German conglomerate Oystar Group, which has Hassia Packaging Pvt. Ltd and several such companies in its fold, has been acquired by Italian packaging giant IMA (Industria Macchine Automatiche S.p.A.).
In a press meet held recently in Pune, the company announced that following the takeover, the company is now known as IMA Dairy & Food Holding. The overall deal is worth 64 million Euros.
On the occasion of the announcement, K Ravi, managing director, Hassia Packaging Pvt. Ltd, revealed, “After the latest development, the company is looking at 30% growth through export sales in next two years. The acquisition has made an easy way for the India-based company to introduce Europe-based fully automated machinery to the customers around the world. The technology is offered at affordable price points which is very much in demand in the emerging Asian market. The projected turnover from exports is to be more than 50% by 2017.”
He added, “The company has state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located at Sanaswadi, Pune. It has made significant inroads in the Indian industry by offering highest speeds of automation for packaging food, dairy, agrochemicals, washing powder, shampoo, hair oil, and nutraceuticals.”
Ravi said, “Hassia India has a strong presence in the Indian subcontinent and exports 30 per cent of its products to international markets including Africa, SAARC and southeast Asia. On an average, we sell 150 packaging and filling machines per year. Some of the prominent clientele of the brand include blue chip companies like Unilever, ITC, P&G, Perfetti, Kraft Foods, GSK, Danone, and Abbott.”
The Indian packaging industry, growing at 13-15% annually, is said to be worth US$24.6 billion. However, there is great growth potential since India’s per capita consumption of packaging is only 4.3 kg whereas neighbouring Asian countries like China and Taiwan show about 6 kg and 19 kg, respectively. The packaging industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% during the forecast period, to become the fourth-largest global market, with sales of US$43.7 billion in 2016.
“The product range of Hassia India is ideal for enhancing our product portfolio in the dairy and food industry,” explains Andrea Malagoli, CEO, IMA S.p.A. “These two segments have been growing steadily in India for a few years now, resulting in local demand for packaging machines rising steadily. Our new setup combines our leading expertise in the business and lets us expand our capacities.”
Markus Ehl, CEO, IMA Dairy & Food, stated, “By bundling our know-how, we secure even more successful growth in the Asian markets and we can promote our business even more intensely in the future.”
Over the last few months, for example, the company has sold four wrapping machines manufactured by its affiliate Benhil and one P300 FFS machine by Hassia to Indian customers for packaging butter into individual servings. Altogether, the former Oystar Group has already sold more than 100 packaging machines to India from Germany.
The combination of German and Italian excellence and technological prowess will allow the company to make sizeable gains in the domestic and global markets, besides strengthening its footprint in the global packaging industry in geographies like south Asia, southeast Asia, the Middle-East, Africa, eastern Europe, and west Asia. The acquisition of parent company Oystar Group has led to an increase in IMA Group’s turnover in excess of 1 billion Euro.
