Amul commissions two SIG filling lines for aseptic carton packs

To increase its filling capacity, Amul, India’s largest dairy brand, has officially commissioned two advanced SIG filling machines for aseptic carton packs in its Kheda Satellite Dairy plant in Khatraj, Gujarat. With the commissioning of the two additional SIG filling machines – one SIG Slimline 12 Aseptic and one SIG XSlim 24 Aseptic – the total number of SIG filling lines at Amul has now reached five.

Amit Vyas, managing director of Amul Dairy, says, “The dairy market is currently undergoing a massive transition. The emerging market trends and changing consumer needs make it essential to expand our offering and leverage excellent technologies. The flexibility offered by SIG’s filling lines to fill packages of different volumes on the same filling line makes them an excellent choice for Amul Dairy to meet the growing market needs. The commissioning of two additional state-of-the-art SIG filling lines at Amul Dairy’s Kheda Satellite Dairy plant will help to enhance our packaging capacity and tap into markets with different price points with new product lines.”

The SIG Slimline 12 Aseptic can fill 12,000 SIG Slimline carton packs per hour and makes it possible to switch between four volumes (from 500ml to 1,100ml) on the same filling line. The aseptic cartons can be fitted with a closure, a perforation or, in the 500 ml version, a straw.

The SIG XSlim 24 Aseptic filling line offers the flexibility to fill nine different volumes (from 80 ml to 200 ml) on the same filling line. It can fill 24,000 SIG XSlim carton packs per hour, which come with a straw opening.

Amul will fill white milk in 200 ml and 1,000 ml carton packs. Various flavors of its unique fruit and whey drink that combine the goodness of fruit nutrition with the health benefits of whey protein, offered under the brand name Amul Tru, will be available in 150ml aseptic carton packages.

Samuel Sigrist, CEO at SIG: “We continue to build a strong collaboration with Amul. The commissioning of further SIG filling machines is another milestone in our partnership and a key enabler to drive Amul’s vision of bringing a wide range of products to market and to best meet rapidly evolving market trends.”

Abdelghany Eladib, president & general manager IMEA at SIG: “The commencement of two new SIG filling lines at Amul Dairy’s plant in Khatraj is a testament of our strengthening partnership and commitment to serving Indian consumers with high-quality offerings. We are dedicated to providing cutting-edge technologies that will enable our partner Amul Dairy to reach more and more consumers in India.”

Vandana Tandan, head of Markets India and Bangladesh at SIG: “The partnership with Amul represents our shared commitment to excellence, innovation, sustainability, and convenience. Our advanced packaging solutions will put Amul in an excellent position to bring products to market in various volume sizes to meet different consumer and market needs. We look forward to working with Amul to provide quality products to Indian consumers.”

The commissioning ceremony for the new SIG filling machines at Amul Dairy’s Kheda Satellite Dairy plant was attended by Manoj Mundhada, head of operation and IT at Amul Dairy; Vikram Chavda, head of projects at Amul Dairy; Sandeep Rai, factory manager at Amul Dairy; Aditya Lahariya, head of plant engineering at Amul Dairy; and Mayank Patel, manager engineering at Amul Dairy.

From SIG, Samuel Sigrist, Abdelghany Eladib, Vandana Tandan, Pankaj Jain, key account manager, Nitin Jagga, head of marketing and business development, India and Bangladesh, and Bipin Panchal, project manager, attended the event.

SIG is a leading solutions provider of packaging with a portfolio of aseptic cartons, bag-in-box, and spouted pouch solutions.