The facility, which will open in 2018, will be located within the company’s existing Straws and Strips Plant in Rayong, and will be capable of producing more than 3bn carton beverage closures a year.
Faster delivery
Michael Zacka, cluster vice president, Tetra Pak South Asia, East Asia and Oceania (SAEA&O), said the region’s rapid market growth for packaging with closures is set to grow by more than 30% between 2015 to 2018
“Before arriving at the location, we did a thorough evaluation of various options, following which Rayong, Thailand emerged as the final choice, given that it also provides synergies with the existing manufacturing site that is already producing straws and strips, and is already a recipient of the JIPM Consistent award,” he said.
“Centrally located to service the South Asia, East Asia and Oceania region, the new factory will bring about a range of benefits to our customers including consistent supplies, reduced lead time, enhanced quality, efficiency and flexibility.
“It’s another sign of the confidence we have in this region. Together with the packaging material factory we will open in Vietnam in 2019, our fourth in southern Asia alone, our ability to serve customers in this exciting part of the world is growing stronger all the time.”
The announcement comes two months after Tetra Pak announced a €100m ($105.6m) investment in a regional packaging material manufacturing facility in Vietnam, to build the company’s manufacturing footprint in Asia, alongside existing production facilities in Singapore, India and Japan.
Sustainability
Besides producing new generation closures such as HeliCap23, HeliCap27 and DreamCap26, the factory will produce bio-based closures, to drive the sustainability agenda
“We foresee a positive growth outlook in Asia and we are excited about the future and our role in shaping the packaging industry,” added Zacka.
“This investment is prompted by increasing consumption volumes in this region, with the 2016 total packed liquid dairy and fruit-based beverages intake at 70bn liters across ASEAN, South Asia, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
“Over the next three years, these markets are likely to grow at a healthy 5.6% per annum, with products packed in Tetra Pak cartons projected to grow at a much faster rate as compared to other packaging formats such as glass bottles and cans.”
He added consumers in this region are increasingly looking for packaging that is functional and convenient, to suit their progressively busy lifestyles, and through this facility it can provide customers with a wider portfolio of caps and closures.
“We are positive about the growth outlook in our region and confident the plant will lead to many new opportunities,” said Zacker.