Film & Foil THE ADVANTA ADVANTAGE
As the Government continues to strive for a zero waste economy, it is time for businesses to consider the materials they choose and how they handle waste. Aluminium packaging manufacturer,Advanta, has always believed aluminium should be the first choice material for packaging manufacturers
homemade food prepared from the scratch. It tastes awesome."
headquarters is at the heart of the global foil packaging industry. Through organic growth and acquisition, this company has become one of the largest producers of foil packaging in Europe.
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ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY As a founding member of the aluminium packaging recycling organisation, AluPro, Advanta has a deep commitment to protecting the environment and promoting aluminium as a permanent, sustainable and endlessly recyclable material choice for food packaging. Recycling aluminium saves 95 per cent of the
energy that it takes to source primary aluminium. This equates to a massive 97 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. With this in mind, Advanta exceeds the statutory requirements in reducing aluminium waste, ensuring every ounce of aluminium that enters the Advanta headquarters, either leaves as an end product or goes on its way to be recycled. Advanta won AluPro awards in 2001 and 2007
for innovation in waste reduction. These were awarded for extremely efficient use of aluminium with minimal wastage. This came down to the company's technical consideration and efficiency when using the material, demonstrating an unrivalled ability to get the most out of a given amount of metal. "When people buy food in a foil tray that was manufactured by Advanta, they are helping in three ways," said Campos. "Firstly, they are helping the environment as aluminium is a 100 per cent recyclable packaging material. Secondly, they are helping British families to put food on the table everyday because this material is manufactured in the UK. Finally they are helping themselves because the consumer experience when a ready- to-cook meal is made in a foil tray is like
dvanta is an aluminium packaging manufacturer based in Cannock, Staffordshire. Its purpose-built
THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB To serve more than 400 customers in over 20 countries, the company relies on 65 power presses, almost 500 customised tools and 140 employees. The presses manufacture the 700 different products in the Advanta catalogue. Various, bespoke tools are used on these presses to shape the foil to a specified design brief. "The tools themselves are huge facilitators of what we do," said Campos. "Each tool is unique to each product. Once we've finalised our customer's design, it can take 14 to 16 weeks to get a bespoke tool from the toolmaker. Some of our tool are made in Switzerland by people as skilled as Swiss watch makers, it's a real craft. "As these tools are made out of the best quality
steel, they last decades. To put that in perspective, a tool needs to endure up to 80 blows a minute, in almost continuous operation. Some packaging manufacturers will select cheaper tools, which may only last a few years or even just months. "We have tools that we purchased in 1991 that
are still working, showing the quality and longevity that they bring to Advanta and our customers. These are investments that pay for themselves and mean clients can rely on us to continually manufacture a product they need for years. As it is a metal against metal process when these tools are pressed onto the aluminium, and the tools need to handle up to 80 blows a minute, we need to get it right." In addition, all the tools and presses are serviced in-house by the Advanta tool maintenance team, so any potential downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.
SETTING THE STANDARD Advanta was the first company to develop the plain silver smooth wall tray that we are so used to buying our oven ready meals in. Before Advanta created this product, a plain silver smooth wall option was not available without the addition of an expensive lacquer layer. This was because the lacquer provided the necessary lubrication to aid the manufacturing of the smooth wall tray. However, reliance on this priced a lot of food manufacturers out of using the product. By working closely with metal suppliers, Advanta developed the effective process that
enabled the team to bring a smooth walled tray in plain silver to market, totally removing the need for spending extra on lacquer. This was an important milestone for the industry and Advanta, as a lacquered smooth wall tray can be up to 100 per cent more expensive. The smooth wall trays from Advanta are
temperature resistant from minus 40 up to 400°C and incorporate ribbed walls and an embossed base for added strength and sturdiness. This product launch has continued to be a very popular option with customers for aesthetic, practical and financial reasons. As well as bringing off-the-shelf products to market, such as the plain silver smooth wall trays, Advanta also works closely with customers' to meet design specifications and timeline requirements, no matter how unusual or testing. "We've had many weird and wonderful requests
from customers over the years," said Campos. "However, the trickiest part is always going to mass production. When you start manufacturing a new product to that level, there's a lot at stake. It doesn't happen often, but if a machine does go down, we have the ability in-house to just deal with it. It helps that we don't work on next day deliveries, but instead strategically factor in aluminium delivery and our client’s production forecast." The company does not consider any product to be the best seller. While there is plenty of interest for new product launches, and a high demand for poultry trays at Christmas, the best
selling product is the service. The brand, the reputation and the direct work with customers all makes Advanta a leader in the industry. With the team's imagination, innovative thinking and technical ability, all products are created with the end user in mind. The future looks prosperous for the company, with plans to expand into new markets and further increase its global footprint. Ultimately, the aim is to continue to be leading voice for aluminium recyclability and foil innovations. As all industries work towards a zero waste economy, Advanta, alongside its work with AluPro, will continue to promote aluminium as a financially and environmentally wise material of choice and make sure they support their customers in meeting their own goals to reduce their carbon footprint.
www.advantapack.com
www.convertermag.co.uk
April 2018
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