Together with ULMA Packaging, the Feneberg supermarket chain has reorganised its packaging concept and now only offers minced meat in sustainable tubular bags.
70 per cent less plastic, completely recyclable materials: The southern German supermarket chain Feneberg, headquartered in Kempten, has was the first German food retailer to completely reorganise its production and no longer offers its self-service minced meat products in the almost 80 shops in the previously standard MAP tray, but exclusively in the sustainable flow pack. The Allgäu-based company developed and realised the new packaging idea together with ULMA Packaging GmbH, based in Memmingen. As one of the world's largest providers of flow-pack technology ULMA supplied not only the machine, but also its complete process expertise.
The switch to flow-pack packaging was a big step for the company, as the Feneberg butcher's shop in Kempten produces A total of 20 tonnes of minced meat and minced meat products such as burger patties or cevapcici.
Completely recyclable materials
The big advantage of the Flow-Pack: it is Up to 10 times thinner than conventional MAP trays. The tubular bag is also significantly lighter than the tray. As a result, Feneberg saves at least 70 per cent plastic per packaging unit, and at peak times it is even over 80 per cent. Calculated over the year, that is 35.7 tonnes less plastic, that Feneberg puts into circulation.
Another sustainability plus for the tubular bags: they are made from the MonoFlow multilayer film from film manufacturer Schur Flexibles made from the mono-material polypropylene (PP) and can therefore be recycled without leaving any residue. The flow packs make recycling particularly easy for the end consumer: open the packaging, take out the meat and the film can be placed unwashed in the yellow bag and added to the recycling process.
„The flow pack replaces the technical properties of the MAP tray 1:1,“ explains Thomas Blümel, Managing Director of ULMA Packaging GmbH. The MonoFlow multilayer film made from mono material consists of over 95 per cent polypropylene (PP) and a thin high barrier, keeping the minced meat products fresh and appetising at the highest level. Thanks to its modified atmosphere, the flow pack can also be stacked easily without crushing the minced meat.
ULMA Packaging: Packaging expertise from the Allgäu region
The self-service minced meat products are packaged at the Feneberg butcher's production site in Kempten by the FM 300 flow-wrapping machine from ULMA. ULMA has made a number of adaptations to its machine technology for the recyclable PP film. „On the one hand, we have the folding geometry is adapted, as the PP film creases more quickly than other films. On the other hand, we have made changes to the longitudinal and transverse sealing in order to guarantee the usual high sealing quality for the recycled film as well,“ explains Alexander Biechteler, Head of Technical Sales and Application Technology at ULMA Packaging GmbH.
Significantly lower logistics costs
Before the switch to flow packs, one pallet of MAP trays was sufficient for 2,880 to 5,040 sales packages for minced meat and minced meat products. Feneberg now generates between 64,8000 and 81,000 sales packs from the same transport volume with flow pack material. This means Instead of 100 lorry loads of MAP trays, just seven lorry loads of film are needed. The savings in storage requirements are just as great.
[infotext icon]ULMA Packaging GmbH, based in Memmingen, is a subsidiary of ULMA Packaging with headquarters in Oñati (Spain). The packaging solutions are used for fresh food, food, medical products and in the non-food sector. In addition to horizontal and vertical flow-wrapping machines, thermoforming machines and tray sealers, ULMA also has other packaging systems in its range, such as stretch and shrink-wrapping machines, shrink-banding machines, shrink tunnelling machines and automated complete solutions.
Source: ULMA Packaging GmbH
