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Tetra Pak

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Tetra Pak
Company typePrivate
IndustryFood packaging
FoundedSweden Lund, Sweden (1951)
FounderRuben Rausing
HeadquartersSwitzerland Lausanne, Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Dennis Jönsson
(President) & (CEO)
Hans Rausing
Gad Rausing
Erik Wallenberg (Inventor)
RevenueIncrease €8.825 billion (2008)
Number of employees
21,640 (2009)
ParentTetra Laval
WebsiteTetraPak.com/

Tetra Pak is a multinational food processing and packaging company of Swedish origin. It was founded in 1951 in Lund, Sweden, by Ruben Rausing. It was Erik Wallenberg who invented the tetrahedral package, today known as Tetra Classic. The company is part of the Tetra Laval group which also includes Sidel – who specialise in PET bottles – and DeLaval, a producer of dairy farming machinery and food processing equipment.

Ruben Rausing's sons Hans and Gad Rausing ran Tetra Pak from 1954 until 1985, taking the company from a seven-person concern to one of Sweden's largest corporations. At his death in 1983, Ruben Rausing was Sweden's richest person.

Overview

Tetra Pak's innovation is in the area of aseptic processing liquid food packaging which, when combined with ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT), allows liquid food to be packaged and stored under room temperature conditions for up to a year. This allows for perishable goods to be saved and distributed over greater distances without the need for a cold chain.

Products

Tetra Pak product family 2010
Tetra Classic
Tetra Brik

Tetra Pak's first product was a paper carton used for storing and transporting milk. The first product was a package in the shape of a triangular pyramid (or tetrahedron), called the Tetra Classic. Ruben Rausing and his team had been working on the Tetra Classic design since 1944, and by 1952 had perfected techniques for making his cartons fully airtight, using a system of plastic coated paperboard.[1] These initial cartons were tetrahedral, leading to the company's name, derived from "four" in the Greek language. The first Tetra Classic package was launched in 1952,[2] and in 1963 the company introduced Tetra Brik, a rectangular cuboid carton. Later, Tetra Pak launched other packaging formats such as Tetra Wedge (wedge-shaped), Tetra Prisma (round octagonal), and Tetra Fino (pouch-shaped). Tetra Pak also produced other non aseptic packaging systems – including Tetra Rex (gable-top), Tetra Top (paper and plastic moulded in one), Tetra Brik (foldable paper/aluminum container), and the now-discontinued Tetra King. Recent innovations have seen the introduction of laminated paper boxes for vegetables as an alternative to tinned goods. It is claimed that this new product, Tetra Recart, allows for more subtle processing[3] of vegetables than canning permits.

Since about 2007 some wineries have started selling wines in 500-millilitre (17 US fl oz) and 1-litre (34 US fl oz) Tetra Prisma Aseptic packages with reclosable screw caps. Although unsuited for long-term storage or aging of wines, they save weight and space and eliminate the concerns of glass bottle disposal, saving consumers money.

Business and competition

Tetra Pak in Lund, Sweden

Until recently the company held a monopoly in China, but in mid-2000, the Tetra Pak monopoly was broken. Today there are over 20 Tetra Clone packaging system suppliers in China with Tralin Pak, Qingdao Renmin (People's), Shanghai Zhenlong, Xiamen Guangxia being the leading Tetra Clone suppliers. Other companies producing comparable but different aseptic beverage carton packagings system are SIG with its proprietary Combibloc technology and Elopak with Pure-Pak. Milliken manufactures a similar packaging system in the United States. Tetra Pak was the largest packaging company in the world, until Amcor's acquisition of Alcan.[4]

In 2003, internal audit exposed a serious case of internal embezzlement by a senior manager based in SE Asia within the Tetra Laval Group that was widely reported in the Swedish Press. Sludge funds and kick backs were involved 50 million Swedish Crowns.

Early in 2004, there were reports that the Tanzi family, the owners of the Italian dairy food company Parmalat, had benefited from some improper activities.[5] Investigators claimed the company's former chief financial officer reported that Parmalat's packaging supplier, Tetra Pak, had paid the Tanzis millions in kickbacks. Tetra Pak denied any wrong-doing and was later fully acquitted from all charges of bribery, recognizing that no money had been paid to the Tanzi family.[6] It claimed that Parmalat, as a major customer for many years, benefited from marketing support and discounts on packaging material. The discounts to Parmalat, it said, are similar to those that benefit other large customers.

