Packaging of food products will undergo a huge transition from single-use to recycling of materials in the coming years. Packaging producer Oerlemans Packaging Group is a strong supporter of this gamechanger when it comes to making our economy circular. 

With the OSV, we visited subsidiary Oerlemans Plastics in Giessen, where we were updated on current developments in flexo printing, film extrusion, research, reprography and confection in the modern factory. 

Merijn Bos (Sales Director) kicked off by introducing Oerlemans Packaging Group - with a total of 7 companies, 10 production sites and 750 professionals. Their products can be found all over the world. The more specialised the further afield.

Actually, you could say that every day, everyone holds a product in their hands where Oerlemans has had a finger in the pie.

We work together on sustainability

The Oerlemans Packaging Group has grown through innovation, focus on quality, circularity and cooperation with all parties in the chain. Cooperation is also crucial for sustainability. With all the developments in the market, the glut of sustainable information is enormous and that makes it complex.

This was also evident in Rob Verhagen's (Sustainable Director) presentation "Dilemmas in sustainable packaging".  We all know that we need to become more sustainable and eventually move towards cradle to cradle. But particularly in the field of plastics, there are quite a few contradictory regulations that will soon have to result in conclusive legislation. That will be quite a task and we are taking too much of a wait-and-see attitude. Oerlemans Packaging Group is taking its responsibility in this respect. It is investing heavily in making hundreds of packaging types more sustainable. 

The strength of this family business lies mainly in cooperation and knowledge sharing. By linking different parties, a lot has already been achieved, also in the field of collection and recycling. Great strides have already been made in circularity through these partnerships.

And Oerlemans Packaging Group does not wait for regulations and legislation but looks much further ahead. It recently invested in metre-high extrusion towers that can produce barrier packaging film from 100% recyclable mono-material, where in the current market many packages are still composed of multiple interwoven materials. By retaining essential food packaging properties, this is a revolutionary sustainability innovation for the food industry! 

The tour

The tour ran a little late due to the enthusiasm of the staff, there was also so much to tell! You could sense from everything that people are proud of the company. Of course, it is also great when you work for a company that not only has ideas but also works towards a sustainable future. Saying and doing are often two completely different things, which is absolutely not the case with Oerlemans. They invest a lot of time and money in our future!

This all came up for discussion during the networking drinks afterwards where we were spoilt with the most delicious snacks. Everyone was impressed by the company, the knowledge present and the commitment to a sustainable world. 

With a well-filled stomach and a head full of information, we returned home feeling satisfied.

Thank you Hèlen Maasbach, Ellen Schreur and Peter Vos for your efforts and of course a big thank you to the speakers and all colleagues who accompanied us.

Would you like to know more about Oerlemans Packaging Group?

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