Weekly Roundup: Smurfit Kappa acquires €6M for solar powered energy, Berry Global Group creates “first” tethered closure for Coca-Cola

27 Jan 2023 --- This week in industry news, Smurfit Kappa was granted €6 million (US$6.5 million) to invest in a Spanish paper mill, Berry Global Group supplied The Coca-Cola Company with the “first” tethered closure in Europe and Billerud received US$200 million from Michigan state representatives.

In brief: Raising money 
Smurfit Kappa received a €6 million (US$6.5 million) investment at its Sanguesa paper mill in Spain to construct and install up to 12,000 solar panels on land adjacent to the mill. The solar panels are predicted to reduce CO2 emissions by over 3,200 metric tons annually and provide cost savings. Once operational, it is estimated the panels will generate more than 10 GWh of power annually, which will reduce the current external electricity consumption and dependency by 7%.

ProAmpac created strong pet food and lawn and garden packaging to withstand transport. The Michigan House of Representatives and US Senate passed legislation approving an appropriation of up to US$200 million in funding to support Billerud’s plans to transform its Escanaba mill into a world-class paperboard production facility. The legislation must be approved by Michigan’s Governor, expected to occur within two weeks. A pre-feasibility study about Billerud’s planned conversion of the Escanaba mill to paperboard production is ongoing and planned to be completed during the first half of 2023, after which the company’s Board of Directors can make an investment decision. 

In brief: Product launches 
Berry Global Group, became the “first” plastic packaging manufacturer in Europe to supply The Coca-Cola Company with a lightweight, tethered closure for its carbonated soft drinks in PET bottles. Berry’s tethered closure for Coca-Cola is designed to remain intact with the bottle – making it less likely to be littered and more likely to be recycled. Over 400 million closures have been successfully applied to date on Coca-Cola bottling lines in Germany, Spain, and the UK, with the rollout to continue to the company’s other European plants. 

Contact lens manufacturer, Daysoft, reduced the plastic in its manufacturing process by 45%, amounting to an 82 metric-ton reduction of plastic used annually. Research carried out by daysoft revealed the company uses more than 50% less packaging than other major contact lens providers such as Bausch + Lomb. One customer’s annual supply of daysoft’s daily disposable lenses would use close to 800g less plastic than Bausch + Lomb, according to the findings. Daysoft used 50% less packaging than other major contact lens providers in its new product. 

ProAmpac announced it would launch the newest member of the Quadflex Recyclable packaging platform, Quadflex LT. The platform is recyclable and pre-qualified for in-store drop-off through PE streams. The product is suited to withstand the rigors of both e-commerce and retail settings, Quadflex LT supports a variety of markets, including pet food and lawn and garden. The package has four panels of branding space and is printed with award-winning high-definition flexography. 

Tic Tac unveiled limited-edition packs to encourage consumers to “Take A Ride On A Tic Tac.” The limited-edition packs are on shelves now through April 2023. The eight colorful packs feature playful graphics including skateboarding, DJing and snorkeling. The packs are available in Fruit Adventure, Orange, Tropical and Freshmint flavors. To introduce the new packs, Tic Tac is inviting consumers to enter a chance to win US$10,000 and additional prizes, including skateboards, hoodies, water bottles and more. 

In brief: Collaborations and acquisitions 
Constantia Flexibles signed a joint venture agreement for its Indian business and operations with Premji Invest and SB Packagings. The combination aids Constantia Flexibles to achieve its ambition to grow further and create value in the Indian market. The partnership pursues organic and inorganic growth in higher-added-value market segments in India, continuing its trajectory in the hygiene segment while developing the more environmentally sustainable monomaterial EcoLam product range. The joint venture agreement is expected to be completed by the end of March, 2023. 

Schubert-Pharma claimed fully automated single-line production for secondary packaging. Envoy Solutions acquired Royal Paper. Royal Paper is a leading national distributor of paper, plastics, cleaning and safety consumables and equipment. The company operates a network of five distribution facilities located across the US to serve more than 400 customers and 3,400 customer locations in the country and internationally. The acquisition expands Envoy Solutions’ national footprint, advances its position in key markets, and enriches its growing product portfolio in California and across the US. 

In brief: Pharma packaging
Stevanato Group, a global provider of drug containment and delivery solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, announced its collaboration with Transcoject, a medical device and pharma packaging solutions company. The collaboration is set to enable Stevanato Group to add cyclic olefin polymer (COP) and cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) to its existing portfolio of solutions. Now, Stevanato Group can offer prefillable syringes in glass and in both COP and COC polymers.

Schubert-Pharma touted its ability to provide pharmaceutical manufacturers a fully automated, highly efficient packaging solution in a single line with its robot-assisted digital top-loading machines. The company said third-party units can be seamlessly integrated into the modular systems. To this end, the packaging machine manufacturer develops secondary packaging that is matched to the process and also sustainability requirements for recyclability and resource conservation. The company stated that for medicinal products and other pharmaceuticals, both manufacturers and end customers have to be able to rely one hundred percent on the quality and integrity of the products. 

By Sabine Waldeck