The company expects that the plant will meet rising demand for PET packaging in the region by producing low and medium output machines.
PET packaging is increasingly being used by the food and drink industries because of the plastic's recycability and its convenience in relation to glass and metal.
This 11,000 square metre production facility will strengthen the companies ability to procure parts and sub-assemblies locally through partners in Malaysia and neighboring countries, the company said.
This in turn should speed-up workflows between Sidel and its vendors and reduce equipment lead times.
"This investment establishes Malaysia as our second major manufacturing center specializing in plastic bottle blow molding machines; the facility will work closely with the Group's main manufacturing plant in Le Havre, France," said Gérard Stricher, president of Sidel.
Since 2005, Sidel Malaysia has been a design center for blow molding machines, including the SBO Compact series.
To date, Sidel Malaysia has produced about 500 blow molding machines in the past ten years, which have been sold worldwide.
The new facility will increase output from 70 machine a year to about 120, Sidel claims.
This new facility could also assist company plans to expand the equipment range to include large containers and those with complex shapes.
Sidel, part of the Tetra Laval group, manufacturers PET blow molding machines as well as complete packaging lines for beverages in plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans.
