Hassia Packaging India, one of the companies under German conglomerate OYSTAR Group, offering customised and integrated solutions for flexible packaging across varied applications, has now been acquired by Italian giant I.M.A (Industria Macchine Automatiche SpA). IMA is a global market leader in the development and production of packaging machines for the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, tea, coffee, dairy, and food and beverage industries. Following the takeover of Hassia India by IMA Group, the company is now known as IMA Dairy & Food Holding. The acquisition of parent company OYSTAR Group has led to an increase in IMA Group's turnover in excess of Euro 1 billion.

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, Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and West Asia. In the Indian context, the takeover will translate into introduction of new products, leveraging the technical expertise of IMA Group along with enhancement of existing ones. Announcing this at a press conference in Pune, the management said that the company is looking at 20 per cent growth year-on-year with a key focus on becoming an export-oriented company by 2017, with a projected turnover from export to be more than 50 per cent.

"Hassia Packaging has witnessed significant growth and expanded its position as a technology leader in the market for packaging solutions for varied industries. We are happy to be a part of the IMA Group and together with their technological know-how and our understanding of the Indian market, I am confident that the new company IMA Dairy & Food Holding will reinforce Hassia's India commitment and capabilities to continue delivering world-class products and services," said K Ravi, Managing Director, Hassia Packaging (P) Ltd.

Hassia Packaging's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located at Sanaswadi, Pune has made significant inroads in the Indian industry by offering highest speeds of automation for packaging food, dairy, agrochemical, washing powder, shampoo, hair oil, and nutraceuticals. 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. Some of the prominent clientele of the brand includes blue chip companies like Unilever ITC, P&G, Perfetti, Kraft Foods, GSK, Danone, Abbott, etc.

"The product range of Hassia India is ideal for enhancing our product portfolio in the dairy and food industry," said Andrea Malagoli, CEO, IMA S.p.A. "These two segments have been growing steadily in India for a few years now, resulting in a rise in the local demand for packaging machines. Our new setup combines our leading expertise in the business and will let us expand our capacities," he added. Markus Ehl, CEO, IMA Dairy & Food, said, "By bundling our know-how, we will 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. Elaborating about the Indian packaging scenario, Ravi said, "The packaging industry in India is one of the fastest growing industries which has its influence on all industries, directly or indirectly. The total worth is about USD 24.6 billion. The average annual growth rate is about 13-15 per cent. However, there is great growth potential since India's per capita consumption of packaging is only 4.3 kilograms whereas neighbouring Asian countries like China and Taiwan show about 6 kilograms and 19 kilograms, respectively. The packaging industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3 per cent during the forecast period to become the fourth-largest global market, with sales of USD 43.7 billion in 2016."