Indian Packaging Giant Essel Propack Establishes New “Gateway to South America” Plant in Valle del Cauca

Indian packaging company Essel Propack is putting a factory in Villa Rica, adding its second facility in Colombia with the aim to increase sales in the Andean nation while also reaching further into the rest of South America.

The Mumbai-based company specializes in making tube packaging for the likes of Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever, and says it will have the capacity to manufacture 180 million tubes per year in its new Villa Rica plant, located in the department of Valle del Cauca about 100 miles south of Cali.

Along with the output of its already-established location in Santander de Quilichao, the firm believes the expansion will allow it to double its production in the country, according to a company statement.

“Our new plant investment, known as Essel Colombia SAS, is a significant strategic event for our continued long-term growth and development here in Colombia and throughout the South American continent,” said Ted Sojourne, the firm’s regional vice president, according to Pharma Biz. “This facility is built with an infrastructure that will support the future capacity expansions and growth. We have now established our gateway to South America.”

Many of the tubes produced in the Cali plant, which is being set up in a special economic zone, will be exported for sales in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, said the company. Outside of Colombia, Essel Propack’s only other Latin American operations are in Mexico, where it maintains one facility.

The tube-maker is a subsidiary of the Essel Group, which reports a value of $2.4 billion USD and sales of some six billion tubes per year. It operates a total of 21 facilities in 11 countries, including Colombia.