Saica Flex has broadened its versatility and shifted its focus on the flexible packaging market, as the company looks to uphold its sustainability views of making packaging more environmentally friendly.

One of Saica Flex’s goal is to achieve 100% of its products designed for recycling (DFR) by 2025 showing a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. DFR packaging is specifically engineered to be easily recyclable, reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.

The company has been committed to making a difference in the flexible packaging industry through vast experienced gather over an 80-year period since the company was founded, with its values engrained in the company’s ‘DNA’, as stated by Miguel Ángel Dora Lladó, director general of Saica Flex.

Regarding the reason behind a shift towards sustainable paper packaging Mr Lladó stated, ‘Our business has always been circular. We collect paper, through our waste management division, that paper is recycled by our paper mills. After that we create corrugated packaging that goes to our customers. We then collect it again and the process repeats itself.

‘So, we saw an opportunity in flexible packaging, and we want to replicate the process with differences in the flexible packaging industry. As we know much about paper that is why we are going in this direction.’

Despite a strong allegiance to changing the properties of packaging to make it more sustainably viable, Mr Lladó commented that not all packaging can be purely paper.

‘What we are trying to do is make sure paper is in the right way for food contact and other needs,’ he said. ‘Sometimes plastic is needed but what we try and do is utilise it in a sustainable way. The challenge we need to work on is getting all aspects of different materials into one which is paper. Our main aim is to make sure any packaging we put into the market is ready to be recycled. That’s what we are committed too.’

To conclude Mr Lladó expressed the vision for the company as is it intends to adhere to the markets needs and wants of sustainability.

He said: ‘To change the view on the sustainability from outside the industry we will change to paper, as mentioned it is a circular material that can be recycled and used again. We work on this because we have the knowledge, development, and the people to do so. We are committed to a more sustainable option for packaging. Because of this by 2025 we want to have 15% of our packaging products as paper.’