Austrian packaging manufacturer Alpla has officially opened its second packaging facility in Thailand, marking a significant expansion of its operations in Southeast Asia. Located in Chachoengsao, near Bangkok, the new 24,000-square-meter plant is set to enhance Alpla’s capacity in the region by adding cutting-edge technologies, including injection moulding and one-step injection stretch-blow moulding.
Alpla has been active in Thailand since 2000, initially working with Unilever Thailand, and opened its first Thai packaging plant in Prachinburi in 2004. With the Chachoengsao facility, Alpla is further cementing its role as a leading supplier of plastic packaging solutions in the region.
The new plant will produce a wide range of products, including plastic bottles, preforms, matching closures, and injection-moulded parts. Alpla’s investment in the latest injection technologies will expand its portfolio in Thailand, with the Prachinburi facility now focusing exclusively on extrusion blow moulding.
“We’re excited to launch this new facility in Chachoengsao, which strengthens our role as a system provider of safe, affordable, and sustainable plastic packaging solutions,” said Roland Wallner, Managing Director for Alpla’s Asia Pacific region. “By combining technological diversity, superior quality, and exceptional customer service in one location, we aim to increase our market share and tap into new business segments,” he added.
The Chachoengsao plant is equipped with a state-of-the-art technical center dedicated to product development, as well as the first STUDIOa in the Asia-Pacific region. STUDIOa serves as an innovative hub where Alpla works directly with customers to design new, sustainable packaging solutions, from the concept phase through to the final product.
The new facility employs over 190 skilled workers and began mass production in early 2025. Alpla’s commitment to sustainability is also evident in its other operations in Thailand, including its plastics recycling plant in Rayong province, which it opened in 2022 in partnership with PTT Global Chemical. The Envicco plant produces 30,000 tonnes of food-grade recycled PET (rPET) material and 15,000 tonnes of recycled HDPE (rHDPE) annually, contributing significantly to the circular economy in Thailand.
“We are proud to strengthen the country’s circular economy with our two high-performance production plants and the recycling facility. The Chachoengsao plant, combined with the technical center and STUDIOa, allows us to offer comprehensive, sustainable packaging solutions, including lightweighting and design for recycling,” said Daniel Qiu, General Manager of Alpla Thailand.
This expansion comes as Alpla reports a 4% increase in turnover for 2024, reaching €4.9 billion, up from €4.7 billion the previous year. The company’s focus on the circular economy continues to pay dividends, with Alpla setting ambitious goals to double its plastic recycling capacity to 700,000 tonnes per year by 2030.
Alpla’s new facility in Chachoengsao not only expands its manufacturing capacity in Thailand but also reinforces its commitment to driving innovation and sustainability in the global packaging industry.
