Mumbai — India's growing plastic packaging industry continues to draw in foreign equipment makers, with single-speed PET machinery maker Cypet Technologies Ltd. from Cyprus investing in a plant.
The family-controlled company opened an assembly site in Ahmedabad in 2017 to meet potential in the market.
"It's a 'Make-in-India' plant that solely serves the Indian market as all other export commitments are met by the Cyprus plant," said Director Constantinos Sideris, in an interview at the Injection, Blow, Roto & PET Molding International Summit 2018, in Mumbai in early July.
The 5,000-square-foot plant employs 10 and assembles one machine for molding 17-liter edible oil jars and 20-liter water bottles. A second machine is under construction to produce 100-liter drums for the chemical sector.
Sideris said the company chose Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, because Gujarat and neighboring Maharashtra state account for 65 percent of India's plastics industry.
Most of the parts are sourced locally but he said automation components come from various locations in Europe.
The company's Nicosia, Cyprus, headquarters plant makes about 30 machines annually but Sideris said it is looking to increase production.
"We are aiming to double production by 2019 as demand in the global PET market is expected to rise," he said.
The company exports worldwide, from Mexico to Australia, but has yet to enter the U.S. market. "We are exploring the US market and hope to commence supplies in the next 2-3 years."
It's also working on a new preform production method which involves a simplified post-mold-cooling system, allowing PET preform production with shorter cycle times on affordable equipment.
The new method is under development and commercialization is expected in the next three months, that would likely boost machine capability to produce drums of up to 150 liters for chemical applications.
