Page 64 - Packaging News Nov-Dec 2019

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November-December 2019
Amcor and US packaging giant Bemis closed their $A9.2bn merger deal fol- lowing final regulatory approvals being received. The Bemis buy gave Amcor an expanded footprint in the United States, which CEO Ron Delia said he in- tended to use to its fullest advantage. Amcor listed on the
New York Stock Ex- change under the symbol AMCR, and kept its AMC symbol on the ASX trading through Chess De- pository Interests.
Fibre Packaging. The board of Orora had tipped Lowe as Garrard’s replacement upon the latter’s retirement, with Garrard saying the time had come for new leadership.
Sustainability, e-commerce, food waste, packaging waste, smart packaging, and the future factory were among the top talking points at the stand-out Global Packaging Forum, which ran alongside ProPak Asia. 21 speakers from 12 countries addressed a wide range of industry issues, with 400 del- egates from 19 nations including Australia gathering to hear from the experts on the trends and concerns facing packaging around the world.
A Collective Action Group (CAG), which includes leading industry and govern- ment representatives, was announced by Trevor Evans MP, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, when he officially opened the first meeting in Melbourne. The CAG comprises a team of 12 leading rep- resentatives from across the supply chain and government, charged with overseeing the progress of Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets.
The new highly specified 4500sqm OjiFS packaging plant in Mildura opened, with the company now offering its innovative wax-free PowerPly cartons to the local market. The new plant consolidates the two previous OjiFS Mildura sites into one, and has three separate sheds on the site. OjiFS more than doubled down on its commit- ment to the Sunraysia region, with its new plant covering 1.2 hectares.
Tetra Pak partnered with a New Zea- land company to recycle used beverage cartons into building material. The packaging giant teamed up with New Zealand Plastic Products to turn bever- age cartons into premium wood plastic composite (WPC), which can be used to replace timber in the building industry, especially for wide-profile decking. The partnership would limit cartons to land- fill, reduce overseas recycling depen- dency, and create a stable domestic end market for cartons.
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) produced Aus- tralia’s first carbonated soft drink bottle from 100 per cent recycled plastic, which was among the first in the world. By the end of 2019, CCA aims to have all single-serve plastic bottles in Australia switched to the new fully recycled mate- rials. Its local Coke No Sugar was the first product to make the switch. The new initiative followed a number of sus- tainability moves, including ensuring 100 per cent recycled plastics for Mount Franklin water bottles.
Currie Group, a sup-
plier synonymous
with the popular HP
Indigo digital presses
for printing and pack-
aging applications,
celebrated 70 years in
the industry. HP Indi-
go and Currie Group
are dominant players
in digital print for labels and packaging across the region, with executive chairman (and son of the founder) David Currie con- tinuing to lead the firm even at 68 years old himself. Currie Group also supplies a range of finishing options, including Horizon, ABG, and Scodix.
Asia’s largest trade show for packaging and processing machinery, ProPak Asia, delivered four action-filled days and 1800 exhibits focusing on ‘The Future of Processing and Packaging Innovation’. PKN was there in Bangkok to find out why Australians are increasingly seeing this show as a
significant event in the region: 17 Australian com- panies chose to exhibit, as well as the APPMA, which saw plenty of foot traffic at its own stand.
Orora CEO and managing director Nigel Garrard retired, with Brian Lowe replac- ing him in both jobs. Garrard had led Orora for more than 10 years, while Lowe joined the company in 2011 to head up the Beverage Business group before becoming group gener- al manager of Orora
The six distinct
businesses of in-
dustrial measure-
ment and automa-
tion operation
Diverseco joined
together in a strate-
gic restructure, all
moving to operate
under the Diverse-
co brand. Brenton Cunningham, CEO Diverseco, said the restructuring was in re- sponse to customer feedback, and the rec- ognition that to grow the Diverseco group of companies from a mid-$40 million to a $100 million dollar business would require major organisational change.