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ANL: leading the way in sustainability

  • Cofinancing
  • Circularity
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Europe does not want a ban on plastics, but the integration of the plastics economy into the circular economy by 2030.

At the end of last year, several department store chains said goodbye to the familiar blue tub in which mushrooms are sold. To produce the very first blue trays in Belgium, Armand Neven founded ANL Plastics in 1964, with machines he bought in Italy. Today, its production has been stopped for some time and the Wellen-based company is a forerunner in sustainable packaging.

After mushroom trays, the development and production of compartments for biscuits and chocolates was a second breakthrough for ANL Plastics, today a developer and producer of sustainable plastic packaging, mainly for the food sector. Soon ANL was taking into account the increasingly stringent environmental requirements. After all: the way plastic is produced, used and disposed of has an immense impact on our planet. Europe therefore advocates a new plastics economy where the production of plastic products respects reuse and recycling possibilities. No ban on plastics, then, but the integration of the plastics economy into the circular economy by 2030: it is a direction in which ANL is taking a leading role by developing new, sustainable products. ANL works only with PET and PP: materials that are 100% recyclable. The company has integrated the recycling of these raw materials into its production, enabling it today to make products that can consist of up to 80% recycled material.

Early adoption of sustainability pays off today: many competitors may not meet the European deadline for plastic packaging. That the transition to sustainability is not obvious, however, was evident at ANL in 2016. After investing in new machinery to work better with recycled material, the new production line suffered from teething problems, leading to commercial and financial losses. However, ANL continued to consistently invest in its products and commit to innovation, commercial relationships and marketing. With success: as of 2019, both sales and profitability are rising again. However, to further support this growth, additional working capital is needed. In addition to a bank loan, PMV provides a mezzanine loan.

Visit the website of ANL Packaging

www.anlpackaging.com