Interview with Laurent Fournier | India Country Director and Managing Director | Sidel India

Sidel has been in India for the last 12 years and in that time, we have established ourselves as a leading provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging for a diverse range of customers. We are also a driving force for glass and can solutions. We are committed to being an innovative, responsive and reliable partner, providing sustainable solutions for the beverage industry in India

Personally, as the country Managing Director, I oversee Sidel’s operations in India.

More than challenges, I view these as opportunities that the dynamics of the industry present for us today –

Helping customers find the optimal balance between lowering costs and maintaining best product quality

• Reducing complexities and increasing efficiencies: Customers today are looking for simplified processes so that their teams can work with greater efficiency. This is something that we are continuously striving to achieve on behalf of our customers.
• Skilled manpower: In our industry, in order for our team to be trusted partners to customers, in depth knowledge of the entire packaging lifecycle of the packaging and the requirements of
• packaged goods, is critical. We achieve this through rigorous training and keen customer needs matching.
• On a more tactical front, standardization of shippers and pallets is yet another big opportunity in a very diverse and dynamic packaging environment across the world.

One thing that definitely needs to happen in the industry for more structured growth is to move to a more performance-based specification that focuses more keenly on the final outcome. Performance-based specification provides a long term view on what goods and services are required more than how to produce them. The goal is to develop a specification that allows vendors and teams to bring in their individual expertise and truly contribute to excellent product development.

The Indian packaging industry is growing at an exponential rate and we are working to keep up with the market dynamics. As our customers grow and innovate, we strive to meet their changing needs.

We keep our customers satisfaction at the forefront. We continue to provide the world class offerings and the highest levels of customer satisfaction in everything we do and in all markets that we are present. That said, we expect to be in top form and continue being among the top key players in the industry.

We undoubtedly want to expand and strengthen our presence in the Indian market. The first step in ensuring this is top notch customer relationships and the highest level of customer satisfaction. Platforms like Plastivision India, where we participated recently, are excellent for us to meet our customers and hear their thoughts and opinions on the industry dynamics. This enables us to customize our service norms.

We have been receiving excellent feedback from our customers over the years. So we will without doubt increase our offerings in the Indian market in terms of

products, manpower, and plant’s capabilities. We are driven by passion in everything we do and with that we believe that we have a bright future in India.
 

Customer-centric approach: We undoubtedly keep our customers in mind in everything that we do, so the first most important principle for Sidel is customer satisfaction. We want to build a long lasting relationship with each one of our customers. We believe quality and personalization is the key to achieving it.

Sustainability: In the current environmental and industry scenarios, consumer and customers’ priorities are such that sustainability needs to be one of the top priorities for any business, especially those in the packaging industry.

Pricing: Competitive and yet sustainable pricing ensures that customers of all levels and sizes in the industry have access to our products. It is especially important for both parties to remain profitable and meet business and quality needs consistently.
 

India has been a focus market for many years now and we continue to grow, innovate, and create stronger offerings and relationships for our customers. Two essential success parameters for Sidel are customer centricity and local relevance.

One thing that sets us apart is our ability to quickly understand our customer’s requirements and deliver accordingly, whether we are working with large global brands or small manufacturers.

Sidel has a heritage of world class technology. We believe that technology helps transformation only when it is locally relevant. Tailoring our offerings to suit requirements of each market is one thing that we continuously strive for.

Our market is constantly changing. Customers tell us they need the flexibility to adapt to a wide range of global consumer trends. Their challenges are many and varied - from keeping the highest levels of product and food safety to reducing total cost of ownership; from the highest production speeds to maximum reliability. The changes we are making and the innovations we are bringing to market have a single objective - to help customers meet these challenges and ensure that Sidel remains “A Better Match”.

The most recent trend is the demand for flexible packaging. The notion of flexibility covers various aspects. First, it is the ability to change the product or packaging format, whether it is primary, secondary or tertiary, as simply and as quickly as possible, in the most cost-effective way. Manufacturers need to have a flexible tool which maximizes both operation time and efficiency. New market trends and consumers' expectations require constant adaptations of bottle design, weight, and shapes. Based on our strong expertise in plastic packaging solutions, at Sidel we offers a variety of bottle designs and moulds. Sidel moulds guarantee quality for liquid food products and their packaging production, while offering a large and flexible range of bottle designs.
 

At this point, India's per capita consumption of packaging is only 4.3 kg per person per annum. But with the current rate of globalization and the mass increase in population as well as modern trends such as organized retail, this rate if bound to grow exponentially. It is already known that the packaging industry is growing at 12 percent per annum in India as against the global growth rate of 5 per cent. This means a mass increase of packaging companies offering competitive end products to meet the growing demand, as well as better, more innovative technologies to keep pace with global developments.
 

The packaging industry is a crowded space in India. Packaging Connections is doing a great job by providing a platform for various stakeholders in the industry to come together and share news, views, insights and thoughts. If we are to achieve the growth that we foresee in the industry, collaboration is of the highest important. Congratulations for Packaging Connections for setting the wheels in motion!