"Think about tomorrow today, preserve resources for future generations: That is what sustainability means." FreshPlaza's visit to K-D Hermann LLC contact Auszeichnungssysteme in the idyllic town of Hirschhorn am Neckar was dedicated to sustainability as well. From the lonely black garbage can, to specially trained employees, to the site itself; sustainability is not only showing through in the products, but also in the company itself.
The organic growth of contact Auszeichnungssysteme can already be seen in the building complex that has grown with the company over the years. "Despite these expansions, the company has remained loyal to Hirschhorn. In doing so, we are also assuming a social responsibility, which has become particularly apparent in recent months. Despite Corona, we were able to secure the jobs of all our 100 employees, without cutting any hours. We are very proud of this."
"We are a true family business and everyone moved even closer to make this possible. From design to finished label, everything happens in Hirschhorn: label design by our own repro department, in-house production of printing plates and the production of labels on our own printing machines. Some 80% of the materials for the hand labellers and labels are sourced from suppliers in Germany, and another 80% of these suppliers can be found in our immediate vicinity."
Harald Jantzen, Eva Joho and Kay Wagner during a tour of the company.
The company is located in the Odenwald, the green heart of Hessen. "We are also very aware of our responsibility towards the environment. That's why we pay particular attention to sustainability and the careful use of resources: We distil liquid waste ourselves, and 90% of the rest is reused as substitute fuel. We recycle almost all the waste that is produced by us, ending up with only small amounts of residual waste."
The new packaging law (VerpackG), which came into force in January 2019, aims to avoid or reduce the impact of packaging waste on the environment. "Almost every company that manufactures or distributes goods puts packaging into circulation. For companies that focus on sustainability in their packaging, the packaging law offers considerable advantages, but their products also hit the 'green nerve' of B2B customers and consumers."
The familiar hand labellers are being assembled.
How do you make packaging sustainable?
"By reducing the use of resources in production, promoting recycling possibilities and using renewable raw materials. Recycling is particularly important in the context of sustainable packaging". The goal, he said, is ideally to develop completely recyclable packaging - including the label. "Therefore, resource conservation, recycling, etc. are elements that cannot be neglected when choosing labels. To help our customers implement sustainable packaging, we use materials for our labels that have a particularly sustainable character. These materials are great in terms of recyclability, compostability, resource-saving production, use of renewable raw materials and climate-friendly transport routes."
For more information:
Harald Jantzen
K-D Hermann GmbH
contact Auszeichnungssysteme
Tel. (Durchwahl): +49 6272 922-420
Mobile: +49 (0)1725671973
E-Mail: h.jantzen@contact-online.de
www.contact-online.de