Close the Loop is expanding its packaging operations in the US market with the formation of Close the Loop Packaging, to be based in Kentucky and to service the customer network of the group’s US resource recovery business.
Since the group's listing on the ASX in November last year, Close the Loop Limited (ASX:CLG) has been building its circular economy capability through acquisition and expansion. The announcement of the US expansion follows hot on the heels of Close the Loop’s two recent packaging acquisitions in the Australian market, of seafood packaging supplier Oceanic Agencies and bulk flexible packaging provider Crasti & Co.
The group, which comprises resource recovery and packaging businesses, is an end-to-end solutions provider from design and manufacturing, through to collection and recycling of products.
Group CEO Joe Foster told PKN the new Close the Loop Packaging operation will be a dedicated resource located at the current US Close the Loop headquarters at Hebron, Kentucky. He said the new packaging business will “harness existing connections” the Close the Loop resource recovery business units have with their US-based customers to examine possible expansion into packaging-related services, in addition to investigating further options for product take-back programs.
Commenting on the group’s growing capability, Foster said, “Close the Loop is Australia’s most advanced vertically integrated design, manufacturing, collection and recycling company that reduces waste to landfill and gets recycled content back into new products.
“Our award-winning packaging products and regenerative uses for plastics help companies stay ahead of evolving recycling guidelines and regulations. We want to offer this full circular-economy capability to companies in the United States.”
With the growing focus on sustainability and circular economy strategies across industry, Foster believes there are “real opportunities” for Close the Loop to assist large companies in the US reduce their environmental footprints and improve their ESG and supply chain credentials. Working with Close the Loop, he says, customers can examine more sustainable packaging options that could then feed into the work they’re already doing with Close the Loop in resource recovery.
Foster cites as an example the group's existing partnership with 15 of the world’s largest print and print consumable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Brother, Canon, Epson, HP and Xerox. He said. “We collect, process and recycle 40 million printer cartridges per annum that are then turned into other products like TonerPlas road additive and base commodities. We can improve their carbon footprint by offering more sustainable packaging alternatives that can also be integrated with the current initiatives they run with the company.”
Foster said, “Close the Loop Packaging will provide a great opportunity for us to gain insights into the issues facing the US packaging markets and showcase how our fully integrated offer can help those companies meet the trends in packaging and sustainability as they arise. This will also allow us to leverage our offshore manufacturing capabilities to provide more volume into the US market.”
You can hear more from Joe Foster on the group's capabilities and plans on the PKN Podcast, Ep 49.
