PAPER SOLUTIONS: Providing the switch from plastic to paper packaging

Alarming plastic waste growth is seriously affecting biodiversity and human health. Of 9.2B tons of plastic ever produced, 6.2B tons has never been recycled. 8M tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean yearly, creating islands of plastic waste, such as the 1.6M m2 great pacific garbage patch, 3 times the size of France. Plastic waste is killing ocean species and causing €60M in losses to the fishing industry. Thus the EU banned certain plastics, stimulating the development of bio plastics, which are not yet mature to meet the quantities needed. To compliment bio plastics, Sitma Machinery, developer of packaging solutions, has developed a suite of innovative retrofit technologies, PAPER SOLUTIONS, to convert plastic packaging machinery to paper packaging. 40% of all plastic produced are single use, such as packaging used by magazines and newspapers firms, who are our target market. Paper is sustainable and PAPER SOLUTIONS has advantages over existing paper wrapping machines; only upgrades plastic packaging machinery without replacing the whole system, compatible with our competitor’s plastic packaging machinery, produces packaging that has same strength as plastic, can package 3D items, higher throughput and process other packaging materials. Our target market is the global packaging industry which is expected to reach €54.4B at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2017 to 2023. Today, we have commercialized one retrofit for specific customer needs and the ultimate project objective is to standardize our technology to cover various market needs. Thus, in Phase 1 we will conduct a Feasibility Study to gather input main technical, commercial and financial inputs influencing the project. Our project will ensure cleaner environment, while our customers will benefit sales growth from increased loyalty of environmentally conscious consumers. It will secure €27.6M in profit, 9 jobs and a ROI of 10.6 per euro invested in 5 years for Sitma Machinery after completion.