BPF Spearheads India Push

 Thirteen UK companies have taken a stand at this week’s Plastivision exhibition in Mumbai. The BPF-organised group is developing the strong mark made by its earlier pavilion at Plastindia 2009 and the BPF’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Organisation of Plastics Processors of India (OPPA).

The BPF launched a special Indian edition of its acclaimed publication ‘Sustainable Manufacturing: A Guide for the Plastics Industry’ at a high profile seminar held at the Mumbai show ground attended by over 50 Indian industrialists.  The BPF has entered into discussions with a number of Indian media partners to disseminate the Guide’s content on UK expertise to Indian audiences more widely.

BPF President, Paul Jukes, addressed the top echelon of the Indian plastics industry at the Plastivision Opening Ceremony on January 20th where he was ‘the honoured guest’, ‘The BPF has been taking British companies to India since 1996’ said Jukes. ‘A combination of our historical ties, complementary industrial bases and UK Government support are providing a unique window of opportunity to develop Anglo-Indian trade in plastics.  The BPF delegation of front rank players in specialist fields included Aerogen, Cinpres, Enginering Plastics Ltd, Farrel Ltd, Hardie Polymers, IDT Systems, Impact Solutions, JSP Ltd, London Metropolitan University, NDC Infrared Engineering Ltd, Trans XL and Zotefoams. 

Fergus Hardie, Vice-Chairman of the BPF’s Polymer Distributors Group has an office and warehouse in Chennai and is looking to develop markets for recycled grades in India. He said ‘with our experience of selling high specification recycled grades in the UK we are well placed to introduce Indian companies to a higher quality of product that they can access from their own suppliers’.

Neil Stockdale of Zotefoams said, ‘We already have an established business base in India with transportation, medical, defence, and sports & leisure sectors as the platform and our objective is to grow our business with capable partners and fabricators of our products.’

Robert Skelly, Chairman of IDT Systems, commented, “We’ve had well over 400 enquiries, took orders to the value of 128,000 Euros by day 3 and have signed an MAU to set up a joint venture, IDT Systems (India) Ltd, with a reputable and experienced partner.”

Alison Green of London Metropolitan Polymer Centre said, ‘We’ve had a steady interest in our courses, particularly Polymer MSc Degrees. Dr O’Brien’s talk at the BPF’s Sustainability seminar provided an immediate response from prospective students.

Stephen Hunt, BPF’s Business Development Manager, said ‘Whilst import duties remain a sizeable issue there are opportunities to broaden the supply base for raw materials and to offer Indian plastics processors a wider choice of supplier. The demand for recycled plastics is huge especially for recycled grades of commodity plastics such as PP, PET, PS, LDPE and HDPE’.

On the last day of the show BPF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the All India Plastics Manufacturers Association (AIPMA), the organisers of Plastivision.

BPF’s Public & Industrial Affairs Director Philip Law said, “This complements earlier Memoranda signed with the Organisation of Plastics Processors in India (OPPI) and the Plastindia Foundation. We now have comprehensive coverage in India and a very effective framework to develop Anglo Indian trade in plastics technologies.”