Italian produce packaging leader Ilip took important strides forward in 2015, although not all of its developments have been in plain sight, with background personnel and operational changes made that are designed to strengthen its structure.
“2015 was a very significant year for us, from an institutional point of view,” says Roberto Zanichelli, marketing and sales director at Ilip. “First and foremost, we have welcomed a new general manager, Nicola Ballini, thus concluding an important reorganisation phase that has left us with a more dynamic and efficient structure, capable of offering better responses to the needs and challenges of the markets.
“In addition, at the beginning of the year we worked to be directly present in the UK, after our successful commercial expansion in Spain,” he continues. “We nominated a new area sales manager and business development manager for the UK, Jonathan Baldwin, who has plenty of experience in fresh produce packaging. English retail and development programmes have been designed to cut costs and environmental impact regarding distribution by reducing packaging weight.”
The company has been no less busy outside of the boardroom, meanwhile. In 2015, The Ilpa group – of which Ilip is the main division – implemented a system for the decontamination of all pet destined for recycling. To conform with European Commission regulation 282/2008/EC, decontamination is a fundamental requisite for fresh produce packaging utilising recycled pet, which may come into direct contact with food.
In product terms, trays and TS packaging were particularly prominent for Ilip in 2015, according to Zanichelli. “In terms of quantity, our basic products, such as trays, always work very well,” he tells eurofruit. “Along with this type of product, our TS range dedicated to small fruits and sensitive produce always performs well. The range was designed while taking into account the characteristics of delicate products, such as berries, as well as the requirements involved in heat-sealable packaging. The technical and functional solutions adopted for this range include angled vertical side punched holes, improved ventilation at the base of the punnet through cushioned or absorbent pads, high strength and, in addition, internal corners and bottom ribs with a smooth profile to avoid product damage.”
Ilip will be displaying its full range of packaging solutions at Fruit Logistica, from fruit nest trays to punnets, including trays for vegetables. Included in the offering is the TS line of heat-sealable products and its salad bowl B43 for IV range, made with 80 per cent recycled pet and certified PSV.
“We consider it very important to be close to our customers,” adds Zanichelli. “For this reason, we have made our approach in some markets even more direct. We attend the main international trade shows in the sector, such as Fruit Logistica and the Global Berry Congress. This approach is backed up by the customer satisfaction survey that we carried out in June 2015, which showed an overall satisfaction index of 80 per cent – our goal is to reach 85 per cent within two years.
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