After a construction period of less than two years, the MULTIVAC Group has officially opened its new production site in India. Thanks to an investment volume of around nine million euros, the ultra-modern building complex for Sales and Production features a floor space of 10,000 square meters and will go into operation at the beginning of 2024. Initially, around 60 people will be employed at the site. The goal is to optimize supply to customers in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh through regional proximity and shorter delivery times.

The industrial area of Ghiloth, 120 kilometers south-west of Delhi, was in a celebratory mood on 15 December 2023. Ritesh Dhingra, managing director of MULTIVAC India and the management of the MULTIVAC Group invited guests to the official opening ceremony of the new production site. Guests included Rajesh Nath (managing director of VDMA India), Dr Sapna Poti (director Strategic Alliances, Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India), representatives of the architecture firm Colliers, representatives of the Swiss Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce as well as selected customers and partners. The agenda included inspiring speeches by industry leaders from the bakery, dairy, sweets and medical sectors.

"The South Asian region has become increasingly important for us in recent years," said Christian Traumann, chief executive officer of the MULTIVAC Group, who opened the plant together with the Group Presidents Dr Christian Lau (COO) and Dr Tobias Richter (CSO). "Us opening a modern plant in one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world today is therefore a further milestone in the internationalization of MULTIVAC." The company now has 13 other production sites in Germany, Austria, Spain, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Japan and the USA, as well as more than 80 sales and service companies worldwide.

The demand for packaging machines for fresh food is constantly increasing in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as supermarkets are gaining in importance alongside traditional local markets. "With our new plant in India, we will be able to provide food manufacturers as well as medical device companies with even better state-of-the-art packaging technology and responsive service thanks to our regional proximity and new production capacity – from production to installation and putting into service, through to maintenance," explained Christian Traumann.

Assembly of traysealers and thermoforming packaging machines on 5,000 square meters

The new plant will go into operation in the second quarter of 2024. In a production area of around 5,000 square meters, MULTIVAC will initially start assembling small fully automatic traysealers and compact thermoforming packaging machines. The production of mould sets and dies for packaging machines is also planned from 2025. The site also has a hall area for the storage of spare parts and consumable material, which MULTIVAC can make available to its local customers faster than ever before.

Showrooms and training centers ensure close cooperation with South Asian customers

The new plant is more than just a production facility. Part of the multifunctional building is an area of around 5,000 square meters, which includes a showroom and a training and application center for packaging and bakery machines. "This infrastructure offers our customers, technicians and sales staff here on site the opportunity to delve even deeper into the world of processing and packaging technology and to jointly develop and test customized solutions," summarized Ritesh Dhingra, managing director of MULTIVAC India.

The MULTIVAC Group has been represented by a subsidiary in India for more than a decade. The joint venture concluded with the LARAON Group in 2009 was an important milestone for MULTIVAC as part of its internationalization strategy and for opening up new markets in South Asia. The board members of the joint venture, Ranjan Dhingra (Chairman of the LARAON Group) and Ruchit Dhingra (director of the LARAON Group), were also pleased to take part in the opening ceremony.