BOTTLE MAKING 14 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 0/23 www.petpla.net Fully recycled by Ruari McCallion The Finnish company Pramia Plastic Oy manufactures rPET granulate, from which its parent company Pramia Oy manufactures its entire range of bottles without using any additives. The exclusive use of rPET reflects Pramia Oy’s commitment to environmental sustainability, which was recognised in 2012, the same year it acquired the company that became Pramia Plastic Oy, with the World’s Most Sustainable Beverage Manufacturer award. A family affair Pramia Oy itself was founded in 1990 by members of the Mäkinen family, who still own and manage it. Initially, the company focused on malt drinks, including low-alcohol “home beer”, a popular choice with meals at home. After Finland joined the EU in 1995, Pramia expanded its range to include the production of spirits, such as vodka. As in all Nordic countries except Denmark, the retail sale of alcoholic beverages is through a state monopoly company. Alko, the Finnish monopoly, is the only retail chain in the country that sells beer with ABV of 5.5% or more, wine (other than direct sales by vineyards) and spirits. In 2017, its annual revenue exceeded €1.1 billion. By law, it must also offer lower ABV and nonalcoholic beverages. “Alko asked Pramia to produce lightly carbonated beverages for sale under its own brand, and mocktails were added soon after,” says Marko Mäkinen, founder and CEO of Pramia Oy and Pramia Plastic Oy. “The company has a small share of the Finnish alcoholic beverage market but, in some lines, such as cream liqueurs, our presence is much stronger.” Market Pramia Oy’s market is almost entirely in Finland; it does not export any of its beverage products, although it supplies to duty-free shops on ferries and ships in the Baltic Sea. However, Pramia Plastic Oy sells rPET and PET strap to several European countries. It buys consumer PET bottles and processes an average of one million of them a day at its Toholampi plant into flakes and plastic granules. It also produces 50 million metres of green packaging strap a year from coloured rPET. The plant runs entirely on wind energy. At first, Pramia Oy packed its products in glass bottles but switched to PET in the early 2000s. It began to investigate recycled PET in 2010. In 2012, the opportunity arose to buy out of bankruptcy a company that already had granulation and washing lines. A strap production line was added, Pramia Plastic Oy was founded and Pramia Oy started using rPET in the same year. BOTTLE MAKING
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