One of India’s largest conglomerates, JSW Group, is looking to enter the container manufacturing space.

The Sajjan Jindal-led company, which is involved in steel, ports, energy, infrastructure, cement, automotive and paints, has hired consultants to identify the market potential to enter a sector that is currently heavily dominated by the Chinese. The move is also in line with prime minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Maritime India Vision 2030 plans to bolster maritime infrastructure across the world’s most populous nation this decade.

Chinese factories now account for more than 95% of the world’s dry cargo containers and nearly 100% of the world’s refrigerated containers, something that has repeatedly been discussed by politicians and regulators in the US.

In related container manufacturing news, Compact Container Systems (CCS) from Florida has just launched the SeaFold HC 40’ container (pictured), a novel five-in-one, foldable shipping container.

Backers of the new box claim that with over 20% of all ISO containers returning to their port of origin empty, the SeaFold 40’ has the potential to cut the cost of repositioning containers by 56%, storage space by 80%, and carbon emissions by up to 70%.

“The opportunity to place five of our folded containers in the same slot as one 40’ HC standard container is a game changer in managing container movements, maximising storage capacity, and greatly reducing carbon emissions,” said Charlie Santos-Buch, chairman and CEO of CCS.

The metal shipping container has not changed much since its invention in the 1950s, but new inventions are being marketed including Staxxon from the US whose folding shipping container comes with an accordion-style design, while in India Shallow Waterways Shipping has developed a hexagonal container intended to containerise bulk shipments. In Europe, Swiss firm AELER is marketing the Unit One, a container made out of composite.