Vadodara: German global packaging majors Haver & Boecker and IBAU, have teamed up to set up a Rs.200 million plant near here to make high-speed packaging machinery, company officials said.

The plant will be set up by the Indian arm of the two German companies, Haver IBAU India (HIN), said HIN's managing director, Wilhelm A. Dyckerhoff, Wednesday. The plant will commence production by October this year, he said.

HIN will engineer, supply and install high-speed machinery and complete storing, packing and shipping lines for bagged cement into valve-type bags with stationary or rotating filling machines with special attention to efficiency, environmental protection and custom-tailored solutions.

The new company anticipates hiring up to 100 people and aims to achieve a turnover of Rs.500 million initially. The company has a captive "corporate university" which ensures constant training.

Vadodara was selected as the site for the plant as it has a good engineering infrastructure and connectivity. Haver also has a wire mesh subsidiary based in Vadodara where a total of 6 acres of land was already available and the infrastructure of the existing unit could be used instantly.

Almost all major Indian cement manufacturers feature in Haver's client list - ACC, CCI, Century, Grasim, Gujarat Ambuja, Jaypee, JK Group, Lafarge.

"We plan to begin the assembling by October. Our forte is our experience and continuous product development. In addition to the machines, we will also offer services that will enable cement firms to maximize productivity through efficient usage of machines," Dyckerhoff said.

Each packing machine will be able to pack 6,000 bags per hour as compared to 2,000-2,500 bags packed per hour by conventional machines used in India.