Irish plastic packaging company Quinn Packaging's (Ballyconnell; www.quinn-packaging.com) EUR 3m technology investment has resulted in the installation of a new PET sheet extrusion line that was completed and operational in late October 2016. The extrusion line, supplied by SML Maschinen (Lenzing / Austria; www.sml.at), incorporates "Vacurema" recycling technology, which allows the production of food grade plastic sheet with increased volumes of recycled raw materials (PET bottle flake). Vacurema is a patented recycling system from Erema (Ansfelden / Austria; www.erema.at). This new extrusion line underpins Quinn Packaging's Eco-Innovation initiative that focuses on using technology to deliver environmentally friendly products and reduce the company's carbon footprint.

The additional PET sheet capacity will enable Quinn Packaging to increase supply to packaging companies (for thermoforming applications) and food companies (for form, fill and seal applications). This latest technology investment will also aid developing plans for the company to supply PET sheet to a number of European countries. Mark McKenna, general manager of Quinn Packaging, says, "The investment in the new extrusion line not only gives us increased capacity to produce more products; it allows us to produce more environmentally friendly products, and that’s what supermarkets and food processing companies are interested in. Volume alone is not enough. It must be combined with quality and sustainability."