Beyond The Headlines: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Sidel’s tethered caps, DS Smith invests in Portuguese paper mill

23 Jun 2023 --- This week in industry news, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners partnered with Sidel to transition to tethered caps and lighter bottles for its carbonated soft drinks (CSD) plastic bottles. Meanwhile, DS Smith announced it would upgrade its Viana pulp and paper mill in Portugal and Berry Global accepted two awards.

In brief: Collaborations and acquisitions
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) announced that it would continue to work with Sidel to realize the implementation of tethered caps and lighter bottles across its CSD plastic bottle range. After pilot testing, CCEP was among the first organizations within the CSD market to switch to tethered caps. The first line to be converted was completed in April 2022 in East Kilbride, Scotland, which produced CCEP’s 1.5 L bottle, before a second single-serve line was completed at the end of 2022.

Nefab Group acquired PolyFlex Products, an American industry leader specializing in environmentally friendly returnable solutions, to further strengthen its global market position and commitment to saving resources in supply chains. With the acquisition of PolyFlex, the Nefab Group will have over 4500 employees spread across 35 countries, with a yearly turnover of over 10 billion SEK (US$930 million).

Berry Global received two awards for its personal care tubes.In brief: Investments and expansions 
Valmet received an order for a new recovery boiler and an upgrade of the existing evaporation system for DS Smith’s Viana pulp and paper mill in Portugal. The delivery projects are scheduled to start during the first half of 2025. The order was included in the first quarter of 2023, and its value will not be disclosed. The pulp technology delivery is part of DS Smith’s investment program to upgrade the Viana mill with the most up-to-date machinery for reducing carbon emissions.

TekniPlex Healthcare announced it is extending its North American footprint and expanding global capacity with a new 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Madison, US, the second TekniPlex Healthcare facility in the city. Scheduled to open in early 2024, the new facility will operate under the ISO 13485:2016 quality management system, which certifies the ability to provide medical devices and related services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. TekniPlex Healthcare’s new facility will feature new manufacturing equipment, boosting the company’s lamination capacity for a broad range of materials, including PET, nylon, paper, foil, PE, ethylene acrylic acid and ionomer, in peelable and non-peelable structures.

Kraton expanded its manufacturing capabilities in Berre, France, to produce up to 100% ISCC Plus certified renewable Styrenic Block Copolymers as part of the CirKular+ ReNew Series via a mass balance approach. CirKular+ ReNew Series enables up to 85% cradle-to-gate carbon footprint reduction, including biogenic carbon, compared to fossil-based products manufactured at Berre. This advancement reinforces the company’s commitment to the circular economy and offers customers sustainable, innovative solutions, it said.

In brief: Awards and campaigns
Berry Global accepted two awards from the Flexographic Technical Association annual Excellence in Flexography Awards. Winning Gold for the narrow web, line, film category, Berry was recognized for its decoration on the Kao USA Jergens Melanin Glow tube. In addition to decoration, the Jergens tube contains over 30% post-consumer recycled plastic. The print on the tube uses a combination of process inks and spot colors with a gold cold foil accent and soft touch coating. Berry also received the Silver award for the decoration of Kirk Natural’s South of France Shea Butter Cream tube. 

Vital Essential’s kraft paper-based pet food packaging.CG Roxane, owner and maker of Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water, announced the brand’s integrated campaign, “Through the Loop.” The campaign aims to educate consumers about the full circle of the recycling process so that they feel inspired to participate, ensuring their bottles make it into the recycling bin. CG Roxane also announced the opening of its second in-house recycled PET plant bottling plant in Benton, US, marking its shift to producing Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water bottles manufactured with 50% recycled PET content.

In brief: Recycling and rebranding
Aldi increased the proportion of recyclates in its product packaging. The Tandil 3-in-1 box is now made almost entirely of recycled plastic from packaging waste. As part of the “Packaging Mission,” which has been running for five years, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd are pursuing ways to make the product packaging for their brand products more environmentally friendly. Wherever packaging cannot be completely dispensed with, the discounters focus on saving packaging material, increasing recyclability, reducing new plastic and the targeted use of recycled material.

Vital Essentials rebranded to better communicate its point of difference to pet owners. The company launched the revitalized brand and packaging, bringing a “butcher shop” experience to pet shops across the US. The packaging features brown kraft paper and twine, along with animal icon view-through windows showcasing protein variety.

Bizzy Cold Brew unveiled new branding. The company’s logo and bottle were updated to better represent the product and brand’s ethos, including dedication to quality, transparency, sustainability and high caffeine content. The brand’s cold brew bottles are made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic (excluding the cap), and it composts spent coffee grounds (650,000 pounds last year). The brand fully recycles and repurposes its burlap coffee bean sacks and its roaster utilizes after-burner technology to eliminate airborne emissions from roasting.

By Natalie Schwertheim