Multi-national food packaging company Tetra Pak will expand its closures manufacturing plant in Chateaubriant, France. The expansion will support the company’s plans to transition the plant to the production of tethered caps by 2024.
The investment is in line with the European Commission’s (EC) directive on single-use plastics. The directive, which came into force in July 2021, seeks to reduce plastic pollution from single-use plastic products.
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The tethered caps to be produced at the plant will be supplied to the companies in the food and beverage industry.
The €100m ($119.26m) expansion plan was announced in June 2021 and will be implemented in two phases between 2021 and 2023. The project is expected to generate 30 new jobs at the plant.
Tetra Pak’s closures manufacturing plant location and details
Tetra Pak’s closures manufacturing plant is located in Chateaubriant, a town in the north of Loire-Atlantique in France.
Spanning 31,000m², the plant has been manufacturing closures for decades. It is a significant production facility for Tetra Pak in France. The plant produced 4.6 billion closures in 2020. It is equipped with 19 production lines that are engaged in the production of six different types of closures.
Tetra Pak’s closures manufacturing plant expansion details
Tetra Pak will invest approximately €50m ($59.67m) in the first phase to install ten new lines for the production of tethered caps. Expected to be completed by 2022, the phase one expansion will result in a 30% increase in the production capacity of the plant. Tetra Pak will also invest €9m ($10.74m) in the expansion of the site in 2021.
The €40m ($47.73m) second phase will replace the ten existing production lines between 2022 and 2023 to expand the production of tethered caps.
Financing for the expansion project
The French Government, the Regional Council and the local municipalities agreed to provide grants totalling €1.8m ($2.13m) to Tetra Pak for the plant’s expansion. The government and the regional council will provide €0.8m ($0.94m) each to the company, while the Community of Communes will provide the remaining €0.2m ($0.23m).
Marketing commentary on Tetra Pak
Established in 1943, Tetra Pak is a Swedish-Swiss company known for its food and beverage packaging solutions. The company specialises in processing and packaging solutions for products such as dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream, pet food and prepared food. It also supplies packaging machines.
With a presence in more than 160 countries, Tetra Pak is one of the world’s largest food packaging companies by sales. The company produces a range of packaging solutions including Tetra Brik, Tetra Rex, Tetra Top, Tetra Fino Aseptic, Tetra Stelo Aseptic, Tetra Gemina Aseptic, Tetra Wedge Aseptic, Tetra Classic Aseptic, Tetra Brik Aseptic, Tetra Prisma Aseptic, Tetra Top and Tetra Recart.
The packaging solutions come in a multitude of shapes and sizes ranging from 65ml to 2,000ml.
Tetra Birk, Tetra Rex, and Tetra Top solutions are mainly used for chilled products such as beverages. The Tetra Aseptic packaging solutions range incorporates aseptic processing technology to maintain the integrity of liquid food by retaining its colour, texture, and nutritional value for up to one year without the addition of preservatives or the need for refrigeration.
The Tetra Recart solution is mainly focused on food producers who want to keep their products fresher. It is positioned as an alternative packaging option to jars, cans and pouches.
