ProAmpac: US food packaging leader debuts at Packaging Innovations with UK tax-compliant solutions
31 May 2022 | ProAmpac
ProAmpac’s established flexible plastic and paper-based food solutions have prepared it well for the new UK Plastic Packaging Tax, but the availability of food-grade recycled plastic remains an industry issue. We speak to CCO Adam Grose and VP for global application and innovation development Sal Pellingra about the US company’s European expansion, digital print capabilities and more.
This is Joshua reports from Pasch Innovations 2022 in the UK.
I'm here at the Pro Ampact stand with Adam Gross and Sal Pinra.
Welcome to you both.
Good Morning.
So the big news of this show this year is the introduction of the UK plastic packaging tax.
In what ways has this tax impacted demand for your products and your product development?
I think the benefit for Pro Ampact is we've been a leader in sustainable, flexible packaging to begin with, so we have had recyclable products and products.
With PCR in them along with renewable and compostable for quite some time and we've been developing those products with customers, so I think we are prepared for this for the UK tax.
In general, we focus on reducing the amount of plastic reducing the amount of plastic overall, and we sell and produce both paper and flexible packaging.
So we, we're, we're in a really good place.
To help our customers with that #1 and #2, I think the biggest issue that we have is the infrastructure.
So we're trying to work with legislation with some of the consortiums out there to help the collection of flexible packaging so that we have that PCR going forward and our hope is that the legislation directs this money for the infrastructure as.
I think just to kind of extend on what Sal said.
The introduction of that tax has really shined a light on structures, packaging structures that aren't sustainable, and if anything it's accelerated some of the work in the industry to advance the technology to more renewable, composable recyclable structures.
So while it hasn't had a big impact on our innovation work to South Point we've been doing this for years.
I think we've.
An acceleration in the market activity as a result.
OK.
And on the points of PCR in the current climate, how affordable and how available is recycled food grade plastic?
Yeah, that's a good question.
So food grade PCR isn't available in the UK.
It's, it's something that is a gap in the industry.
On the industrial side, availability is still limited as demand is starting to come up from our, from our customers.
But yeah, we, we, we see food grade PCR still a need.
So we are ISCC certified at a couple of sites and we're working on the same in North America, and the key to that is can we bring in the chemical recycling that is available for food.
However, it's not counted in the In the EPR tax, so so we do have the availability and we're working on that supply chain for PCRs.
OK, that makes sense.
And of course your company has increased its manufacturing footprint quite significantly in the UK and Ireland over the last.
16 months.
What's the strategy behind this expansion and what do you base your acquisition decisions on in this region?
Yes, I'll take that one.
So ProAmpact has been in Europe for years, but we are an American company.
We're based in North America and we've got a very strong presence.
In that marketplace, we are the leader in material science and for us extending our reach in Europe has always been part of our strategy, Josh, we were really active last year in focusing on both the UK and Ireland.
We have strategic customers in this part of the world and we want to advance our capabilities in line with our customers' growth aspirations.
So for us it's really about.
Preparing our strategy with the needs of our customers and we're super excited about what we now have in the UK as as in Ireland.
It's the first time we've been at this show as pro AAC.
It's the first time that we've brought these companies together that came on board our family last year.
The strategy to continue to grow in Europe is very much a part of what Pro Impact is doing.
We're in the process of bringing some of our sustainable products that we've introduced in the United States to this marketplace.
They're being introduced today at the show.
Can you give examples of those products.
Talked about the products, so I would just say the exciting thing for me is we're a leader in innovation and both sustainability and flexible packaging formats.
The companies that we've acquired are leaders in their own right in certain areas and so some of these products that we're introducing, fresh food to go solutions that are paper-based.
Can be recycled digitally printed so we can do short run as as long run.
It's exciting the range of technologies that we have.
We can produce film in the UK now, so we're vertically integrated and that helps us with the PCR and to develop recycled structures.
That's an important point about leadership when we work with companies.
And talk to them about joining ProAMAC.
We really focus on leaders in their segments and the markets that they serve, and we've been fortunate with the acquisitions last year because each one of them in the markets they serve are leaders and it's really helping us better address our customers' needs.
With known products with facilities that are qualified to serve these applications, so it just extends our capabilities of course today you're showcasing your new digital print expertise.
How would you summarize these new capabilities and what benefits can they bring to your customers?
So for digital printing we have capabilities set up in both North America and here, but having a company that's been digitally printing for around 10 years so they understand the value of that, how to market that, and what our customers need for that so we can help customers with short runs.
With new product introductions, but even ongoing production and commercial products that have a lot of skews even and with laws changing and with all the different languages, it's very easy to incorporate those changes with digital print.
So we have flexible printing.
We're one of the few.
Converters that can do retort with Flexo print, so a really broad range of it, and it really just completes our whole portfolio and capabilities having that digital capability.
OK, and just the final question, in what ways has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food on the go and requirements for packaging?
Having a package that we can take to our customer.
The commissary can put the product in the in the package, cook it or not, send it to the to the retailer.
They can prepare it and eliminate the need for a second packaging process because Josh, I think the biggest impact on fresh food to go of COVID was the increased demand.
So the stores have to be more productive.
They have to have solutions in store that don't sacrifice taste or freshness, but allow them to be very responsive given the increased demand that the consumers now have for fresh fruit and that's where we're focusing a lot of our product development is how do we help.
Our customers have a package that's better designed to meet their in-store needs, whatever that is.
