PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net Pascal Lefèvre new Sidel global vice president food, home and personal care markets Sidel has announced the appointment of a new global vice president. Pascal Lefèvre will develop and drive Sidel’s food, home and personal care strategy, meeting the unique needs of these markets and delivering flexible, eco-friendly, and tailored-made solutions that will address the new and complex retailing and distribution challenges that customers face. Lefèvre will lead in the provision of innovative, eco-friendly, and ultra-flexible equipment to food, home and personal care customers. These feature a comprehensive range of blowers and end of line solutions, including packers and palletisers, for any type of primary and secondary packaging. Sidel also offers complete or partial integrated lines in categories like edible oil, sauces & dressing, coffee and more. Pascal Lefèvre explained that he will ensure Sidel can provide solutions that offer the flexibility, operability and product care demanded by these fast-moving and rapidly evolving market segments, while drawing on existing capability and expertise. Pascal Lefèvre joined Sidel in 2020. He attended ISG Paris Business School and has more than 20-years of experience working in senior positions within the packaging equipment industry. He said: “Sidel is supporting brand owners through the transition to fully recyclable light-weighted PET or rPET containers, leveraging our design capability and market-leading blow moulding solutions with its preferential heating technology for shaped containers.” www.sidel.com Extrupet doubling food-grade recycling capabilities Extrupet, one of the largest and advanced recyclers of plastics on the African continent, has announced a major expansion of their food-grade plastic recycling operations in South Africa. “Extrupet is proud to announce that we will double our food-grade operations by adding a fourth food-grade recycled PET (rPET) facility, which will increase our recycling capacity by an additional 33,000 tons per year,” said Chandru Wadhwani, Joint Managing Director at Extrupet. “The demand for food-grade recycling keeps on increasing, especially as retailers and consumers alike opt for more environmentally friendly options,” he continued. “Currently, only 60% of South Africa’s plastic bottles are recycled. With this increased capacity, we will be able to accommodate more of South Africa’s plastic waste and strengthen South Africa’s position as a circular economy leader in Africa and the world”. Phase 1 of this expansion is slated for Cape Town and is expected to be fully operational in 2023. The development will cost approximately R300 million (US$ 20.5 million) and will create additional jobs in the PET bottle collection industry. Extrupet, the first food-grade plastic recycler in South Africa, currently recycles more than 5 million PET bottles every day. The rPET is sold under Extrupet’s brand name PhoenixPET, which is certified by the European Food Safety Authority, Global Recycled Standard, BRC Packaging (AA rating) and ISO 9001:2015. The company was the first on the continent to use global FMCG approved technology to recycle PET bottles into resin for reuse in new carbonated soft drink bottles. www.extrupet.com Amcor Lift-Off initiative to offer seed funding for innovative start-ups Amcor, a global leader in packaging solutions, announced the launch of Amcor Lift-Off, an open-call initiative aimed at supporting seed stage start-ups that are focused on innovative packaging solutions and related technologies. Amcor Lift-Off offers these start-ups a chance to secure an investment of US$250,000, as well as operational guidance, to take their ideas to the next level. Amcor is looking to partner with innovative leaders that are working to create more sustainable packaging solutions, new packaging technologies or have developed a new business model. Applicants must be innovating in at least one of six strategic areas to apply: recycling systems, alternative barriers, paperbased solutions, smart and connected packaging, biomaterials, or new industry business models. Incorporated companies from around the world can apply for free. The Amcor Lift-Off program will proceed in three phases: Applications will be open online until May 15, 2022. (Applications received after May 15, 2022 will be considered for a second Amcor Lift-Off event in November 2022.) Applicants will then be screened and shortlisted, with up to 20 start-ups invited for a first call to pitch their ideas Five final start-ups will be invited to pitch on a first Lift-Off day toward the end of June before a team of senior Amcor leaders. Based on the ideas pitched, each of the five finalists could receive US$250,000 in the form of a convertible loan as well as Amcor support and resources to refine their products, build partnerships and scale across geographies. www.amcor.com/about/ventures
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