Weekly Roundup: Nexus Circular and Braskem sign recycled plastic MoU, Smurfit Kappa arms UK winery with recyclable e-commerce pack

15 Jul 2022 --- This week in industry news, Nexus Circular and Braskem signed a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to secure the production output from a new advanced recycling facility in the US. Meanwhile, Smurfit Kappa supported the Kingscote Estate and Vineyard in West Sussex, UK, with an environmentally sustainable packaging solution to drive online sales. Also, Neste received a positive grant decision for up to €135 million (approximately US$135 million) from the EU Innovation Fund to build chemical recycling capacities at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. 

In brief: Film developments
Nexus Circular and Braskem signed a detailed MoU to secure the production output from a planned advanced recycling facility near Chicago, Illinois, US. The new facility will have an initial capacity to convert over 30,000 metric tons annually of used plastic into new materials, with the potential to rapidly expand the processing capacity to over 120,000 metric tons annually. 

Zheijiang Yongsheng Technology, one of the leading companies in the Chinese market for the production and sale of BOPET film products, extended its cooperation with Goebel IMS with the order of two new primary slitter rewinders for BOPET converting. The cooperation started at the end of 2018, and the project included a Monoslit Optical 6000 Bopet Mon, a fully electrical high-end machine for converting technical films such as optical grade films. With the multi-functional slitting unit (including shear cutting) and optional by-pass spreader roller, the machine can convert thin and thick films. With special surface coatings for the guide rollers and the possibility to install web-cleaning devices and other special units, like an ultrasonic knurling device, a big variety of applications can be covered.

Smurfit Kappa is equipping the Kingscote Estate and Vineyard with a paper-based packaging solution for its wines.In brief: E-commerce
Smurfit Kappa supported the Kingscote Estate and Vineyard in West Sussex, UK, which sells a range of fine wines through its “The Wine Caverns” sub-brand. Smurfit Kappa utilized the eCommerce insights, knowledge and data that sit behind its eBottle portfolio as the starting point for the collaboration. An entirely paper-based packaging solution, based on the protected gift pack in the eBottle portfolio, allows customers to recycle or reuse the box once opened – a key concern for The Wine Caverns’ clientele. The corrugate is both sturdy and protective and retains a “natural” feel which pays homage to the rural origins of the product. The new packaging offers flexibility by being customizable and easily adapted to accommodate multiple and varying bottle sizes. It can also be printed both on the interior and exterior.

M. Holland Company, a international distributor of thermoplastic resins and ancillary materials, published a line card of quality packaging products designed for e-commerce, industrial and consumer-facing applications. The new product portfolio is curated to meet the dynamic needs of packaging distributors, converters, color suppliers, digital bar-coders, manufacturers, label-makers and brands.The new line card of materials is designed with the flexibility to meet needs across industries. Materials available include the company’s full environmental sustainability line card for organizations looking to make a more sustainable impact with their packaging solutions. M. Holland’s proprietary resins Mfinity, Mtegrity, Mtegrity Plus and MH Resolute are included for rigid and flexible applications.

In brief: Recycling news
Agr International offered a combined solution for quality issues related to recycled PET (rPET) and challenges related to processing bottles with this material with two products in its Process Pilot portfolio; the Pilot Vision+ inspection system and the Process Pilot blowmoulder management system. While either product can work on a standalone basis, the combination of Pilot Vision+ and Process Pilot provide bottle producers with a duo that can manage rPET in a manner that ensures quality, maximizes production efficiency and minimizes waste. The Pilot Vision+ system, Agr’s latest generation of vision-based inspection systems, is designed to work in conjunction with today’s high speed reheat stretch blow molding equipment and identify contaminants and defects present in preforms and bottles. 

Neste received a positive grant decision for up to €135 million (approximately US$135 million) from the EU Innovation Fund for the company’s project to build chemical recycling capacities at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. Project “Pretreatment and Upgrading of Liquefied Waste Plastic to Scale Up Circular Economy (PULSE) aims to implement Neste’s proprietary technologies to pretreat and upgrade liquefied waste plastic and integrate the technologies into the refinery operations. The PULSE project targets pretreatment and upgrading capacities of 400,000 tons annually, contributing to Neste’s goal of processing over one million metric tons of waste plastic per year from 2030 onward.Compax designed a new recyclable fully plastic airless tube.

Compax celebrated its 25 years within the manufacturing and global packaging supply industry by releasing the “first-ever,” fully recyclable, all plastic airless pump tube in the US market. Conventional airless pump tubes contain a metal spring and are not recyclable unless disassembled. “Compax believes that those of us in the packaging industry are responsible for making smarter investments in [environmentally] sustainable business practices,” said Dennis Devine, co-founder at Compax. “That’s why we designed the new 100% plastic airless tube, with recyclability at the front of our minds. We believe we can always do more for our planet, while preserving brand identity and consumer experience with our packaging. The 100% plastic airless pump tube is wholly indistinguishable from our conventional airless tubes consumers at home know.”

In brief: Portfolio launch
All4Labels Global Packaging Group, a label and packaging company, introduced Star, an eco-innovative portfolio of products, services and solutions. The Star Portfolio will be progressively released to the market in the second half of 2022 to offer customers an exclusive range of completely recyclable, reusable and renewable products, which will be complemented with unique solutions and services to promote and enable recyclability.

Tata Steel Nederland released an incentive for customers to reduce carbon footprint up to 100%.In brief: Achema Frankfurt
At this year’s Achema in Frankfurt, Germany, Syntegon revealed it will present new solutions for the filling of liquid pharmaceuticals, promoting the Versynta FFP (Flexible Filling Platform). With the new, modular FFP, the company offers an individually configurable machine for aseptic small batch filling, including high potent and BSL (Bio-Safety Level) pharmaceuticals. As the first filling platform of its kind worldwide, the Versynta FFP also features an integrated system for automated HEPA filter scans for RABS and isolators. Manufacturers can thus not only achieve significantly faster, reproducible results in real time, but also increase the reliability of their filter integrity tests. Syntegon’s Versynta FFP Small Batch provides additional production flexibility. This is in connection with highly specialized biotech drugs for small patient groups, easily adaptable filling machines can offer a decisive advantage. The Versynta FFP takes this trend into account: due to pre-developed and tested modules, the filling solution can be individually configured and output rates of up to 3,600 vials, syringes or cartridges per hour with simultaneous 100% in-process control can be achieved.

In brief: Carbon Reduction
Tata Steel Nederland released an incentive for customers to reduce carbon footprint up to 100% through Zeremis Carbon Lite advancement, as it works toward transforming operations to produce greener steel. The launch of Zeremis Carbon Lite will see the company meet a growing demand for low-CO2 steel by consumer-facing industries. Zeremis Carbon Lite offers a 30% reduction in CO2 intensity benchmarked against the European average for steel products, for example, hot-rolled coil or cold-rolled coil. The lower CO2 intensity is based on CO2 savings realized within Tata Steel Nederland since 2018 and is certified by independent assurance expert DNV. Tata Steel targets a CO2 emission reduction of at least 30% by 2030.

By Natalie Schwertheim