What Packaging? News: Manjushree, Unilever, Avery, Multivac, Uflex, Cosmo, Mabach

Unilever commits to 100% recyclable plastic packaging by 2025

Unilever has announced its commitment to ensure that all of its plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 as it called on the entire fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry to accelerate progress towards the circular economy.
It will also invest in proving, and then sharing with the industry, a technical solution to recycle multi-layered sachets, particularly for coastal areas which are most at risk of plastics leaking into the ocean.

Unilever has already committed to reduce the weight of the packaging it uses this decade by one third by 2020, and increase its use of recycled plastic content in its packaging to at least 25 percent by 2025 against a 2015 baseline, both as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.

Experts say, recycle plastics rather than banning it

Packaging experts stressed on the need to recycle or regulate plastic produced in the country rather than banning it in order to prevent environmental pollution. “It is necessary that we (industry and consumers) use plastics in an environmentally sustainable manner. Therefore, regulation of plastic waste both at producer-level and consumer-level is important,” said, R R Rashmi, special secretary of Union Ministry of Forests and Environment.

IIP director NC Saha, said, “Banning plastic is not a solution because we do not have a substitute to plastics…only regulating it will be a solution. The government is trying to regulate it, like earlier the Centre had said that 50 micron thick plastic bags should be used instead of lesser micron.”

Cosmo Films introduces new ultra high barrier films

Cosmo Films has introduced new additions to its range of barrier films and now has a significant portfolio of transparent as well as metalised varieties. These solvent-free coated films, used for a wide range of FMCG packaging applications not only help extend the shelf life of the contents inside, but also help pack structure rationalisation.

S Satish, global head, sales and marketing, Cosmo Films, said, “We are excited by these new additions to our barrier films range, especially the BOPP replacement to the aluminum foil. We are now confident of meeting most shelf life requirements of the food packaging industry with our extensive range of barrier films.”

Multivac at Interpack 2017

Multivac will be presenting a range of packaging solutions for the medical and pharmaceutical industries at Interpack 2017 in Dusseldorf from 4 to 10 May 2017.

The company will exhibit the capabilities of its labelling solutions to integrate into T 300 and G 700 traysealer lines. For medical and pharmaceutical products manufacturers, the direct web printer with thermal transfer printing capability will be shown on a compact R 081 thermoforming packaging machine.

Among other solutions, Multivac will exhibit its conveyor belt labelers such as Baseline L 300, which can be used for a range of products and packs such as trays, boxes, pots and thermoformed packs.

Manjushree’s Vimal Kedia honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at The Economic Times Polymers Awards 2017

Vimal Kedia, managing director, Manjushree Technopack was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the maiden The Economic Times (Polymers) Awards 2017. He was recognised for his achievements as an entrepreneur and his contribution to the development of the plastic packaging industry in India, spanning over three decades.

Accepting the award, Kedia said, “As the leading PET plastics packaging producers of South Asia, we are proud of our packaging solutions. Manjushree, today, with its pan-India presence, is one of the most trusted packaging partners to companies in the consumer and healthcare industry across the country. It is our strong focus on providing on time, superior solutions to our customers that have enabled us to grow from strength to strength. I would like to extend my gratitude to our customers for their unwavering support.”

The event was attended by more than 300 top and senior management professionals from the plastics processing industry.

Manjushree bags Excellence in Packaging award for Tata Global and USL packaging design
Manjushree Technopack won the Excellence in Packaging award for the creative packaging designed for Tata Global and United Spirits Limited (USL) at The Economic Times Polymers Awards 2017. 

Tata Tea Fusion Jar
Tata Global joined hands with Manjushree to launch its premium range - Green Tea and Kenyan Tea. Manjushree developed a single container with an innovative dual storage facility that could store two different types of tea in a single pack, preserving the freshness of each. This first-of-its-kind product was designed by Manjushree’s designing arm, Mphinite and was launched in the market as Tata Tea Fusion Jar.

USL Mc Dowell’s 2 Litre PET Bottle
Manjushree, in collaboration with USL, launched India’s first two litre PET Bottle for USL McDowell’s Signature Whiskey. The two litre PET bottle is a breakthrough innovation in the domestic liquor industry where glass bottles have been the predominant choice of packaging.

Uflex unveils Asepto, aseptic liquid packaging brand
Uflex recently unveiled ‘Asepto’, its aseptic liquid packaging brand. The company’s aseptic liquid packaging manufacturing plant will be commercially operational by April 2017. Ashwani Sharma, president and CEO, new business initiatives, Uflex, said, “Our total manufacturing capacity of seven billion packs per annum will cater to 90% of the domestic market demand. In APAC, the market growth is around seven per cent and in India the growth has been in double digits for the last three to four years.” Presently India’s aseptic liquid packaging market is growing at 17-18% per annum and the market is expected to double up in the next five years to approximately 20 billion packs per annum.

Avery’s ClearIntent portfolio enables sustainability improvements
As part of its ambitious 2025 sustainability goals, labelstock manufacturer Avery Dennison has created a new portfolio designed to enable customers choose products that can help to make a positive environmental impact.

Xander van der Vlies, director of sustainability, Avery Dennison Europe, said that the ClearIntent portfolio is about working with converters and brand owners – supporting them in meeting their sustainable packaging goals. “Label converters can now offer materials with confidence to their customers, knowing that anything within the ClearIntent range provides the sustainability credentials they seek. The available materials cover a wide range of applications, so ClearIntent gives converters more ways to say ‘yes’ to sustainability.”

New die-cutting machine at Marbach Asia Pacific
Malaysia’s Marbach Asia Pacific, the subsidiary of Marbach Group, has installed a new Bobst die-cutter which replaced an existing fast-east manufactured machine at the facility in Kuala Lumpur. 

The new Bobst Novacut 106ER  will stay at the Marbach Asia Pacific for at least two years and will allow the company to showcase its tools in action at the facility.

The kit is equipped with features such as quick lock frames, 1mm plate exchange system with micrometric adjustment, as well as a blanking unit.

“Automatic blanking is not very common in South East Asia and, as a result, still an interesting topic for customers in this area,” said Markus Stegmann, CEO Marbach Asia Pacific. “The new Marbach light blanker is a light and modular blanking tool that is cost-efficient and therefore perfect for jobs that have been separated manually so far. Its base frame can stay in the machine and can be adjusted quickly each time according to the job-specific blanking grid.”

Both, Bobst and Marbach will use the machine for internal and external training, demonstrations and test runs, and can show this new level of the post-press process. Also, Indian packaging convertors can look at sourcing world-class converting tools from the Marbach facility.

Stegmann informed that in March 2017, an open house will take place at its location in Kuala Lumpur. “This event is one of the things I particularly look forward to with special guests and lots of topics to discuss,” he concluded.