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Zotefoams plc, a global producer of cellular materials technology, has announced that it has reached an agreement with Südpack Verpackungen SE & Co. KG (Ochsenhausen, Germany), where Südpack will manufacture the extruded flexible polymer material used in the production of Zotefoams’ ReZorce® mono-material barrier packaging.
ReZorce is an innovative material, currently being commercialised as an HDPE mono-material alternative to liquid packaging board beverage cartons. In July 2023, Zotefoams signed a joint development agreement with a world-leading packer of beverages that will see ReZorce debut on supermarket shelves in the third quarter of 2024.
The agreement with Südpack will enable Zotefoams to produce up to 100 million ReZorce cartons annually in addition to its in-house capacity and is for an initial three-year period, which can be extended by mutual agreement.
ReZorce features a layered structure that offers barrier properties comparable with those of multi-material aseptic packaging used widely in the food and beverage sector but with outstanding recyclability. This structure enables the incorporation of post-consumer recyclate in the core of the material with virgin polymer on the outer surfaces, meaning that ReZorce beverage cartons simultaneously meet food safety regulations and deliver against the targets for recycled content set out in the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive.
Neil Court-Johnston, President of the MuCell Extrusion business unit at Zotefoams, comments, “This is an exciting step forward in our plan to rapidly scale up ReZorce and ensures that following the imminent in-market trials, we will be well placed to meet the evident market demand for a more sustainable beverage carton.
“What’s more, Südpack are experts not only in extrusion but in recycling too, with significant in-house mechanical and chemical recycling capabilities. Building circularity into the ReZorce model has been a priority for us from the outset, so Südpack is the ideal partner for us in this regard and we are delighted to have them join us on the next stage of the ReZorce journey.”
Dirk Hardow, Chief Executive Business Unit Functional Films & Compounds at Südpack says, "With our functional film, we will be contributing to the production of a packaging concept that will fulfil the requirements of the PPWR with regards recyclability, and we see this joint development project as an important step towards implementing closed loops within liquid packaging.”
