10/16/2008 08h54
Tetra Pak studies using green plastic in packages
Valor Econômico - 10/16/2008
Searching for new renewable and recyclable materials, package manufacturer Tetra Pak can become one of the biggest buyers of green plastic produced from Brazilian ethanol. Tetra Pak's bet on green plastic is the first announcement of interest of a big world consumer of this kind of resin that up until now has been manufactured in a conventional way, from fossil fuels such as petroleum and gas. The Swedish-capital company has in Brazil its second biggest market for its packages, with almost 9 billion units consumed last year, only second to China. As Valor verified, Tetra Pak has already had conversations with executives of the Braskem petrochemical industry, which announced its intention to put the "green" plastic in the market in 2010. American Dow and Crystalsev will also produce renewable polyethylene from sugarcane. The research Tetra Pak has been doing for new materials, including green technologies, is part of the innovation plans of the company - which invented the long life package, formed by cardboard, aluminum and plastic foils. Tetra Pak's second biggest center of research and development in the world is located in the Italian city of Modena, between Bologna and Milan, where it evaluates different alternatives that will pack products such as juice, milk, soup and liquid or semi-liquid meals. According to Grosse, Tetra Pak has plans to launch 25 innovations in the next five years. These include new packages, shapes, covers and visual designs. The emerging countries, like China, Brazil, and India, are the markets that the company expects to take most advantage in the growth - basically because of the packages have been well-adapted to warmer moister environments, expanding the shelf-life of the products. Even under the effect of an adverse economic situation, the expectation is that these countries should grow two digits, above the 6.5% average projected for 2007-2011. The investment, announced in June for the plant in Monte Mor (SP), includes the installation of two new pieces of equipment - a press and a laminating machine. With these pieces of equipment, the production capacity of the plant will increase 25% by 2009.
