Global packaging solutions provider Alpla Group and joint venture partner Glatfelter Corporation, a leading supplier of engineered materials, have partnered with the Swedish start-up Blue Ocean Closures (BOC), the companies have announced.
Based in the region of Värmland, BOC makes use of dry forming technology to produce natural fibre-based closures and other moulded packaging products.
Alpla is continuously investing in the research and use of alternative, bio-based packaging materials, explained Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at Alpla. “Now we are looking forward to bringing our expertise into the new cooperation with Glatfelter and BOC.”
The three companies will work together, with Alpla and Glatfelter investing in the development of high-quality cellulose-based products including screw caps that are fully bio-based and potentially ocean biodegradable. The collaboration will further buttress BOC’s product development, shortening the time to market for its novel closures..
The partnership with Glatfelter and BOC is in line with Alpla’s strategic focus of increased investment in the circular economy. The four Rs – Replace, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – are crucial in order to advance forward-looking activities and to identify areas of action.
For Alpla, the Replace sphere of activity comprises research into and the use of alternative, bio-based and recyclable materials to expand and complement the product portfolio. In that connection, the company has since 2019 also been working with a company called Paboco on the development of paper-based bottles; also, in 2018, it unveiled a home-compostable coffee capsule to the public.
Reduce focuses on an ongoing reduction in material consumption, Reuse is all about optimising the properties of plastic bottles for reuse systems, and Recycle addresses the overarching objective of keeping as much plastic as possible in the recycling cycle.