Plant-based packaging first for US: Sealed Air and Kuraray invest in new production capacity for bio-based Plantic

22 Mar 2019 --- Sealed Air Corporation is increasing production in plant-based packaging for food applications. The company is investing in capacity at its Simpsonville, US, facility, which will be the first in the US to produce materials made from Plantic – a bio-based polymer with barrier properties – and post-consumer plastic. Sealed Air’s planned capital investment of US$24 million is underway and production is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2020. To support this work, Japan-based Kuraray America, Inc. (Kuraray), a specialty materials company, is investing approximately US$15 million to install plant-based high barrier resin production and supporting capabilities in Houston, Texas.

Simpsonville is one of the world’s largest packaging plants with over 1,000 employees and 1.4 million square feet of operations, notes the company. Packaging materials and systems for food and consumer products are currently manufactured at this location.

Bioplastics are attracting an increasing amount of industry attention, particularly as packaging with sustainability credentials continues to drive consumer purchasing behavior. Bioplastics continue to achieve steady global growth, particularly in Asia, according to data from Innova Market Insights. One in three consumers are willing to pay more for food and beverage products packaged using compostable or biodegradable packaging, a global 2018 ifestyle survey from the market researcher shows.

In June 2018, Sealed Air and Kuraray, a specialty materials company, entered into an agreement to offer Plantic materials to package perishable foods such as poultry, beef and seafood in the US, Canada and Mexico. Plantic offers an alternative to conventional plastic and is based on non-GMO corn. Plantic's polymer as well as its raw material, are grown in a field unlike other bioplastics companies who utilise organic materials but whose polymers are still developed in refineries, notes the company.

Kuraray’s resin plant is scheduled to be completed at the end of September 2019 and will begin operating in early 2020.

“This collaborative effort with Kuraray expands our ability to deliver sustainable food packaging solutions that leave our environment and communities better than we found them,” says Ted Doheny, Sealed Air President and CEO. “This investment also helps us reach our commitment to deliver 100 percent recyclable or reusable packaging offerings, and 50 percent average recycled content across all packaging solutions by 2025.”

As upgrades to both facilities progress, Sealed Air, under the agreement with Kuraray, will continue to serve customers in the US by importing materials from Plantic Australia. The investment positions both companies for strategic growth in the Americas as demand for sustainable materials continues to increase.

“Kuraray continues to pioneer proprietary technology to develop new fields of business, grow globally and improve the environment,” says Katsumasa Yamaguchi, General Manager of the Global EVAL Division. “We are looking forward to this collaborative investment with Sealed Air which allows us to produce and offer a high-performing plant-based packaging option to the food industry on a much larger scale.”

The role for bio-based materials
The role for bio-based materials is growing amid the continuing search for sustainability. However, in comparison to paper-based packaging, bioplastics growth has been relatively slow, yet consistent to date. Plastics Europe Market Research Group (PEMRG) estimates that bioplastics currently account for 6 percent of all plastics packaging. European Bioplastics (EUBP), expects bioplastic global production to increase by 18.8 percent from 2017-2022.

Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of EUPB, tells PackagingInsights that bioplastics have not received “an equal platform to conventional plastics and biofuels, which are are greatly subsidized by the EU.” He also explains that bioplastic market growth has been hit by a regulatory failure to normalize the definitions of the many complex variations in bio-based materials, making bioplastics “a very difficult lobby.”

However, in October 2018, EUBP expressed its support for the European Commission’s review of the 2012 European Bioeconomy Strategy. The strategy is a step forward toward ensuring that fossil resources are replaced by sustainable natural alternatives for the production of bio-based products such as bio-based plastics and energy, according to EUBP.

Investments in this space have been significant. Total Corbion – a collaborative venture between Total and Corbion – launched a 75,000 tons per year PLA (polylactic acid) bioplastics manufacturing plant based in Rayong, Thailand in December 2018, for example. The facility produces Luminy PLA resins, a biobased and biodegradable bioplastic that could play in to a circular economy. PLA products can be chemically or mechanically recycled or composted and used as fertilizer. 

While Arla Oy has become the first company in Finland to use renewable, wood-based bioplastics for the thin plastic film necessary in gable top, paperboard cartons for milk, yogurt and cooking products, in collaboration with UPM Biofuels. As a result of the sustainability-oriented revamp, an estimated 40 million Arla packages will be made entirely wood-based and ready for the market this year.