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Page 16 April 2011Email: grocery@flame1.com THE INTERVIEW - ALEXIR PACKAGINGTel: 01923 272960ALEXIR PACKAGINGINNOVATORS IN BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGINGAlexir Packaging is a leadinginnovator in the developmentand manufacture of biodegradableprinted folded cartons, using a widerange of natural fibre carton boardswhich are naturally compostable, and arange of compostable barrier boardsspecifically developed for the foodindustry. Alexir Packaging also leads thefield with its continuing advances inbiodegradable and compostable coatingsfor food packaging, in line with the foodindustry’s growing awareness of theenvironmental impact of the differenttypes of carton board and plastic packaging.To this end, Alexir has developed arange of ‘totally’ compostable packaging,including a series of printed cartons andtrays with windows that conform toEN13432, the code for products made ofcompostable materials, independentlyaccredited through the Din Certco testlaboratory.Alexir’s pioneering range of biodegradablepackaging was first introduced intothe UK retail market in 2008, when itlaunched the FooGo salad tray and suppliedthe packaging for M&S’s OrganicPasta range. Since then it has consistentlysupported the grocery industry’s requirementsfor totally compostable packagingand stressed the importance of theindustry setting environmental strategiesfor its packaging use. Robert Davison,Chairman of Alexir Partnership, spoke toThe Grocery TraderThe Grocery Trader - Robert, what doesyour day to day role involve?I’m involved hands-on throughout thebusiness. Besides being Chairman and MDof Alexir Packaging, I look after some of oursales. I’m also Chairman of the Alexir Groupof companies, trading as The AlexirPartnership.GT - Do you get personally involvedin developing new compostable packagingproducts and tailored solutions forcustomers?Yes, I do. I’m involved in a wide rangeof our activities, and get to work withmany of our customers. My biggest passionis NPD, looking at new ideas andways of expanding the role of cartonboard. People forget trees are farmed, justlike corn.GT - When was Alexir founded? Whoowns it now?I founded Alexir Packaging in July 1989with three colleagues. The present ownersare me and my family, and 14 past/presentemployees.GT - What are the different companiesin the group?We have four companies, trading as apartnership since January 2010. The fourarms work together to provide a design todelivery solution. Alexir Design is adesign and branding agency, specialisingin construction and packaging engineering.Alexir Packaging is a cartonmanufacturer, based in Edenbridge: AlexirContract Packing is in Uckfield,and contract-manufacturesfinished goods for retailand wholesale clients: andthe fourth arm is AlexirInternational, also based inEdenbridge, which works for bothAlexir customers and independentclients, and specialises in the design andsupply of packaging solutions in materialsubstrates including plastic, pulp, metaland board. The four arms are expert companiesin their own fields, so our widerange of businesses means we can crossfertiliseour thinking.GT - How big is Alexir in turnover,employee numbers and output?Alexir Packaging has a turnover of £10mand 89 staff. The Alexir Partnership’s totalturnover is £25m.GT - Do you operate in any othercountries?We export to Ireland, France, Belgium,Germany and the US. The export side isgrowing but currently contributes 5% of ourturnover. Our AlexiPack® product is gettingserious interest from as far afield asAustralia and New Zealand.GT - What proportion of your UK packagingoutput is compostable?Virtually all our packaging is based oncarton board, which has always been industriallycompostable. That said, some of ourpacks have thin lightweight polymer liningsto provide certain barrier properties, so thetrue figure is probably more like 85%. Allour carton board comes from renewableresources, with more trees planted everyyear to offset it.GT - Can you explain the internationalstandard for home composting?EN 13432 is the industry standard forcompostable materials. The home compostablelogo has been developed withWRAP and AFOR, who are looking tolaunch the home compostable logo as soonas possible.GT - How does UK adoption of compostablepackaging compare with the restof the world?The UK leads the way, but the greatestinternational interest is coming fromEurope. Alexir is the leading innovator incompostable packaging, specifically indirect food contact packaging.GT - How are you organised to meetcustomers’ biodegradable packagingneeds?We prioritise and promote renewableresources and compostable packaging as amatter of course, and are passionate aboutit. We are keen to operate differently anddo new things withcardboard.We’ve recentlydeveloped a new rangeof packaging for theunwashed bagged salad market. The Fresh& Naked unwashed salad range is now soldfor the first time in a cardboard box that canbe completely recycled. We’ve beenpushing this form of packaging for years,and now we’re seeing a high level of success.With the support of our mill, we’vealso developed Bioptima, a specialcoating which is fully biodegradable, allowsdirect food contact and is sealable.GT - What is the difference betweencompostable and ordinary carton board, inhow long it takes to biodegrade? What isthe cost difference?There is no difference between compostableand ordinary carton board, as allcarton boards are produced from naturalfibres so they both biodegrade.GT - What is the level of understandingin the UK food industry of the environmentalimpact of the different types ofboard and packaging that are available?There’s a high level of understandinghere and in Western Europe, but peoplearen’t generally willing to pay the higherprice - generally 12% more - for biodegradablepackaging, so the uptake hasn’t yetbeen realised.GT - How long does it take standardplastic window film and plastic pots tobiodegrade? How long do ‘bio’ versionstake?Normal plastic pots can last for thousandsof years. Our ‘bio’ packs can have awindow of poly lactic acid (PLA), a clearfilm made from corn. We’re also looking atpackaging made with potato starch, whichsatisfies the EN standard and biodegradesin 12 weeks in industrial processing.GT - Can you talk us through the compostablepackaging items in your standardproducts range?We offer carton board, cereal packagingand other packs with the product in aninner bag. Our range of packaging wherethe pack is