The Hindu Business Line : ITC, Ballarpur Industries eye tie-ups with Swedish companies

“Environmental sustainability is a huge issue for the paper and pulp industry in India, therefore it is very important that we acquire technological expertise from them for it.”

Preeti Mehra Debdatta Das

New Delhi, Sept. 17 Indian paper companies are looking at tie-ups with companies in Sweden for technical expertise in paper and pulping and environmental technology. The Indian paper industry delegation’s visit to Sweden early this month has yielded discussions between several players on both sides.

Mr Pradeep Dhobale, Divisional Chief Executive, Paper Boards and Speciality Papers Division, ITC Ltd, and the President of the Indian Paper Manufacturer’s Association, told Business Line, “ITC has started discussions with two Swedish pulp and paper companies, Purac and Anox Kaldnes, to get environmental technology for itself. The meet at Sweden was at a CEO level.

“Things with these two companies are now being taken further with discussions at the project manager levels. In fact we expect representatives from Purac and Anox to visit India soon for this.”

sustainability

ITC is exploring the possibility of acquiring environmental science-based technology from Sweden. “Environmental sustainability is a huge issue for the paper and pulp industry in India, therefore it is very important that we acquire technological expertise from them for it.” .

Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT), too, is scouting around for Swedish technical expertise in paper and pulping. Mr R.R. Vederah, BILT Managing Director, said: “Our main interest where the Swedish paper and pulp industry is concerned is in terms of acquiring technical expertise in both the pulping and paper machinery sides. We are looking forward to using the acquired technical expertise for the modernisation and expansion of our facilities in India and also in the recently acquired Sabah Forest Industry unit in Malaysia.”

Mr Vederah, however, ruled out the option of setting up a facility in the Scandinavian country, saying that it would not be cost effective. “We are keener on the South-East Asian region for its cost effective structure to set up manufacturing facilities overseas. In Sweden technical expertise on the pulping side hold lots of opportunities for us.” Sweden is a major force in global forest industry and the world’s fourth largest paper and pulp exporter. It is the second-largest exporter of sawn softwood timber. Environmental initiatives such as ecological landscape planning and pollutant reduction have led to widespread eco-certification of forests and given the Swedish wood and paper a strong advantage in the international market. The wood-processing sector has begun a restructuring process, providing opportunities for international investors. Another highly developed area which attracts international attraction is wooden buildings, components and wood furniture production.

Swedish exports

Swedish paper and pulp exports to India stand at $28 million or 3 per cent of its total exports with a growth percentage of 74 per cent, while paper and board exports clock $24 million or 2 per cent of its exports and is growing at 32 per cent.

Over the years Sweden has been specialising in environmental technology, a concept that converges a number of specialties which previously belonged to different sectors. Sweden has established an environment technology network, which has lead to a form of market adaptation. Companies that only have a portion of their overall production or services in environmental technology have now gained a new arena to work in. The Swedish Environmental Technology Network includes nearly 700 Swedish companies, several of whom are targeting the Indian market with their innovations.

Other strenghts

Creating packaging material from renewable sources has also been one Sweden’s focus areas, with extensive research efforts being devoted to new materials development, such as bioplastics, using substances such as starch, gluten and xylan to create biodegradable materials like Amylocoat, Glupack and Xylophane. Swedish company Tetra Pak is very active in India. Going forward, Indian companies too may be looking to Sweden for expertise in sustainable packaging technology.