Strategic expansion brings opportunities at Retal PA

The strong growth of global plastic packaging manufacturer Retal's Pennsylvania factory will now continue with the confirmation of an extensive expansion program, which will see its output more than triple over the next three years.

Darius Janulionis, President and CEO of Retal PA called its a true mark of confidence in the company. “Over half of the investment is a bank loan, which highlights the credibility of our expansion. We have grown continually since we established our factory here in Donora in 2016 and will commit to producing over two billion preforms a year following this latest investment,” he said.

In hs view, the driving force behind the continued expansion at the Pennsylvania site is vocal the strength of the team: “We all stand on each other’s shoulders to keep succeeding and, as we grow rapidly, we continue to rely on each other. I can happily say that our team is motivated, friendly and open-minded, so we're keen to meet people that would like to join us on a permanent basis. We are increasing our local workforce and are actively looking for suitably skilled people to fill a variety of positions.”

Retal develops and manufactures polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging solutions, including preforms, closures, containers and films. The company is a subsidiary of Retal Industries Ltd, headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus.

Globally active, Retal supplies customers in over 60 countries worldwide. Strongly focused on quality and flexibility, Retal is ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 22000 accredited.

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Strategic expansion brings opportunities at RETAL PA

The strong growth of global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL's Pennsylvania factory continues with the confirmation of an extensive expansion program, which will see its output more than trebling over the next three years.

Thanks to an increase in demand and additional funding and investment, RETAL PA, based in Donora, will add additional manufacturing capabilities and hire a number of additional machine operators, lab technicians and people in production, maintenance, and other functions.

President and CEO of RETAL PA Darius Janulionis says, “It’s a true mark of confidence in RETAL PA; over half of the investment is a bank loan, which highlights the credibility of our expansion. We have grown continually since we established our factory here in Donora in 2016 and will commit to producing over two billion preforms a year following this latest investment. We have strategically grown in anticipation of our customers' needs and we are well-positioned to deliver on their growing demands today and tomorrow. As a proud partner to our customers, we create solutions for all their packaging requirements.”

Janulionis is vocal about the strength of the team being the driving force in the continued expansion at RETAL PA. He adds, “We all stand on each other’s shoulders to keep succeeding and, as we grow rapidly, we continue to rely on each other. I can happily say that our team is motivated, friendly and open-minded, so we're keen to meet people that would like to join us on a permanent basis. We are increasing our local workforce and are actively looking for suitably skilled people to fill a variety of positions. We are pleased to keep serving our customers through diligence and reliability as we grow, with the additional support of valued new employees from across the Mon Valley region.”

Read at comPETence online

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Strategic expansion brings opportunities at RETAL PA

The strong growth of global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL's Pennsylvania factory continues with the confirmation of an extensive expansion program, which will see its output more than trebling over the next three years.

Thanks to an increase in demand and additional funding and investment, RETAL PA, based in Donora, will add additional manufacturing capabilities and hire a number of additional machine operators, lab technicians and people in production, maintenance, and other functions.

President and CEO of RETAL PA Darius Janulionis says, “It’s a true mark of confidence in RETAL PA; over half of the investment is a bank loan, which highlights the credibility of our expansion. We have grown continually since we established our factory here in Donora in 2016 and will commit to producing over two billion preforms a year following this latest investment. We have strategically grown in anticipation of our customers' needs and we are well-positioned to deliver on their growing demands today and tomorrow. As a proud partner to our customers, we create solutions for all their packaging requirements.”

Janulionis is vocal about the strength of the team being the driving force in the continued expansion at RETAL PA. Headds, “We all stand on each other’s shoulders to keep succeeding and, as we grow rapidly, we continue to rely on each other. I can happily say that our team is motivated, friendly and open-minded, so we're keen to meet people that would like to join us on a permanent basis. We are increasing our local workforce and are actively looking for suitably skilled people to fill a variety of positions. We are pleased to keep serving our customers through diligence and reliability as we grow, with the additional support of valued new employees from across the Mon Valley region.”

Новый подход. Как с помощью преформ из rPET от “Ретал Украина” повысить экологичность упаковки

Использование вторичного PET (rPET) компанией "Ретал Украина" помогает снизить загрязнение окружающей среды отходами ПЕТ-бутылок.

Остановить загрязнение и сберечь ресурсы

Повторное использование пластиков создает замкнутый цикл их применения: отходы пластиковых бутылок становятся ценным сырьем для последующего производства новых бутылок. Такой подход позволяет значительно снизить нагрузку на окружающую среду, остановить загрязнение природы отходами упаковки, а также сэкономить природные ресурсы.

