Novelis to introduce its products in India

Novelis, the recent acquisition of the Aditya Birla group, is all set to bring its product line into India. The world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling is targeting this financial year to mark the entry of their products, such as cans, automotive components and lithographic products. Novelis president and CEO Martha Brooks told TOI that the company will eventually consider manufacturing these products in India. "We will bring in the cans first as demand for this product is bound to rise with disposable incomes growing as they are in India. We would certainly look at manufacturing at a later date, when the market size is viable," said Brooks. Eliciting an example of how the cans market grew rapidly in Brazil, Brooks said that starting from a volume of zero, Novelis created a market of 14 billion cans per annum within 10 years. However, the company has its task cut out in India, given that there is not a single beverage can that is manufactured in the country at present. "There is a growing demand for beverage cans in India, but they are are all currently imported. With the backing of Hindalco, Novelis is best placed to tap this potential and create an industry," an industry analyst said. India’s per capita consumption of aluminium is at 1.6 kg, compared to China’s 8 kg and the developed world’s nearly 30 kg. Industry experts say that if India has to catch up with China, market for value-added products like aluminium cans and automotive components will be the primary driver. Even though its parent company Hindalco too makes value-added products in India, these are expected to co-exist with the premium product line from Novelis. Novelis produces premium sheet and foil for high-value markets. It produces an estimated 19% of the world’s flat-rolled aluminum products. It is the leading producer of rolled products in Europe, South America and Asia and the second largest in North America. Its customers in high-value markets are in the areas of automotives,transportation, packaging, construction and printing, with companies likeAnheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Crown Cork & Seal, Daching Holdings, Ford, General Motors, Lotte Aluminum, Kodak, Pactiv, Rexam, Ryerson Tull, Tetra Pak, ThyssenKrupp and others. Novelis recycles over 35 billion used beverage cans.