Global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL is one of the largest suppliers of packaging solutions in Romania, coming closely behind local producers. With the advantages of its multinational network of factories, sales teams, R&D experts and after sales, the RETAL capabilities bring the best of local knowledge of the Romanian market together with its wider support infrastructure.
Working with customers in Romania for over a decade, RETAL has proudly developed strong relationships with brand owners and local producers across the country, with a particular focus on water, juice and edible oils. RETAL sales manager Sergey Berov has an in-depth understanding of the Romanian market from both a professional and personal perspective, and it is his closeness to the country’s packaging needs that enables him and his team to deliver the best service.
Berov tells: “We have been continually developing our market share in Romanian over the last 10 years, and our significant growth has seen RETAL selling around 15% of the PET packaging demand in the country. Many of our customers have grown with us and we are delighted to be considered a packaging partner rather than just a supplier.”
With a strong balance of local and global customers across its activities in 70 countries worldwide, RETAL brings its proven experience of working with brand owners of all sizes to every market.
Berov adds, “In our first decade in Romania we have mainly collaborated with local customers, working together to create and produce PET and rPET preforms. We are expanding our roster to include the local needs of global brands too, which fits well with our long-standing capabilities in other regions and enables us to bring our local knowledge for the advantage of our household name brands.”
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RETAL Baltic and RETAL Lithuania have both been awarded two wings from the Equal Opportunity Wings initiative, which operates in partnership with the Human Rights Monitoring Institute.
Equal Opportunity Wings – up to a maximum of three – are awarded as an acknowledgment of an organisation’s achievements in ‘mainstreaming equal opportunities in the workplace and creating a diverse and inclusive culture’.
Ruta Ziliene, HR Director for RETAL Europe & US, explains, “RETAL Baltic was approved for two wings out of three. We are pleased to have gained two wings at our first assessment and look forward to gaining our third wing as we continue to improve: our next step is to make a deeper analysis of the situation of equal opportunities in the company, and after to prepare and implement an Equality Plan. And we have no doubt that we are on the right path.”
Simona Zuriene, HR manager at RETAL Lithuania, says, “These two wings show that we are really starting to fly when it comes to the working conditions of our employees. We have more to do and we are working hard to make it happen, for the good of our people and our business.”
Sustainability Director Emmanuel Duffaut is highly supportive of this initiative. He adds, “I am very glad to see the combined efforts of RETAL Baltic HR and RETAL Group CSR being recognised in this official capacity. I am confident that the RBA equality plan, together with the upcoming anonymous whistleblowing channel, our Anti-discrimination policy, and awareness activities will get us the missing wing next year.”
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Collaboration is nothing new. From the estimated 30,000 workers that built the pyramids to the ‘village’ we need to raise a child, working together has long yielded better results than going it alone. For plastic packaging innovators, collaboration needs honesty, expertise and a healthy dose of investment to make a sustainable future. Emma-Jane Batey reports.
No plastic packaging manufacturer is an island. Raw materials, design engineering, project management, testing...the list of hoops to jump through is exhausting and necessary. The entire value chain needs to be robust and reliable so each player can successfully carry out their role. With the unstoppable importance of the circular economy ensuring that each player must increase their CSR performance, it shows why collaboration is king.
Vertical integration within global manufacturing companies allows for collaboration that goes beyond tenders, as the connected companies can have speedy communication and a shared understanding of common goals. NEO GROUP is a Lithuania-based PET resin producer that is part of global plastic packaging solutions manufacturer RETAL Industries Ltd; the sister companies work closely where necessary to ensure that a reliable supply of raw materials is available, bringing collaboration to life with an innovative fully circular PET resins containing 25% of recycled PET (rPET).
Justina Volcek, Product Development Specialist at NEO GROUP, explains, “In talking to our colleagues at RETAL, as well as other global customers, it was clear that a joined-up approach to developing, producing and supplying a reliable rPET resin solution could add real value to the overall plastic packaging supply chain. We have been focused on positively contributing to closing the loop for some time and RETAL has the same goal. In early 2018 we started seriously talking about the implications of the EU SUP Directive, where 25% of recycled plastic must be present in all PET beverage bottles by 2025, and this was closely connected to our research work in accordance with the Horizon 2020 programme. We were actively checking what solutions were available on the market and we realised that our unique contribution could be to add a reliable percentage of rPET directly into the resins that we produce, allowing for converters to use their existing equipment without investing into new one and at the same time to meet the changing regulations.”