Сегодня переработка и повторное использование отходов упаковки стали частью стратегий компаний и законодательными нормами. Компания "RETAL Украина" одна из первых в отрасли активно поддержала экологические инициативы путем внедрения инноваций. Новые разработки компании нацелены на решение задач по построению замкнутого цикла для полиэтилентерефталата (ПЭТ). Одно из направлений этой корпоративной программы — выпуск преформ для пластиковых бутылок с содержанием вторичного сырья (rPET). Уже сегодня благодаря новым проектам "RETAL Украина" на полках магазинов появились напитки в бутылках из 100% rPET.

Read online at Ds.news.ua

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RETAL Plastec: We Are Family

Seeking diversity and inclusion at work comes in many forms, with the increasing understanding that corporate life is not the only way to have a successful career. As previously stuffy corporate companies embrace flexible working and integrate well-being into HR policies, so too do family-owned companies appreciate that boundaries and targets help tangible results. Yet there are lessons to be learned from all approaches, with perhaps the most valuable the acceptance that everyone can learn something from someone.

While mergers and acquisitions can have the reputation of asset stripping for short-term gain for a small number of shareholders, the most beneficial way is for the essence of the business to be maintained and for as much as possible to carry on as normal. Acquiring expertise valued alongside acquiring equipment. Appreciating people as well as property and products.

The acquisition of Italian plastic bottles and preforms producer Plastec by global packaging solutions provider RETAL is an exercise in valuing the whole business, in seeing the unique benefits of the team and its character together with the reports and the KPIs. Established by Giampaolo Gatti and Vincenzo Pizi in Ascoli Piceno, Italy in 2006, Plastec manufacturers PET bottles. Giampaolo and Vincenzo worked together for nearly 30 years in the plastic bottle industry before founding Plastec. Many of Giampaolo and Vincenzo’s family are employed by Plastec, with those employees who are not actually related soon feeling like family too.

Noemi Gatti, Giampaolo’s daughter and the finance controller at Plastec, shares how growing up with Plastec is a familiar story. “There are so many of us here that have grown up together. Many children of friends and colleagues of my dad and Vincenzo have worked here and still work here. Plenty of people here have worked together for 40 years; there’s a true sense of family because we all rely on each other and have seen the business grow from nothing.”

Power of the people

Being part of a successful business that has grown strong thanks to continuous hard work and careful development is as evident in Giampaolo’s approach to leadership as well as in the shared mentality of the team. Noemi adds, “Giampaolo always says ‘we can fix equipment but we can’t fix people’; he knows that people being happy, motivated and rewarded at work is the most important thing. He’s always known that Plastec employees must be sure that there is a job here forever, not just today or tomorrow. Loyalty goes two ways.”

In 2016, Plastec was acquired by global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL, who already owned a facility in Italy, and was keen to expand its local capability to better serve its multinational brand owner customers in the food and beverage industries. The agreement for RETAL to acquire Plastec was appealing to Giampaolo and Vincenzo after the first meeting with RETAL. Noemi explains, “They could see that the reputation they’d worked so hard to build would be valued as a philosophy as well as a business. They met with the RETAL board of directors, and all agreed that Plastec must continue to run as it always had, but with the additional reach and support of a global group. Giampaolo told them ‘When we all use our hands together, we can make something that can only be reached by a family’, and the RETAL people said that this philosophy connected with their way of working too."

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RETAL publishes 2020 Sustainability Report

The 2020 Sustainability Report from RETAL has been published this week, highlighting the ongoing CSR progress across this leading global plastic packaging business.

Sustainability director Emmanuel Duffaut, implementing CSR at RETAL following the ISO 26000 standard since 2018, explains, “I am very proud to share that the RETAL 2020 Sustainability Report is now available to download on our website. It details our progress in mitigating our environmental and social impacts and highlights how CSR continues to be further embedded across RETAL for sustainable development and I am confident that the report will meet our stakeholders’ expectations.”

Duffaut continues, “There are certainly very positive results to share; for example, in 2020, for the second consecutive year, we decreased our operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30%, thanks to increasing our purchase of renewable energy (RE) reaching a 41% share globally (80% in our EU and US plants). We also maintained our B rating in CDP, and we’ve set a series of new climate change goals: RETAL has committed to set science-based reduction targets for GHG emissions, to use 100% RE in EU & US by 2023, to start using RE in the rest of our operations by 2025, and to reach an A score at CDP by 2025.”

Another important development is the first results of RETAL Sustainable Procurement Program (SPP) through which the company intends to promote CSR across its supply chain and integrate it in purchase decisions, as well as social actions bringing further advancements in the Human Rights and Health and Safety categories.