in direct contact with the foodcovers sandwich packs, salad trays, tortillapacks, open food trays and pots for noodlesand rice. We’ve also patented theAlexiPack® for ready meals: a premiumproduct, the board is offers blister free dualovenable trays, allowing trays to hold strongeven while heated. We reckon it’s the bestpre-formed tray in the world but it’s currentlyseen as a premium product in a priceconscious market...GT - You have developed variousbiodegradable and compostable coatingsfor food packaging. Can you tell us aboutthese?Bioptima is a coating for carton boardthat was developed to enable the continuationof compostability for the carton whileproviding a moisture and grease barrier aswell as heat-sealing to maintain productfreshness.GT - Do you offer this technology toother companies, or is it exclusive to AlexirPackaging for your products?At the moment they’re exclusive to us,but we’ll share them with customers asappropriate. Alexir has 1% of the UK cartonmarket and we can be active, flexible andresponsive, faster than larger corporates.GT - Do you publish customer casestudies?Yes we do, but they’re the tip of theiceberg. We have many that wecan’t publish for reasons of customerconfidentiality. On theopposite page you can see case studiesfor Fresh & Naked, Higgidy Pies and PaxoStuffing.GT - If a carton is compostable, is thereany risk of it starting to biodegrade beforethe end user has finished using it, forinstance if it gets wet?The risk is no worse than withbiodegradable carrier bags. If a carton is inthe fridge or freezer it won’t decompose,the right conditions are required.GT - What is the ‘spec’ for a compostableproduct to qualify for the HomeComposting logo? How do companiesapply to feature it? Do you have to pay afee? When was it launched?The official spec for Home compostingis currently being developed. With theright conditions, home composting of cartonscan take from six months or more inthe UK, as the climate is cooler over here.We processed our application toEN13432, which is for industrial composting,with the UK CompostingAssociation. There is a not negligiblefront fee based on the amount of productstested per year.GT - Where do you develop and manufactureyour biodegradable printed foldedcartons?It now all happens in our new factory inEdenbridge or with our partners in the UKand Europe.GT - Do retailers prefer products with‘Home Composting’-approved packs?The natural reaction from retailers andconsumers is yes. There are approximately6 million households in the UKhome composting, and this offers anopportunity to increase the volumes ofcompostable materials in the market andbegin public education with the help ofthe new logo. In my role asChairman of the industry bodyBPIF Carton, I’m actively pursuinga route to try andget home compostingtrials off the groundand get certification,trying togetting Britain to beeven greener intime for theOlympics.GT - I’d like toask you brieflyabout the fire atCrawley on 4November 2010. Whichparts of your business wereaffected, and what was the level ofdamage?The fire affected the whole of our manufacturingsite: we lost all ourmanufacturing area and part of our warehouse,and there was smoke damage tothe office.GT - Did you have to close operationsat Crawley altogether during therecovery? How did you satisfy customerorders?We had to close Crawley completelybecause it was unusable, but we were in atemporary office within 12 hours of thefire and manufacturing with a partnerwithin 24 hours. We had a disasterstrategy in place with two partnersstanding by, and this was implementedimmediately.GT - When did Edenbridge becomeoperational?The first machine was operational onJanuary 5: if you eliminate the Christmasbreak, we did it in six weeks. My complimentsgo to our employees andsuppliers. We are virtually back tonormal now.Robert Davison, Chairman of AlexirPartnership.GT - What has changed in the way youoperate as a company since the Crawleyfire?I wouldn’t want to go through the lastthree months again, but opening the newfactory made us review the operation andwe’ve taken the opportunity of only transferringthe best elements from Crawley.We have had to act quickly to find theright site with enough electrical poweravailable. We now have a better environment,one of the most technically advancedmanufacturing plants in Europe.GT - How do you liaise with externaldesign companies?Alexir Design designs both independentlyand for Alexir customers. We havegood relations with a lot of professionaldesign companies, on the graphics and thetechnical side.GT – How quickly can you arrive at aprototype for a customised packagingsolution?Depending on the complexity, we canrespond in anything from 24 hours to severalweeks, if it involves tooling and trials.Our work on food trays has meant trials inthe supply chain. We have a substantiallevel of knowledge in the business, whichcan help customers refine their productsbased on tweaking the packaging. If youhave a genuine working partnership, it canmake a huge difference.GT - Have you won any awards forinnovation or for environmental excellence?We’ve won various Starpack awardsfor innovation, but we’ve notentered any environmentalones yet.GT - What new standardcompostable products areyou launching in 2011?Our NPD’s stalled becauseof the fire. We plan to roll outsome new NPD in May orJune.GT - You recently exhibitedat Pro2Pac, alongside IFE.What were you doing there?The aim at Pro2Pac was toshow the industry that Alexir isvery much up and running again.We showed all our packaging and innovationover the years. We were alsopromoting the Alexir Partnership, and gotsome good leads from people moving fromplastic to carton, and had interest in ourAlexiBake® and AlexiPack® products, inparticular.GT – Where do you see demand forcompostable packaging, and AlexirPackaging’s involvement with it, goingfrom here?Our involvement will stay strong - wewill develop, and prioritise developing,more products for new markets. One suchproduct is AlexiPack®: an original conceptfor chilled meal packs, it is designed toreplace the PET tray, and offers a 67%reduction in plastic content. Its designallows full direct branding, removing thecost of labels, u-cards, printed film andprinted sleeves.The recent recession has made everyonestop and think about packaging – mostpeople won’t pay the premium necessary tomet biodegradability standards, but we’veseen a lot more interest in the last fewmonths.ALEXIR PACKAGING TEL: 01732 866681 WWW.ALEXIR-PARTNERSHIP.CO.UK