Manupackaging (Schkopau, Germany; www.manupackaging.de), producer of polyethylene stretch films for industrial, agricultural and packaging applications, has entered into a strategic partnership with UK-based Polymateria (London; www.polymateria.com), a technology company that develops biodegradable plastics. Employing its proprietary patented “biotransformation process” – a masterbatch technology – Manupackaging has developed Manunature BD, a stretch film in LLDPE, which it claims is biodegradable.

Manunature BD has been certified by the British Standards Institution (PAS 9017:2020), says Pierfranco Di Gioia, CEO of M Stretch, the holding company for the Manupackaging Group. On being asked by Plasteurope.com, a spokesperson said the new stretch film is aimed at applications in the cosmetics, food, and beverage industry and is not intended for use in agriculture.

At the end of last year, Manupackaging brought two casting lines for the PE stretch film into operation at its Schkopau plant. With four production facilities – in addition to Schkopau, it operates three plants in South America (Argentina and Brazil) – the film manufacturer has a production capacity in the excess of 150,000 t/y.

Since the end of 2018, the company, formerly known as Manuli Stretch, has been owned by Italian financial investor Oxy Capital (Milan; www.oxycapital.it), which had acquired a majority stake in the troubled stretch film manufacturer. Twenty percent of the shares at the time remained with the Sandro Manuli family. The company last generated sales of EUR 282 mn with around 600 employees.