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Improving the corporate carbon footprint (CCF)

The continual integration of CSR practices at global plastic packaging manufacturer Retal sees it constantly improving its management and mitigation of climate change, with the calculation of its corporate carbon footprint (CCF) for the third year in a row.

Sustainability director Emmanuel Duffaut established a network across Retal’s plants to gather the information to calculate its CCF according to the ISO 14064 standard, which is then verified by 3rd party. The company’s CCF results and climate change management practices are evaluated through the public Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Climate Change Survey, in which Retal has obtained an industry-leading B score 2 years in a row.

Duffaut explains, “The CCF and CDP evaluations are crucial for us to clearly see the impact of our mitigation efforts, identify our shortcomings and opportunities for improvement, and to build trust with our stakeholders through transparent and credible disclosure.”

Global and local food and beverage customers can quickly and easily get the CSR information they need from their Retal contact, as well as accessing its annual Sustainability Report.

Duffaut continues, “There are certainly very positive results to share; for example, in 2020 thanks to increasing our purchase of renewable energy (RE), we reduced our operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30%, saving over 30.000t of GHG. We also purchase 41% renewable electricity globally – 80% in our EU and US plants – almost reaching our objective of 85% set for 2022 already. We also maintained our B rating in CDP which is another achievement showing good climate change management. Building on these good results, we’ve set a series of new goals: Retal has committed to set science-based reduction targets for GHG emissions, to use 100% RE in EU & US by 2023, to start using RE in the rest of our operations by 2025, and to reach an A score at CDP by 2025.”

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Mitigating climate change at RETAL

The continual integration of CSR practices at global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL sees it constantly improving its management and mitigation of climate change, with the calculation of its corporate carbon footprint (CCF) for the third year in a row.

Sustainability director Emmanuel Duffaut established a network across RETAL’s plants to gather the information to calculate its CCF according to the ISO 14064 standard, which is then verified by 3rd party. RETAL’s CCF results and climate change management practices are evaluated through the public Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Climate Change Survey, in which RETAL has obtained an industry-leading B score 2 years in a row.

Duffaut explains, “The CCF and CDP evaluations are crucial for us to clearly see the impact of our mitigation efforts, identify our shortcomings and opportunities for improvement, and to build trust with our stakeholders through transparent and credible disclosure.”

Global and local food and beverage customers can quickly and easily get the CSR information they need from their RETAL contact, as well as accessing its annual Sustainability Report.

Duffaut continues, “There are certainly very positive results to share; for example, in 2020 thanks to increasing our purchase of renewable energy (RE), we reduced our operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30%, saving over 30.000 tons of GHG. We also purchase 41% renewable electricity globally – 80% in our EU and US plants – almost reaching our objective of 85% set for 2022 already. We also maintained our B rating in CDP which is another achievement showing good climate change management. Building on these good results, we’ve set a series of new goals: RETAL has committed to set science-based reduction targets for GHG emissions, to use 100% RE in EU & US by 2023, to start using RE in the rest of our operations by 2025, and to reach an A score at CDP by 2025.”

Read online at Sustainable Packaging News

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Running a business as a family

While mergers and acquisitions can have the reputation of asset stripping for short-term gain for a small number of shareholders, Plastec and RETAL have realised that the most beneficial way for generating profit is to maintain the same business model while acquiring expertise and valuing people as well as property and products.

Acquired in 2016 by the well-known packaging manufacturer RETAL, Plastec is an Italian company based in Ascoli Piceno that produces PET preforms and bottles for the food, cosmetics, detergent and pharmaceutical industries. Established in 2006 by Giampaolo Gatti and Vincenzo Pizi, the company has developed over the years while maintaining a friendly, family-like environment.

"There are so many of us here that have grown up together. Many children of friends and colleagues of my dad and Vincenzo have worked here and still work here,” explains Noemi Gatti, Giampaolo’s daughter and the finance controller at Plastec. “There’s a true sense of family because we all rely on each other and have seen the business grow from nothing.”

“We can fix equipment but we can’t fix people,” adds Gatti, stressing the importance of investing in human resources. “People being happy, motivated and rewarded at work is the most important thing. Loyalty goes two ways.”

RETAL appreciated this philosophy and, when finalising the acquisition, the board of directors agreed that Plastec must continue to run as it always had, but with the additional reach and support of a global group. This also brings numerous benefits in terms of business. RETAL already owned a facility in Italy and was keen to expand its local capability to better serve its multinational brand owner customers in the food and beverage industries.

Under the leadership of Renzo Imperia, then general manager at RETAL Italia, Plastec continued to flourish with the day-to-day management of Giampaolo and Vincenzo until 2021, when Renzo’s move towards retirement saw Giampaolo being named as general manager of RETAL Plastec.

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EQUALITY IS FLYING HIGH AT RETAL

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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