These regulations are changing because plastic packaging is leading the way in sustainable development, with many impactful studies showing that valuing used plastic packaging is a huge opportunity for the circular economy. By understanding that collaboration means joined up thinking, it requires adequate infrastructure for collecting and sorting used packaging as well as raising awareness of how we treat used packaging.
Part of an effective circular economy is about how raw materials for plastic packaging are efficiently utilised, so that right from the first step, plastic packaging is responsible. First recycling steps were taken by NEO GROUP in 2011, when it started to recycle residual PET coming directly from the production process into Aromatic Polyester Polyols (APP). In terms of secondary post-consumer PET packaging, NEO GROUP has achieved a real breakthrough in this area from 2017-2020, by inventing its own solution to turn them back into new, same quality, PET resins called NEOPET CYCLE. Volcek explains, “NEOPET CYCLE includes 25% of rPET flakes directly integrated into the virgin PET, so converters can use just one product instead of two or more in their production process. We’ve created it using a type of gentle glycolysis process and the result is a food-grade resin that’s available at industrial volumes.”
What is worth mentioning that the technical preconditions for the latter innovation were created by the technology of polyol production, which was developed more than a decade ago. Volcek adds, "One of the keys to both of our innovations – NEOPET CYCLE and polyol production - is the preparation of raw materials by glycolysis process."
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Staying still is not an option in the packaging industry. Repeating the same techniques and offering the same ideas doesn’t mean timeless quality, but rather outdated concepts that don’t embrace progress. But that doesn’t mean everything has to be ‘disruptive’ right? Emma-Jane Batey looks at how valuing great design, customer communication and service is always in fashion.
The pace with which packaging trends change is illustrative of the role that packaging plays in the FMCG sector. The huge growth in markets including hard seltzer, vegan snacking and high protein is largely supported by the packaging choices that these brands make, and the packaging partners they choose. While the trend for ‘game changing’ and ‘disruptive’ packaging across all F&B packaging sectors are unlikely to disappear any time soon, the scrabble for new can sometimes mean that great gets lost.
The value of PET is clear thanks to Austrian social enterprise HELIOZ, which is committed to bringing safe drinking water to rural communities.
HELIOZ works with global plastic packaging producers to ensure PET water bottles are available in the communities in which the project is active, including parts of India and Uganda, so uncontaminated drinking water can be accessed by the people that need it.
Alina Eglhofer, HELIOZ marketing & communications, explains, “HELIOZ works with plastic packaging partners like RETAL; the PET bottles are a vital part of our toolkit, alongside WADI, our solar powered UV device that measures the solar disinfection of the contaminated water. PET bottles are used repeatedly over a six-month period to provide clean drinking water to communities that do not have easy access to what we take for granted, and then the bottles are recycled by our local partners; nothing is thrown away, everything has value.”
RETAL is delighted to support HELIOZ in its mission, with the ongoing lessons learned such as appreciating that so-called ‘single use plastics’ are anything but, and that local collection of used plastics bring opportunities for businesses as well as the environment. Emmanuel Duffaut, RETAL Sustainability Director, adds, “We are all inspired by the HELIOZ team and their dedication to empowering the local communities in which they work, as well as the acceptance that the local people instinctively see value instead of waste. RETAL is delighted to be partner to HELIOZ as we are keen to be involved with community projects that appreciate natural resources and cleverly utilize the value of PET, as well as raising awareness of PET recycling and collection.”
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RETAL design engineer Andzejus Buinovskis presented at the AMI Plastic Closures Innovations Virtual Summit on 2nd – 3rd June, with his informative presentation provoking interesting questions in the Q&A session.
Andzejus created a video presentation highlighting his insight on the RETAL tethered closures journey and the circular economy. “I shared how RETAL has developed a series of tethered closures in accordance with the list of requirements from the leading brand owners. I was determined to add more personal insight too as everyone presenting was working to the same set of criteria.”
This smart approach led Andzejus to highlight how collecting and recycling play a key role in the circular economy, as well as showing how reusing molds is a big contributor to sustainable development. He adds, “I was also pleased to include details of how Lithuania has integrated deposit schemes and that 80% of bottles come with the closures attached – even though they’re not tethered!”
The ‘immersive virtual event’ was attended by leading brand representatives, equipment manufacturers, and packaging producers, with the presentations and following discussions showing how the focus on tethered closures, lightweighting, and the circular economy is still at the forefront of the packaging and beverage industry drivers.
Read online at Business Focus
Read / download in PDF
RETAL Baltic and RETAL Lithuania have both been awarded two wings from the Equal Opportunity Wings initiative, which operates in partnership with the Human Rights Monitoring Institute.
