82 tons of backbone recycled at Danone
Danone Nutricia's Zoetermeer plant in the Netherlands recycles 82 tons of waste per year, which was previously incinerated.
The Danone department that produces NutriciaNutricia Optri tube feed bottles has implemented a system for collecting the label backing placed on the bottles. This waste is then collected by label material producer UPM Raflatac, via its RafCycle service, which recycles the waste into new rolls of liners.
This project reduced CO2 emissions from the waste disposal phase by 98%.
Consolidation in sight in the UK printed gifts sector
Moonpig Group, the leading online greeting card and gift platform in the UK and the Netherlands, plans to acquire the entire share capital of Buyagift, the UK subsidiary of Smartbox Group, for £124 million (?145 million). Moonpig Group describes the proposed amount as "attractive" compared to the unaudited earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of £14 million ('16 million) for fiscal 2022.
Buyagift is the UK market leader in gift experiences with 3.3 million customers, with its two brands, Buyagift and Red Letter Days.
"Buyagift's portfolio of gift experiences will bring an immediate change to the breadth and relevance of Moonpig's offering without requiring additional inventory, says Moonpig Group. It will allow us to combine the group's proprietary gift intent data with an expanded offering to develop highly relevant gift recommendations, while allowing us to leverage recipient location data. The result is that Moonpig Group will be able to recommend specific, tailored gift experiences to approximately 13 million loyal customers every time they shop with us."
The proposed acquisition will allow both "make the greeting card a gift" with gift certificates printed on the card, and unlock the same-day gift market by integrating the gift experience into an electronic card delivered instantly.
Bobst rewards the work of its employees
Fred Rostalski, an engineer at Bobst Bielefeld in Germany, has received the Bobst Inventor Award. The purpose of the award, sponsored by the Swiss Group's CEO, Jean-Pascal Bobst, is to thank the winners for their contributions to strengthening Bobst's patent portfolio through the quality of their inventions, and to increase the importance of intellectual property.
Fred Rostalski has succeeded in developing a "Method for determining the printing parameters of a printer and a test bench", the Smart GPS 2.0.
This invention "uses scans from a high-resolution camera to pick up information about the relief of the cliché and improves the quality of pad printed products". With this invention, print image presetting and print parameter correction are done at the beginning of the plate mounting process, reducing press cycle time for presetting and resulting in longer life, Bobst says.
"We want to leverage our culture of innovation and reward proactivity in all areas." said Leonard Badet, head of Bobst's technology group.
Fred Rostalski is the third person to receive this Inventor's Award launched in 2020.
Stora Enso takes care of biodiversity in its forests
Stora Enso, one of Sweden's largest forest owners with 1.4 million hectares of land, is launching a new biodiversity protection program. The program includes more than 30 actions, developed in collaboration with universities, environmental organizations, NGOs and authorities.
One of these projects involves dead wood. Since more than 40% of red-listed forest species depend on dead wood, the group plans to increase the amount of dead wood on its land holdings by 40%.
It also wants to work on broadleaf trees, which are essential for many species. Stora Enso will double the number of hardwoods in young forests and plant 700,000 birch trees per year.
The new biodiversity program will focus on protecting four umbrella species, which in turn will benefit hundreds of other red-listed species.
