European consumers are becoming increasingly critical about the use of packaging. Especially regarding fresh fruit and vegetables, plastic is condemned virtually by everyone. Retailers and packaging manufacturers, however, all emphasize the same thing: packaging in moderation has a positive effect on the shelf life of products, so food waste can be contained.
Redpack Maschinen LLC is observing these developments closely. The company manufactures packaging machines and is constantly looking for meaningful alternatives to traditional techniques and materials. Markus Nöthen comments: "As a manufacturer of packaging machines, we also want to make a contribution to environmental protection.We must avoid packaging where possible, but some products benefit significantly from additional protection and we would like to stress that. We want to pack products that make sense, as environmentally friendly as possible."
Group photo at Fruit Logistica '19, with representatives from around the world (from left to right): Clare Dybel, Rick Briston, Anthony Farncombe, Matthew Briston, Simon Martins, David Gutmann, Markus Nöthen, Jason Knowles, Marcin Zolcinski, Jan Molenaar (Het Packhuys ), Giles Briston and Stuart Briston.
Nöthen talks about pumpkins to give an example: "Pumpkins are a trend product, but small households today rarely need large amounts of vegetables, so half a pumpkin wrapped in foil can help." Even the often criticized Flowpack is not the villain its portrayed to be: "The amount of plastic used is relatively small, in relation to its capacity." So it is, if it recycled accordingly, not bad in the overall balance."
Wholesaler Georg Thalhammer is doing pioneering work with halved, packed pumpkins. The packaging machine is the Redpack NTS BMS. Photo: Georg Thalhammer
Redpack continues to work on the further development of its machines. "Waste prevention is also an important factor here, so we want to continuously develop and include resource-saving alternatives in our portfolio," concludes Nöthen.
For more information:
Dr. Markus Nöthen
Redpack Packaging Machinery
Walstan House
39 Barnard Road
Bowthorpe, Norwich
NR5 9JB
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 1603 722 280
Email: info@redpack.co.uk
Web: www.redpack.co.uk