Quinn Packaging to invest over €3 million in new PET sheet extrusion line
Irish plastics packaging manufacturer, Quinn Packaging, has announced it is to invest over €3 million (approx. £2.2m) in a new PET sheet extrusion line.
The company says the investment at its site in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, is part of its strategy to become a major player in the rigid food packaging market and will provide additional capacity to further develop its PET sheet and meat tray business when the machine is fully commissioned in mid-2016.
The machine will be supplied by SML, an Austrian company that specialises in building high performance extrusion equipment, and will feature the Vacurema Recycling System from EREMA, a patented technology that allows the use of post-consumer, or recycled PET bottle flake to make food contact approved PET sheet.
“We believe that the extra investment being made in the Vacurema recycling system as part of the new extrusion line will give us a competitive advantage over many of our competitors by allowing us to replace virgin polymer material with recycled material and still produce a higher quality sheet,” explained Mark McKenna, General Manager of Quinn Packaging.
The production facility at Ballyconnell totals 19,000m2 and employs over 140 people in the manufacturer of a range of plastic packaging products, including food grade trays, punnets and containers, as well as thin gauge sheet for form, fill and seal applications. It also produces flexible packaging for industrial and agricultural applications such as shrink/stretch hoods and silage wrap.
Speaking on the investment Karl Stoeger, Managing Director of SML, stated:
"SML Maschinen gmbH of Austria looks forward to supplying Quinn Packaging with a new state-of-the-art sheet line for the production of high-quality, food-grade RPET-sheet for its' thermoforming applications.
“The line specification is based on SML's technology partnership with Erema Austria, utilising the Vacurema system for the main extruder and SML's single screw technology for the co-extruded skin layers. A high-capacity roll stack and downstream equipment, together with additional laminating capability for a functional film, will ensure flexible and highest-quality sheet supply for Quinn's expanding packaging business."