Smurfit Kappa has acquired Pusa Pack, a bag-in-box packaging plant located in Onda, Castellón, Spain, to be integrated into the former’s own bag-in-box manufacture.
Pusa Pack specialises in large-capacity flexible bags ranging from 200 to 1500 litres in size; the bags are typically used to store and transport bulk food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, amongst other liquid and semi-liquid products. As a result of the acquisition, the bags will now be put to use in Smurfit Kappa’s Spanish operations.
“Heavy-duty packaging is evolving towards more environmentally friendly solutions,” said Thierry Minaud, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box. “We increasingly see the trend of companies moving away from plastic or stainless steel intermediate bulk containers (IBC) in favour of much more sustainable corrugated solutions which have a considerably lower carbon footprint.
“It makes perfect sense - if we compare a Smurfit Kappa IBC made of fully recyclable, biodegradable and renewable corrugated with a rigid plastic container, we see an 87% reduction in plastic weight, significant supply chain optimisation, elimination of cleaning requirements and shelf life extension for the product when aseptic filling technology is applied.”
Pascual Martinez, general manager of Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box, added: “This acquisition will strengthen Smurfit Kappa’s Bag-in-Box portfolio and create strong supply chain and market synergies between the two companies. This acquisition will also be of great benefit for customers, especially those who have demand for bag-in-box solutions in different formats, for example retail and industrial use.”
Vicente Salvá, the previous owner of Pusa Pack, said: “We are glad to join Smurfit Kappa Group; it will definitely bring a lot of opportunities to our company.”
In a similar situation, Sealed Air Corporation signed an agreement earlier this month to acquire Liquibox and utilise its bag-in-box solutions, amongst other types of packaging. Sealed Air hopes that the new solutions will allow the company to branch out into food service and quick service restaurants.
The news came after Liquibox’s previous nomination for the Sustainability Awards 2022, with its mono-material, recycle-ready bag-in-box solution thought to provide strong barrier protection.
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