In June 2009, Tetra Pak announced it would invest in production in 2010 in China, India and Pakistan.[7]

In September 2010 Tetra Pak announced it was considering ceasing production at its only UK plant, in Wrexham, North Wales. This would mean the loss of up to 150 jobs.

Environment

Raw materials

To produce packaging materials, Tetra Pak uses paperboard (73%), plastic (22%) and – for aseptic packages - aluminium foil (5%). Raw materials production has the greatest environmental impact of all stages within the package life cycle. [8]

The paperboard is made from wood - a renewable resource. To secure responsible forestry, Tetra Pak works with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In 2009, Tetra Pak delivered more than 2.3 billion FSC certified and labelled cartons. [9] The paperboard provides stiffness and stability to the package.

The plastic (polyethylene) is used in layers on both sides of the paper structure to protect the package from inside and outside moisture. [10]

Cartons designed for long life or high acidity content contain aluminium foil, which is about 6-micrometre (0.00024 in) thin. [11] This layer provides additional protection for the content against oxygen, bacteria, undesired flavours and light.

Transportation

Through the square shape and low ratio of package-to-content, the use of space is optimised. Less transportation is thus needed for this type of package compared to most other shapes and materials. Transportation of packaging material to factories is also optimized (large rolls of material instead of prepared empty packages). [12] Aseptic packages also allows for transportation without consistent cooling, which also reduces the environmental footprint.[13]

Food preservation

The food production phase contributes with a significantly greater part of greenhouse gases than the distribution phase does.[14] Prolonged shelf-life of packaged food (e.g. through aseptic technology) contributes to a reduced environmental footprint.

Recycling

Tetra Pak packages can be fully recycled. Availability of recycling facilities, recycling methods and actual recycling rates vary from location to location. [15] [16] [17] [18]

Actual recycling rate of carton packages was 33% in Europe in 2009, continuously increasing since 1992. [19]

Criticism

Ecology

The components of a TBA packaging

Although Tetra Pak has indeed promoted recycling and has financially supported several environmental projects, many of the Tetra Pak products have actually been constructed in such a way that they are not easily recyclable after use.[20]

References

  1. ^ Leander, Lars (1996). Tetra Pak : a vision becomes reality : a company history with a difference. Tetra Pak International, 1996. p. 40. ISBN 91-630-4789-6.
  2. ^ Leander, Lars (1996). Tetra Pak : a vision becomes reality : a company history with a difference. Tetra Pak International, 1996. p. 67. ISBN 91-630-4789-6
  3. ^ Read: irradiation
  4. ^ Google News
  5. ^ "Italian banks under spotlight in Parmalat scandal". Forbes magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  6. ^ "Tetra Pak defends Parmalat payments". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  7. ^ Tetra Pak to invest in production for emerging markets imagesfood.com, June 1 2009
  8. ^ "Tetra Pak Environmental Performance". Tetra Pak. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  9. ^ "Tetra Pak will supply over 100 million FSC-labeled packages to Carrefour stores in France". FSC News.
  10. ^ "Materials: The life of a carton". Packaging News. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  11. ^ "Materials: The life of a carton". Packaging News. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  12. ^ "Tetra Pak Package Information". Brazil Gourmet. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  13. ^ "Tetra Pak CO2 calculator". Tetra Pak. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  14. ^ "Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States". Environmental Sience & Technology. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  15. ^ "go to Technical make-up to read about the mill's recycling process". Niederauer Müehle Ltd. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  16. ^ "Atlas Paper Mills LLC website(go to About us)". Atlas Paper Mills LLC. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  17. ^ "About [[Stora Enso]]'s mill in Barcelona". Stora Enso. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  18. ^ "UK news on recycling". Let’s Recycle. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  19. ^ "ACE: Beverage carton maintains growth in recycling rates". Recyclingportal.eu. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  20. ^ Fleischer, Philip. "Tetra Pak: An environmental charade ?". Retrieved 26 Sep 2010.

Data

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