Page 21 - Plastics News October 2020

Bobst Italia completes renovation of production Forest Essentials and RIL partner to recycle
facility
ackaging and label manufacturers' equipment and
Pservice supplier Bobst Italia has completed the
renovation and expansion of its production facility in
San Giorgio Monferrato, Italy. The project was carried
out in three successive stages, where it completely
overhauled the company's buildings and organisation.
As part of this project, the company added an
advanced Competence Centre for machine
demonstrations, research and development (R&D)
trials, and a laboratory. Bobst Italia managing director
Davide Garavaglia said: “The complete renovation and
extension of the production facility are the most
impressive and visible aspects, but the transformation
goes much deeper than the refurbishment. “It
modernises the organisational flow of the production,
logistics and traffic inside and outside the company's
grounds, and it improves the layout of all the solutions
on the shop floor. “It is now a state-of-the-art site,
which maximises efficiencies with energy and water to
reduce environmental impact and optimises the
working environment in terms of health and safety.”
Since 1960, the San Giorgio Monferrato site has been
serving as a manufacturing hub for the flexible
packaging industry. It builds printing and converting
machines. Valmet Converting, which acquired the site
in 1987, was purchased by Bobst in 2004 to expand its
folding carton and corrugated board packaging
operations into the flexible packaging market. Davide
Garavaglia added: “The investment in the San Giorgio
site demonstrates the trust that the Group has put in us
and enables us to renew our commitment to the
flexible packaging industry to continue producing the
highest quality products and services.”
October 2020 21
plastic waste packaging
ndian beauty brand Forest Essentials and
Imultinational conglomerate Reliance Industries
(RIL) have entered a partnership to recycle plastic
waste packaging.
RIL will undertake the recycling of waste plastic
packaging for Forest Essentials products. The plastic
will then be converted into eco-friendly materials. As
part of this partnership, Forest Essentials will develop
a collection facility in each of the stores, starting with
a few cities and gradually expanding to across India.
Through an empties collection and reward
programme, customers will be encouraged to drop
empty branded jars and bottles at selected stores. RIL
will repurpose the recyclable plastic processing into
secondary applications such as fibres, bottles,
containers, carpets, clothing, industrial strapping,
rope, upholstery fabrics, boat sails, automotive parts,
fibrefill for winter jackets, sleeping bags, construction
materials and other such items. Forest Essentials MD
Samrath Bedi said: “Forest Essentials has always
partnered with credible and leading organisations who
understand our vision, maintain the integrity of the
brand ethos and help us stand out from the crowd. RIL
is not only a pioneer of PET recycling in India, but also
its contribution to creating awareness about plastic
recycling in the country is commendable. “RIL has
been on the forefront to drive plastic recycling and
waste management and we are proud to be associated
with them driving the new chapter in our sustainability
charter.” With regard to its efforts in eco-packaging
and labelling, Forest Essentials reduced its plastic
usage by 70% after completely removing shrink wrap
used to protect bottles in transit. It also replaced air
wrap bubbles with air-filled pouches.
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