Equal Opportunity Wings - up to a maximum of three – are awarded as acknowledgment of an organisation’s achievements in ‘mainstreaming equal opportunities in the workplace and creating a diverse and inclusive culture’.
Ruta Ziliene, HR Director for Europe/US, explains, “RETAL Baltic was approved for two wings out of three. We are pleased to have gained two wings at our first assessment and look forward to gaining our third wing as we continue to improve: our next step is to make a deeper analysis of the situation of equal opportunities in the company, and after to prepare and implement an Equality Plan. And we have no doubt that we are on the right path.”
Simona Zuriene, HR manager at RETAL Lithuania, says, “These two wings show that we are really starting to fly when it comes to the working conditions of our employees. We have more to do and we are working hard to make it happen, for the good of our people and our business.”
Sustainability Director Emmanuel Duffaut is highly supportive of this initiative. He adds, “I am very glad to see the combined efforts of RETAL Baltic HR and RETAL group CSR being recognised in this official capacity. I am confident that the RBA equality plan, together with the upcoming anonymous whistle blowing channel, our Anti-discrimination policy, and awareness activities will get us the missing wing next year.”
The value of PET is clear thanks to Austrian social enterprise HELIOZ, which is committed to bringing safe drinking water to rural communities.
HELIOZ works with global plastic packaging producers to ensure PET water bottles are available in the communities in which the project is active, including parts of India and Uganda, so uncontaminated drinking water can be accessed by the people that need it.
Alina Eglhofer, HELIOZ marketing & communications, explains, “HELIOZ works with plastic packaging partners like RETAL; the PET bottles are a vital part of our toolkit, alongside WADI, our solar powered UV device that measures the solar disinfection of the contaminated water. PET bottles are used repeatedly over a six-month period to provide clean drinking water to communities that do not have easy access to what we take for granted, and then the bottles are recycled by our local partners; nothing is thrown away, everything has value.”
RETAL is delighted to support HELIOZ in its mission, with the ongoing lessons learned such as appreciating that so-called 'single use plastics' are anything but, and that local collection of used plastics bring opportunities for businesses as well as the environment. Emmanuel Duffaut, RETAL Sustainability Director, adds, “We are all inspired by the HELIOZ team and their dedication to empowering the local communities in which they work, as well as the acceptance that the local people instinctively see value instead of waste. RETAL is delighted to be partner to HELIOZ as we are keen to be involved with community projects that appreciate natural resources and cleverly utilize the value of PET, as well as raising awareness of PET recycling and collection.”
RETAL Baltic Films has recently invested in further Form-Fill-Seal testing equipment at its Lithuanian plant in order to deliver a complete analysis of the bottom and top packaging elements for its food and beverage customers.
Viktorija Griziene, general manager at RETAL Baltic Films, says, “We have integrated complete FFS capability to complement our long-standing expertise in films. We can advise our customers in selecting the right materials to get the optimum result.”
Food and beverage brands often face the challenge of a reliable seal where the bottom tray and the top lidding film meet, particularly if they change materials, so RETAL Baltic Films is keen to highlight how it can efficiently test how the two materials interact at its own dedicated testing facility. Griziene adds, “We’re constantly checking how it all works during the initial phase so the process is smooth on the customers’ production line, without the need for downtime.”
Valuable time is saved as well as valuable resources, with the on-site FFS testing capability from RETAL Baltic Films able to integrate sustainability-focused downgauging without compromising on the properties’ performance.
RETAL design engineer Andzejus Buinovskis presented at the AMI Plastic Closures Innovations Virtual Summit on 2nd - 3rd June, with his informative presentation provoking interesting questions in the Q&A session.
Andzejus created a video presentation highlighting his insight on the RETAL tethered closures journey and the circular economy. “I shared how RETAL has developed a series of tethered closures in accordance with the list of requirements from the leading brand owners. I was determined to add more personal insight too as everyone presenting was working to the same set of criteria.”
This smart approach lead Andzejus to highlight how collecting and recycling play a key role in the circular economy, as well as showing how reusing molds is a big contributor to sustainable development. He adds, “I was also pleased to include details of how Lithuania has integrated deposit schemes and that 80% of bottles come with the closures attached – even though they’re not tethered!”
The 'immersive virtual event' was attended by leading brand representatives, equipment manufacturers and packaging producers, with the presentations and following discussions showing how the focus on tethered closures, lightweighting and the circular economy are still at the forefront of packaging and beverage industry drivers.