Proampac Breaks Ground On Innovation Center
ProAmpac recently broke ground on a collaboration and innovation center, a multi-million-dollar investment that will expand the company’s existing facility to house what will become an international hub for packaging design and development.
CEO Greg Tucker was joined by Kathleen C. Hochul, New York lieutenant governor, and local dignitaries for a ground-breaking event in Ogden, New York.
“Innovation is the key factor in making flexible packaging the fastest growing segment of the expanding global packaging industry, which is forecast to exceed $1 trillion by the end of next year,” Tucker says. ProAmpac celebrated its fifth anniversary this summer.
When the facility opens in the spring, it will be a center for development, prototyping, and rapid evaluation of new packaging, as well as a training and state-of-the-art collaboration space to host customer ideation sessions, the company said in a news release.
“The benefit of having all of our application testing, prototyping, and short-run pouch production under one roof is that a customer can arrive with a packaging design issue and leave with printed, prototype samples,” adds Tucker. “Our new facility will compress the design timeline significantly.”
The nearly $8-million center will create 40 new jobs and add 25,000 square feet to the company’s manufacturing facility near Rochester.
Frankston Packaging Company Buys Paco Label Systems
Frankston Packaging Company has bought Paco Label Systems based in Tyler, Texas.
Paco is a leading manufacturer and supplier of flexible packaging and pressure-sensitive labels for the food and beverage industry, commercial packaging, and industrial products industries across the southwestern U.S.
“Like us, Paco has been in the packaging business for decades and will significantly enhance Frankston’s pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging capabilities, allowing us to better serve the packaging needs of current and future customers alike,” says Kyle Eldred, CEO of Frankston Packaging.
Founded in 1967, Paco will continue operating out of its Tyler-based facility, which is 26 miles from Frankston Packaging’s headquarters in Frankston, Texas.
Paul Tayler Appointed Chief Executive Of Nexeo Plastics
Nexeo Plastics has named Paul Tayler, formerly vice president of its Europe division, as CEO.
The interim CEO, Michael Modak, remained a member of the company’s board, the company said in a news release.
Nexeo, a leading global thermoplastics resin distributor based in Texas, said that Tayler has contributed to the company’s significant international growth.
“Following the successful realignment and enhancement of our North American sales organization, Nexeo Plastics is poised to further bolster its position as the global resin distributor of choice under new leadership,” Modak says. “Paul is a respected leader across our organization who has achieved incredibly strong performance and established the Nexeo Plastics brand throughout Europe and other international markets.”
Sun Chemical Strengthens Sustainability Efforts
Sun Chemical has organized a Corporate Sustainability Committee to further strengthen its approach to addressing the sustainability needs of the packaging industry.
The company noted that the development of sustainable packaging solutions is not a new endeavor at Sun Chemical but has accelerated in the past 10 years as awareness of environmental issues has dramatically increased, as has the demand for cutting and recycling household waste and reducing carbon emissions and other pollutants. The Parsippany, New Jersey-based company organized the committee to further strengthen its approach to addressing the sustainability needs of the packaging industry.
The committee is comprised of eight executive leaders: Myron Petruch, Carlo Musso, Chris Parrilli, Fernando Tavara, Robert Fitzka, Greg Hayes, Russell Schwartz, and Jim Van Horn. They will oversee the company’s sustainability strategy. Nicolas Bétin will be the sustainability business leader for all of Sun Chemical, and Nikola Juhasz will become the technical director of sustainability.
Other stakeholders across all divisions and regions at Sun Chemical will also play a key role. Driving many of the groups’ activities are the sustainability goals of consumer packaged goods companies. Increasingly, CPGs are setting ambitious sustainability targets for their organizations with goals of providing high levels of recyclable or renewable packaging as early as 2025, while reducing their use of plastics in packaging. These goals resonate with consumers and will drive Sun Chemical’s product development, the company says.
“Innovation is the key factor in making flexible packaging the fastest growing segment of the expanding global packaging industry.”
—ProAmpac CEO Greg Tucker
“Sustainability remains at the forefront for the future of packaging, and while Sun Chemical has already established significant leadership in developing sustainable inks, coatings, and adhesives for packaging, there is more we can do,” says Myron Petruch, president and CEO. “That is why we’ve created the Corporate Sustainability Committee—to ensure we have a structured process in place that puts our sustainability efforts at the forefront of all our business processes.”
Bunzl Plc Makes Acquisitions
Bunzl plc, a specialist for international distribution and services group, agreed to buy a U.S.-based safety business and a flexible packaging distributor in Ireland.
MCR Safety, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee, distributes a variety of personal protection equipment and other safety products to distributors operating in several end-user markets. The company also has a facility in Arkansas, as well as operations in Mexico, Canada, U.K., Netherlands, Colombia, and Costa Rica. Its principal products are gloves, eye protection, and workwear.
Abco Kovex is a distributor of flexible packaging based in Dublin, Ireland, but it also has operations in the U.K. and is principally engaged in the sale of items such as stretch film, polythene and paper packaging, and pallet wrap to a variety of end users in the food, construction, packaging, food service, and pharmaceutical sectors.
“The acquisition of MCR Safety is an important development for Bunzl,” said Frank van Zanten, Bunzl CEO. “It is a high-quality business with a strong leadership team and well-established portfolio of its own brand products, which will complement our existing product range and significantly strengthen and expand our safety operations both in the U.S. and elsewhere.”
The acquisition of Abco Kovex also will complement Bunzl operations, he adds, by enhancing product offerings and expanding the customer base both in Ireland and the U.K.