Bertelsmann Marketing Services | Gütersloh, 10/01/2019

Countering Plastic With Cardboard

Topac, the Bertelsmann Printing Group’s print products and cardboard packaging specialist, and the packaging specialist Wenner intend to work together to reduce plastic waste in the retail sector. To this end, they have set up a sales alliance for sustainable cardboard-based food packaging.

A new alliance in Germany’s East Westphalia region has declared war on the steadily rising tide of plastic waste. Friedrich Wenner GmbH from Versmold, one of the leading manufacturers of shipping and presentationboxes for food made of solid cardboard, and Topac, the Bertelsmann Printing Group’s specialist for print products and cardboard packaging, have founded a sales alliance that will launch on October 1. By jointly launching sustainable cardboard-based food packaging on the market, the partners intend to contribute to reducing plastic waste in the retail sector.

“Together, we will develop the market even more systematically by coordinating our sales efforts. We will not only build awareness for the need for sustainable packaging options among existing and potential customers, but also offer them pragmatic solutions with rapid implementation,” says Topac Managing Director Sven Deutschmann. Stephan Potthoff-Wenner, Managing Director of Friedrich Wenner GmbH, adds: “On the one hand, we are relying on the comprehensive expertise available in our two historic companies and, on the other, we will capitalize on our regional proximity to the large food-processing companies in East Westphalia and Münsterland.”

Reducing the use of plastics by up to 70 percent

The Bertelsmann subsidiary Topac has been looking into the sustainable food packaging market since the beginning of 2019. In March, the company obtained DIN FSSC 22000 certification, which is required for the manufacture of primary food packaging, and shortly afterwards began manufacturing packaging products that make it possible to reduce the use of plastics by up to 70 percent.  Since then Topac has been continuously building its expertise in this line of business, and is working on completely new packaging concepts in its in-house Product and Design Development department.

Founded in 1930, Friedrich Wenner GmbH is an established medium-sized family-owned company that has operated in the supply industry for food processing companies in the East Westphalia region and across Germany for decades. The company says that it is a leading supplier, especially in the segment of secondary packaging and transport cartons.