy access to Mundra, Mumbai, and Pipalav seaports. At PlastIndia 2023, Sagato Mukerji, Director- Sales and Marketing, in conversation with Labels Flexibles and More, spoke about sustainable products, customized innovation, and new product launches.
He said, ‘The innovation in our industry is different of nature, in the sense that one is the set of products which are already available in the market and the other is the customer-initiated developments, where we have to alter the properties of the films where they get an excellent seal strength or higher barrier etc. We work with many leading brands for their specific requirement and customize the product for specific applications where the requirement is significant.’
Demand for Sustainable Products
‘One huge area of development is sustainable products, and this is where the marketing is moving, so we have sustainable products. We offer post-consumer recycled pet film, which has 80% recycled content, these films are not virgin and is made from recycled material. In BOPP, we have heat-resistant films, we have oxo-biodegradable films and biodegradable films, and several other products which are sustainable.’
‘People are going for easy recyclability and demand recyclable products is increased. For a biodegradable laminate, both the product in a laminate should be biodegradable. In Europe, a plastic tax has been imposed recently, which says that if plastic doesn’t have recycled content, it will impose tax at a very high rate. That will force the companies to have higher recycled content in the film. Spain was the first country to start with the tax.
‘We have all the products available, but we go the extra mile in customizing the product as per requirement. The Indian market is very fantastic. The BOPP market is growing at 12% per annum, whereas, due to the sustainability factor, the polyester market is growing at a slower pace at 10%- 11%.’
Adding about the PlastIndia 2023 response, he said, ‘We have received a fantastic response from the show, and we have witnessed international visitors, particularly from neighboring countries.
Systematic Investment Plan
‘We are proud to be the country’s youngest and fastest-growing packaging film company. Chiripal poly films is just 10-year-old company. In terms of films, we make 233000 tonnes per annum, including BOPP, BOPET, and CPP, all three put together, and we make 220000 turns of PET resin that goes into pet bottles. We have nine metallizers with 74000 tonnes of metalising capacity, so we have a comprehensive product range. Annually, our turnover is 500 million dollars, and we have all the certification that is required to be a global supplier.’
‘We have two marketing companies, one in the US and another in Netherland in Europe. We export 25% of what we manufacture to Latin America, Europe, North America, and Africa; the rest is consumed in the domestic market.’
‘We have a very robust investment plan for next 2-3 years. Our parent plant is in Ahmedabad, and now we have started another plant in Hyderabad. We are planning to start one more plant in Jammu. We plan to install one more BOPP line next year. Plus, we are expanding the resin capacity. We will have one more coating line this year. We have also announced a new Aluminium foil plant.’
