Page 39 - Plastics News March 2021

Business news

Toyo Ink and Itochu Corporation Scholle IPN completes acquisition

sign JV to recycle multilayer film of packaging firm Bossar
packaging

cholle IPN, a leading
Sglobal supplier of
oyo Ink SC Holdings, the parent company of the
Tspecialty chemicals manufacturing conglomerate Toyo flexible packaging solutions,
Ink Group, and global trading house Itochu Corporation, announced today that
have entered into a cooperative agreement to establish they have completed
a plastics recycling scheme for the recovery and reuse the purchase of Bossar, a
of multilayer film packaging materials. By using their global supplier of flexible
respective technologies and vast business networks, horizontal form-fill-seal
the two firms will develop the materials technology packaging equipment. The
needed to create real circularity of multilayer flexible new business combination
packaging by making currently unrecyclable multilayer will leverage the combined
plastics packaging into a recyclable material by 2022. capabilities of both businesses to provide one stop
The collective goal is to boost the plastics recycling rate shopping for vertically integrated, sustainable
to more than 40 per cent in Japan and abroad. “We solutions for the global flexible packaging market.
are delighted to partner with Itochu in this ambitious
project,” said Shiina Harako, project manager for the Ross Bushnell, President and CEO of Scholle IPN, said
marketing division at Toyo Ink Co. “The Itochu Group brings of the combination, "This is an important next step
to the table a whole host of major players in the global in our continued evolution toward becoming a truly
packaging value chain who share our vision of creating a indispensable provider of total packaging solutions
recycling-oriented society. Through this partnership, we to our customers around the world." Mr. Bushnell
hope to carve a clear path to realising a circular economy continued, "While the two companies have worked
for post-industrial plastics waste in Japan and elsewhere. together for some time, the formal combination not
This initiative is also a major step in Toyo Ink’s strategic only strengthens our global equipment footprint but
plan to start a post-industrial recycling business in 2022, it also allows for even stronger collaboration within
our teams around the world. Our mission is to be
Simply Flexible in all that we do and the combination
of these two great businesses will enable that mantra
as we achieve our goal of being a world leader in
film, fitments, and equipment to the global liquid
packaging market." Jeroen van der Meer, Managing
Director of Scholle IPN in EMEA, and CEO of Bossar,
stated, "The goal of Scholle IPN has always been
to create lightweight, environmentally-conscious
flexible packaging solutions for the circular economy.
By combining Bossar and Scholle IPN, we are able to
and a post-consumer recycling business in commercial truly focus our development activity to provide leading
plants by 2025.” At present, the recycling rate in Japan edge technologies that enable us to manufacture a
is about 27 per cent. In Japan, while about 16 per cent complete range of sustainable packaging solutions
of plastics waste is simply burned, buried, or otherwise for our customers." Mr. van der Meer added that,
processed without being reused, about 56 per cent relies "Already today, our products provide sustainable
on incineration methods, such as the thermal recycling and solutions through substantial reductions in packaging
heat reclaiming. Currently, large amounts of plastics are
not recycled. In 2019, Toyo Ink had developed a plastics weight while extending shelf-life, reducing energy
recovery technology for multilayered flexible packaging. consumption and minimizing food waste."

39 March 2021 Plastics News