Packaging for less
vegetables company Compagnie Bretonne de l'Artichaut with a
packaging solution which is said to reduce material usage by
between 10 and 14 per cent.
Swedish company AssiDomän Frövi has supplied French processed vegetables company Compagnie Bretonne de l'Artichaut (CBA) with a packaging solution which is said to reduce material usage by between 10 and 14 per cent.
The product range Domaine de Beauregard, processed by CBA comes from the centre of the farming area in Northern Brittany, where the climate and fertile soils allow top quality vegetables to be grown consistently. According to Frövi the boxes it has provide make a strong ecological statement which reflects the rural tradition of the area.
Two years ago CBA decided to investigate the possibilities of reducing its packaging material. The converter Alp'Imprim was asked to evaluate the best board material and to produce the pack. A new graphical design was created and Frövi I Light was chosen as the board.
According to CBA the change to Frövi meant less weight as well as better printability, runability, moisture resistance and weight reduction. There were some of the pre-requisites for CBA when they decided to re-design the packs. They had previously used different kraftboards for their boxes but Frövi Light came to stay and has now substituted the earlier kraftboard grades.
"Working in a close partnership with a good converter that you can trust, is crucial" said Mrs Quemeneur, purchaser at CBA. "For us this change meant less problems with a good performance from the filling machines throughout the whole distribution chain, and less costs due to weight reduction with less Eco tax as a consequence."
The substance of the board is now 270 gsm, compared to 305/315 gsm before - which attributes the significant materials saving.
"We gave the customer exactly what they wanted", said Alain Villard, director at Alp'Imprim. "Frövi Light has the right strength properties for weight reduction and the moisture resistance makes it perfect for packaging of frozen food."
The high moisture resistance is explained by the hardsizing in the pulp. "The hardsize surrounds the fibres like a raincoat and delays any penetration of moisture into the fibre," according to a Frövi spokesperson.
Attitudes towards kraftboard in general, are slowly changing on the French market, according to Villard. Converters and producers are discovering the advantages - especially for the food industry - with taint and odour neutrality as well as strength properties, while reluctance towards the brown reverse is gradually diminishing. The brown reverse is even an advantage, as it has a strong ecological representation, Villard said.
CBA was founded in 1971 and is today processing 22,000 tons vegetables/year. They are linked with Prince De Bretagne, a production organisation with high quality features. Domaine de Beauregard is their own brand but most of their production is packed under private labels for the big supermarkets.
Frövi Light is a virgin fibre cartonboard with a four layer construction. It has an unbleached bottom layer and a bleached top layer, with a high quality clay-coating giving a smooth printing surface. High strength properties and purity are characteristic of the board, giving opportunities for weight reduction and smart packaging solutions, the manufacturers claim.
