The who's who of the moulding packaging industry was present for the opening of the 8th Injection, Blow, Roto & PET Moulding International Summit 2023 on 9 October at the Sahara Star hotel in Mumbai. In addition to A-listers, the gathering saw traders, converters, and end-users ready to engage with the brightest minds in India.

In his keynote address, Avinash Verma, president - PetChem Ops, Reliance Industries said, "The Indian plastics packaging is valued at USD 80 billion, and has witnessed 10% growth. Although accounting one-third of plastics, rigid packaging is poised to offer sustainable alternatives for the value chain. And, increasing demand for customised packaging, innovation and sustainability are the drivers of this growth."

The president of Industry Dairy Association, and former managing director, GCMMF Amul, RS Sodhi shed light on the Indian food industry. He said, "The industry is currently valued at USD 550 billion, and will surge to USD 1.7 trillion over the next decade." While highlighting the importance of dairy packaging, Sodhi added "Around four crore packs are sold daily, and 1.3% accounts for its packaging. And, this is a message to the industry - the wonder of plastic as a packaging material."

According to Mani Vajipey, co-founder and CEO, Banyan Nation, "There is a need to focus on PCR, quality and enhancement. Besides collection and recycling, the EPR framework in India looks forward to using recycled plastic back in packaging."

Sarah Rae of Argus Media while sharing a global perspective of Polyolefins said, there is light at the end of the tunnel. She said "Freight rates, utility costs, demand in Asia, feedstock costs and supply chain logistics are the key growth influencers."

Zhaolin Zhou, vice president at Milliken Chemicals said the polyolefin industries in Asia are going to herald a new era. He spoke briefly about ratio of recycled content into the new plastics.

The two-day event was divided into nine business sessions, with insights from raw material manufacturers, machinery manufacturers, manufacturers of auxiliary machineries, and all leading converters - from the food, pharma, FMCG, personal care, health care sectors that use rigid packaging and roto moulding technologies to great extent.

WhatPackaging? and PrintWeek were the official media partners of this event.