ProAmpac offers a range of sustainable, flexible solutions in cheese packaging

By Alyssa Mitchell

Photo courtesy of ProAmpac

FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS — ProAmpac’s PRO FLEX films offer comprehensive flexible packaging solutions for cheese applications.

Photo courtesy of ProAmpac

PROACTIVE SUSTAINABILITY — The ProActive Sustainability initiative has an internal focus through which ProAmpac is reorienting manufacturing and other operations toward its own sustainability goals. Externally, it also is the brand identity for ProAmpac’s sustainable packaging products.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — ProAmpac is a Cincinnati-based flexible-packaging company offering a comprehensive portfolio of sustainable and creative packaging solutions, industry-leading customer service, and award-winning innovation to a diverse global marketplace.

Established in 2015, the company, which is now owned by Pritzker Private Capital along with management and co-investors, blends its breadth of packaging products and its depth of product-development expertise to help customers generate innovative flexible-packaging solutions and achieve their sustainability goals.

“Looking back over the past four years, a remarkable integration of multiple company cultures has been combined into a single, competitive and successful organization,” says Adam Grose, chief commercial officer, ProAmpac. Validating this, he says, are the multiple awards the company has received.

In addition, ProAmpac is seeing growing success with major consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) customers, Grose notes. “Collaborative Innovation” is a signature go-to-market strategy for the company.

Through Collaborative Innovation, ProAmpac’s product development team joins forces with a customer’s development group to accelerate innovation from ideation to launch, Grose says.

Grose also notes that many CPGs have pledged to make packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Through another initiative called ProActive Sustainability, the company sets out to help customers reach their sustainability goals.

“Of course, flexible packaging itself is a major contributor to sustainability,” Grose says. “In contrast with rigid packaging, flexible packaging reduces the energy and CO2 emissions required for manufacturing. It increases the product-to-package ratio, lowers storage costs, and reduces the quantity of fuel for deliveries.”

The ProActive Sustainability initiative has an internal focus through which ProAmpac is reorienting manufacturing and other operations toward its own sustainability goals.

Externally, it also is the brand identity for ProAmpac’s sustainable packaging products, which are offered in four groups: ProActive Recyclable; ProActive PCR; ProActive Renewable and ProActive Compostable.

ProActive Recyclable is packaging that can be recycled after use. These products include the new R-1000 rollstock for high-speed, form-fill-seal applications.

ProActive PCR contains post-consumer-recycled (PCR) content with up to 40% PCR in the polyethylene (PE) sealant layer and up to 90% PCR in the polyester (PET) print web.

ProActive Renewable flexible packaging products, which are made from a bio-based resin, such as corn or sugarcane, are among ProAmpac’s renewable options available in various formats. Renewable polymers also can be incorporated into the sealant layer of multi-layer laminates.

Lastly, ProActive Compostable Flexible Packaging is made with materials that degrade under aerobic conditions, such as an industrial composting facility or a home composter.

“These are an attractive sustainable offering when combined with compostable products, such as yard waste or food,” notes Hesam Tabatabaei, vice president of innovation and technology, ProAmpac.

Tabatabaei notes the company is helping cheese customers meet their sustainable packaging goals primarily with its new ProActive Recyclable R-1000, a mono film available in both high-barrier and standard-barrier formats.

“The high-barrier version works well for high-speed retail shredded cheese applications because of its high-oxygen barrier, excellent heat resistance, very low seal-initiation temperature and ability to be recycled via in-store drop off after use,” Tabatabaei says.

“Standard-barrier ProActive Recyclable R-1000 also was designed for high-speed secondary overwrap cheese package applications, replacing non-recyclable laminated structures such as PET/PE or BOPP/PE without sacrificing filling speed,” Tabatabaei adds.

Meanwhile, ProAmpac’s Signature Surfaces line of differentiating coatings can make cheese packaging pop off the shelf by employing the product line’s Soft Touch and Registered Matte surface modifications in addition to Paper Touch, which provides the look and feel of paper with the protection of film. Paper Touch may be combined with ProActive Recyclable R-1000 or with ProActive PCR.

“These added details really help boost a brand’s appeal in the refrigerator case,” Grose says.

The company offers a diverse range of paper products as well.

“Paper is very much a core offering for ProAmpac, serving a multitude of flexible packaging applications,” Grose says. “Many companies are again turning to paper-based structures, providing a sustainable, curbside-recyclable offering.”

“Paper is renewable, compostable, recyclable and may contain post-consumer recycled content — offering a variety of sustainable advantages,” Grose adds. “ProAmpac offers an assortment of paper packaging solutions and has significant participation in paper packaging already.”

In addition to sustainable solutions, food safety is paramount to the company’s packaging offerings.

ProAmpac notes Safe Quality Food certification is just one of the Global Food Safety Initiative certification platforms utilized within the company.

“We currently have 13 SQF 5 BRC locations and one FSSC 22000 location, with plans to add two to three certifications next year,” Grose says. “This coverage allows us to provide our customers with a wide range of high-quality, food-safe products from locations across the globe.”

Looking ahead, ProAmpac says it will continue to focus on its Collaborative Innovation initiative to help customers accelerate change and drive new product development within the flexible-packaging segment.
“We are certain that Collaborative Innovation will yield amazing results in the cheese market — especially with our new recyclable film,” Grose says.

CMN

© 2024 Cheese Market News • Quarne Publishing, LLC • Legal Information • Online Privacy Policy • Terms and Conditions
Cheese Market News • Business/Advertising Office: P.O. Box 628254 • Middleton, WI 53562 • 608/831-6002
Cheese Market News • Editorial Office: 5315 Wall Street, Suite 100 • Madison, WI 53718 • 608/288-9090