drinkworld Technology + Marketing 2/2022

Packaging
KHS Group and E.Leclerc Realize Showcase
Project for the French Beverage Market
Subsidiary Aquamark invests in economical, resource-conserving Nature MultiPack system
from KHS
French retail chain E.Leclerc has an ambitious target: to significantly reduce the amount of
packaging material used for its own brands. It thus began looking for an environmentallyfriendly
alternative to classic shrink film for its water brand Marque Repère. In KHS the
company ultimately found a competent partner that was able to reliably meet its exacting
requirements. In 2020 and 2021 Aquamark subsequently invested in two Innopack Nature
MultiPack machines from the Dortmund systems supplier. With this resource-conserving
system the bottler will save more than 250,000 metric tons of plastic per annum in the years
to come.
Single-use plastics are having a hard
time of it in France at the moment,
with the French government aiming to
largely eradicate the use of this material
by 2040. Since the beginning of 2022,
for instance, it has been forbidden to
sell a wide range of fruit and vegetables
in plastic packaging. The object of the
exercise is to specifically encourage and
expand the instigation of returnable
systems and thus closed recycling
loops. This consistent policy has met
with considerable approval from the
general public. The number of ecoconscious
consumers has significantly
increased over the last few years, with
the result that local companies are
starting to feel the pressure. It thus
appears to be clear which direction
developments are to take.
The KHS packaging machine aligns the PET bottles so that the adhesive is applied at exactly the right
place on the container.
In 2020 and 2021 French water bottler Aquamark invested in two Innopack Nature MultiPack machines
from KHS for its 1.0- and 1.5-liter plastic bottles.
Reduce packaging material
without compromising on
bottle design
French retail chain E.Leclerc is setting
a good example in this respect,
deciding to gradually cut down on
the amount of packaging material
– especially plastics – used for its
own brands even before the state
regulation came into effect. This
conscious decision to become more
environmentally friendly is part of an
ambitious sustainability strategy that
envelops all areas of the company
from energy management through
transportation systems to the use
of resources. The same applies to
drinkworld Technology + Marketing · June 2022
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