PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2020

PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 06/20 www.petpla.net 45 In-house preform production at Enrich Agro Food Products Strong growth with upward potential by Michael Maruschke Enrich Agro Food Products Pvt. Ltd., part of Kandhari Group of Industries, has been producing a wide range of soft drink products for over 30 years. Together with its group bottling associates, the company is presently one of the largest soft drink manufacturers in Northern India. It is a franchisee of Coke under a FOBO (Franchise Owned Bottling Operation) agreement and has a strong focus on the CSD and juice segments. It has been growing strongly, in recent years especially; it doubled sales and almost tripled capacity in the past 48 months. Enrich Agro Food Products Pvt. Ltd. May, 2019 We met: Mr Pradeep Kumar, President Finance & Corporate Affairs Heritage Beverages, an associate of Enrich Agro Food, produces pre- forms. It has five Husky systems: two 32 cavity systems; a 72 cavity system and two 96 cavity systems. Total installed PET resin processing capac- ity is 21,000 t/a. In-house consump- tion of Heritage preforms accounts for 80% of output; the remainder is des- tined for other Coke bottlers. Versatile Polytech, another associate of Enrich Agro Food, has three Husky systems, with 56, 48 and 32 cavities, and has a PET resin processing capacity of 7,000 t/a. About 75% of its production is for in-house consumption. Vertical integration We asked Pradeep Kumar why the company decided to build up its own preform production. The answer is that Enrich Agro Food experienced severe shortages of preforms in the past and it wanted to be better positioned for further growth, so the owners determined to start in- house production, something that Pradeep now sees as a fast-growing trend among Coca-Cola bottlers. He received a lot of support from Husky, who not only supplied the preform systems but also supported the com- pany with necessary know-how. The market and the future Pradeep Kumar has been part of the company from the start; he signed the first registration deed and agree- ment for the production plants, he mentions with a smile. He continues to see very good growth potential for the Indian market. The consumption of soft drinks in India is still at a low level, at just 18-19 bottles per person annually; neighbouring Asian coun- tries have up to 30. India’s popula- tion is still overwhelmingly rural; only 20-30% live in urban areas, which means there is huge potential in the 70-80% rural dwellers, which remains to be tapped. Pradeep Kumar in his office German Technology T our Sponsors: