Recycling company Vanden is jump-starting its new strategic direction, which will see the company expanding into the flexible packaging market, with the appointment of Markku Tikkanen as Director of Business Development – Flexible Packaging. Tikkanen brings to Vanden nearly 15 years of experience of packaging value chains working with prime/virgin based packaging solutions.
In this new - and global - role, Tikkanen will be tasked with growing the business’ new recycled resin division to enable a consistent high-volume supply of quality recycled resins to manufacturers of flexible packaging. Vanden is developing a full-fledged portfolio of recycled plastics resins for the flexible packaging segment, all derived from recycled feedstocks.
The aim, said the company, is to optimise the use of recycled plastics in flexible packaging films and resins. To that end, the new division will offer outsourced procurement of recycled resins with a diversified supply chain, providing technical assessments, supply source validation and technical advice advisory in recycled resins and feedstock.
“Currently, only a fraction of the material is recycled and reused, which negatively affects the reputation of plastics,” said Tikkanen. “We want to give the valuable recycled feedstock multiple lives as recycled plastics in a wide scale of applications by utilising our long expertise in recycled feedstock management.”
Tikkanen’s appointment is the first of several global directors of business development recruitments that will be made over the coming 12 months, said Damien van Leuven, CEO of Vanden Global.
“We’re confident Markku will deliver a great deal of value to the Flexible Packaging industry, helping producers to navigate the relatively unchartered waters the sector is entering with recycled content requirements. His customer-focused approach and technical knowledge will help make Vanden a leader in the supply of recycled plastics to the flexible packaging market.”
Vanden has operations and representatives in Dubai, Australia, Finland, Spain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Turkey & UK, where the recycler handles over 100 grades of recoverable plastics, servicing hundreds of customers across 35 countries in various industries.