News bulletin – industrial packaging

NEWS BULLETIN

INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING

MAUSER STUFFS THE BOXES

Mauser Packaging Solutions has developed a new ISO pallet for intermediate bulk carriers (IBCs), offering a lower stacking height and thereby increasing the number of IBCs that can fit in a 20-foot container from 18 to 20 units. Traditionally, door height restrictions block two spaces near the opening and require that IBCs be loaded individually and double-stacked once inside the container. The new pallet design allows the shipper to load IBCs stacked two high, improving loading efficiency by more than 50 per cent and eliminating the two unused spaces near the door.

The new composite pallet is impact-resistant, designed to withstand rugged handling, accessible by forklifts from all four sides, and compatible with the standard Mauser Packaging Solutions composite pallet.

Mauser Packaging Solutions has also announced a significant investment in its Gebze facility in Turkey, to expand drum and IBC production and further support the collection and supply of reconditioned packaging in the region. A new plastics drum line is due to be completed during the fourth quarter of this year, with a new blow-moulding machine for IBC bottles scheduled to be in service early in 2022.

As a key supplier of industrial packaging solutions to Turkey and the surrounding region including countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, the site expansion will not only support customer growth strategies, but also provide further support of the growing export markets in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

“This investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to further expand our footprint in the region and partner with our customers to provide unmatched quality and customer service,” says Gönül Olcay, general manager of the Gebze facility. mauserpackaging.com

HOYER HIRES IN IBCS

Hoyer has announced a strategic expansion of its IBC logistics services in North America, hiring Johan Wramsby (below) to lead the team. Wramsby has nearly 20 years of experience in the IBC manufacturing, leasing and service sector after an executive role with Hoover CS. He will support the Hoyer Group team in Houston as director of IBC Logistics Americas.

Hoyer has a global fleet of some 50,000 metal IBCs, ranging in volume from 500 to 1,100 litres and manufactured from various grades of stainless steel, all with dangerous goods approval. Hoyer offers a simple leasing service as well as customised contracts and comprehensive full-service arrangements covering the on-time planning of IBC capacities, cleaning and maintenance, and complex transport logistics. It has identified North America as one of the most important growth areas for this service. www.hoyer-group.com

MORE IBCS FROM SCHÜTZ

Schütz has commissioned an expansion of its Karawang site in Indonesia, which was opened in 2019 to produce MX and SX IBCs. The expansion now adds a reconditioning line to allow IBCs collected through the Schütz Ticket Service to have their inner bottles recycled and remanufactured as fully compatible Recobulk IBCs.

Schütz says the new facility will help Indonesia meet its goal of achieving the targets set down in the Paris Agreement, with the production of each Recobulk IBC saving around 100 kg of CO2 emissions compared to a new unit.

Schütz has also invested in expanding IBC production volumes at its Worksop facility in the UK. It has added further automation and energy efficiency moves, bringing the site up to the latest technical levels and allowing more precise processing quality and shorter lead times. “Delivery reliability is thus once again significantly increase, even in the event of large fluctuations in demand,” the company states. www.schuetz.net

GOOD GREIF

Greif enjoyed record sales levels in its third fiscal quarter, to end June, coming in at $1.49bn, compared to $1.08bn for the same period last year. Net income rose from $20.7m a year ago to $113.0m, while adjusted EBITDA also reached a record level of $237.8m.

“The Greif team delivered an exceptional third quarter,” says Pete Watson, Greif’s president and CEO. “In addition to strong operating results, we achieved record financial performance, reduced our debt and made meaningful progress towards achieving our targeted leverage ratio. While we continue to face significant inflationary conditions, Covid-19 related constraints and labour availability challenges, our underlying end markets are strong and we are executing with discipline to offset challenges and deliver on our commitments. Looking ahead, Greif is well-positioned for success as we continue to partner closely with our customers and drive enhanced value creation for our shareholders.” www.greif.com