Tetra Pak to release new packaging
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Global manufacturer of food-packaging containers, Tetra Pak International, plans to utilize its advanced technologies to tailor make containers specifically for the Chinese market, a senior company official said over the weekend.
These advances are important to domestic beverage makers and the dairy industry as a whole, as they are undergoing quick expansion in both their product line-ups and brands.
We have several types of new food packaging containers in the pipeline, Michel Saboune, director of Front End Innovation and Design at Tetra Pak's packaging technology department in Sweden, told reporters in Beijing over the weekend.
The new designs would take into account specific demand from China's diverse markets, as Tetra Pak puts "a lot of focus on the Chinese market," Saboune said, without revealing details of the new packaging.
Currently, Tetra Brik, Tetra Prisma and Tetra Fino are several most popular aseptic packages in the Chinese market. Tetra Pak introduced aseptic beverage containers in the late 1950's and now manufactures and markets food packaging containers, filling systems, and distribution equipment for industrial customers in more than 170 countries.
Aseptic technology is used to keep food safe and fresh, while also helping it to retain its original flavor for up to 12 months, without refrigeration or preservatives.
Most non-refrigerated juices and milk products use packages similar to Tetra Pak's aseptic technology. Tetra Pak's designed production capacity will total 60 billion cartons by 2012 when its second production line at Hohhot, Inner Mongolia converting plant announced in September is opened, the firm said in a statement. Currently, Tetra Pak has four plants in China, including the Hohhot plant, plus a technology center opened in Shanghai in April.
New heavy investment plans are not expected in the near future, according to Yang Lei, spokesperson for the firm.
Tetra Pak dominates the field of aseptic packaging, with a 79.7 percent market share globally in terms of sales in 2009. In the Chinese market, it held a 70.2 percent share in 2009, followed by a 9.6 percent share held by its smaller Chinese rival - Greatview Aseptic Packaging Co, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.
But despite Tetra Pak's strong market position, rising competition from its rivals remains a concern, as they too are keen on grabbing a larger slice of the country's growing aseptic carton packaging market.
International rivals including the Switzerland-based SIG Combibloc Group also pose a big challenge, as do some local companies.
Beijing-based Greatview Aseptic Packaging, formerly Tralin Pak, floated an initial public offering in December on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the first domestic brand in the field going listed, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley being its underwriters.
The firm has two plants in China and a third slated to be built in Germany by 2013.
