Effective immediately, Greiner Packaging is now offering its US customers something directly that was previously available only from Europe: Injection molding with in-mold labeling technology. An initial collaboration with WhiteWave Foods is showcasing the advantages of this high-quality packaging option – and the advantages of an international network.

With in-mold labeling, package shaping and decoration are done in just one step. This type of packaging creation offers diverse possibilities and ranges from the most varied surface qualities to photo-quality decoration motifs. WhiteWave Foods, the American company that started developing a new cup concept for soya yogurt with Greiner Packaging a few years ago, was thrilled with the advantages of the technology. Together, they created a new cup in Austria, for which two injection molding units for production were built with IML Handling in Austria. These are now being transferred to the US in stages – to the new Greiner Packaging site in Pittston, PA, USA. One of the machines is already up and running, while the second will be relocated in the first half of 2016.

“This project shows how our customers profit from Greiner Packaging’s international site network,” says Kenneth Boldog, sales director of K Europe. “For large international customers, we can start projects in Europe and then roll them out worldwide. This allows us to guarantee the highest possible standards and a reliable partnership, since we can ensure through our network that we will always have experts standing by near our customers.”

At the start of production in Austria, all the European suppliers were certified directly both by Greiner Packaging and by the customer. The US suppliers were evaluated and certified before the machines were relocated. Production was transferred only after it had been ensured that the high standards could be maintained.

Through different brands, WhiteWave Foods has set itself the goal of bringing alternative and healthy forms of nutrition closer to a large group of the population. These include, among others, plant-based premium milk products, which are increasingly in demand in the US. As part of this effort, Greiner Packaging produces a 150 mL soya yogurt cup, which complies with WhiteWave’s visual as well as functional expectations.