Sidel upbeat on packaging biz in nation

Apart from the country's innate consumption vitality, Chinese consumers have also played a big role in helping multinational packaging solutions company Sidel generate smart and high-performance solutions that will promote the evolution of the market, said its President and CEO Pietro Cassani.

Consumption in China has completely changed, said Cassani, who recalled his first visit to the country 30 years ago.

China's packaging market is estimated to have reached 3.21 trillion yuan ($466.4 billion) in 2025, up 8.7 percent year-on-year, according to data from the China Packaging Federation.

The growth rate has been over 6 percent for five consecutive years, way above the average 4.2 percent growth of the global manufacturing industry.

Food packaging had the biggest share, at over 1 trillion yuan, taking up 31.2 percent. Logistics packaging reached 680 billion yuan, growing the fastest at 12.3 percent on a yearly basis, followed by cosmetics packaging and electronics packaging, with 9.5 percent and 8.9 percent growth, respectively.

In terms of regions, the packaging market of the Yangtze River Delta region took up 37.5 percent, while that of the Pearl River Delta region covered 29.8 percent. The two regions had a nearly 70 percent share of the domestic industry.

In 2004, Sidel built its mold factory in Shanghai with a production area of over 3,000 square meters.

The factory is equipped with the world's most advanced computer numerical control multi-axis machining, turning and milling composite automation processing technology and equipment. It is currently capable of producing over 10,000 sets of mold equipment.

Sidel has four mold factories worldwide — in China, the United States, France and India. Its mold unit in Shanghai is the only one that can produce stainless steel molds and complex molds, and is currently Sidel's largest mold factory in terms of production capacity.

Apart from the factory in Shanghai, Sidel has a complete line factory in Beijing. Located in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, the factory, powered in part by solar energy, was established in 2008 and covers an area of 50,000 square meters. It is one of its most important manufacturing bases worldwide.

So far, the Beijing factory has successfully delivered over 800 pieces of equipment to Chinese and global customers, with an annual output of 80 pieces. It has also established multiple industry benchmarks.

"Customers in China want quick answers, faster than the rest of the world. So, we sped up our decision-making, quickly delivering our services in China. China is the place where we challenge and improve ourselves, and bring the best technology," Cassani said.

"China is important for Sidel. We design and manufacture in China, and serve not only China, but also use it as a platform for the rest of Asia and Africa. China is a strong, consistent and reliable place," he said.

Lin Xianping, secretary-general of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Studies at Hangzhou City University, said: "Foreign packaging companies in China should deepen localization, focus on high growth and create differentiation. It is necessary to meet the needs of the domestic market, focusing on high growth segments such as logistics, beauty, and electronics, and avoiding low-end homogeneous competition. Meanwhile, they should accelerate the localization of the entire supply chain, research and development, and operation process, adapt to domestic environmental protection, safety and other policy requirements, and reduce operating costs."

zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn