10 May Growing faster through 2020, moving closer to sustainability goals.
2020 sees signifcant Ronpak growth
Ronpak recently asked Charlotte Reese, General Manager, and Ray Kitchens, Director of Quality, Environmental & Sustainability, to answer some questions about Ronpak’s recent growth and what we are doing to reach our 2020 goals. Ronpak has experienced some significant and exponential growth of late. To what would you attribute this particular growth spurt?
“All of our growth starts with the Ronpak way of doing business. We pride ourselves on our ‘People-First’ attitude, focusing on world-class customer service, exceptional quality, and unparalleled on-time delivery. We ensure open communication at all levels of our business, from the production floor, to customer service, to senior management, to guarantee that our team members know that they are heard and appreciated.”
Has Ronpak reached its goal of its utilization of the "How2Recycle" labeling system, built to promote consumer recycling understanding along with a call to act responsibly at a products' "end of life"?
“It is still a planned initiative but due to COVID-19 this will be delayed until late this year.”
What’s the current status on Ronpak’s “green initiatives,” such as its 2020 goal to establish an ongoing Environmental Management Process, calling for a 20% reduction in water use during product manufacturing?
“Our Environmental Management plan will be ISO 14001. It will be difficult to reduce water by 20% as we will have additional new machines across all facilities by mid-2021. We anticipate an increase in water and energy but due to equipment capabilities there will be an improvement in these areas bases on pounds produced by machine.”
Has Ronpak reached its ISO14001 Environmental Management System goal across all production facilities - California, Louisiana & New Jersey?
“Ronpak has started EMS implementation across all of its manufacturing facilities. As of today, Ronpak’s status is:
California is about 65% implemented.
New Jersey is about 50% implemented.
Louisiana is about 25% implemented.
"We do anticipate that ISO 14001 will be implemented and certified in all facilities by years' end."
- A brief overview regarding new forthcoming manufacturing equipment -
Ronpak has 18 new machines on order with delivery expected within the next 3 years. With the first machines planned for installation beginning in May 2020, Ronpak’s total production capabilities will increase 15-20% by the end of 2023. We are particularly excited about a new bag line delivering to our Shreveport location before year’s end that will open up a new area of opportunity for us and significant cost savings for our customers.
In addition to production line increases, we have a state-of-the-art display system currently being piloted in our California plant.
This new system provides real time data from the production floor to all for live database tracking uptime, efficiency and even reasons for downtime. We expect to see strong production gains with the ability to see how we are doing in real time.
Ronpak is adding a new CI Press with six-color capability and a sheeting unit that will double our daily output. In addition, we are installing a Band Wrap Bar-Coder that allows for dynamic data to be printed on the band wraps for our customers that require lot code information in each bar code.
This new system provides real time data from the production floor to all for live database tracking uptime, efficiency and even reasons for downtime. We expect to see strong production gains with the ability to see how we are doing in real time.
Ronpak is adding a new CI Press with six-color capability and a sheeting unit that will double our daily output. In addition, we are installing a Band Wrap Bar-Coder that allows for dynamic data to be printed on the band wraps for our customers that require lot code information in each bar code.
Ronpak’s new equipment will build upon its current manufacturing foundation. These new equipment sets will be comprised of various machine upgrades, as well as systems upgrades like the deployed data collection displays.
These new equipment components will enhance Ronpak’s ability to offer unique packaging options for our customers. We are enthusiastic about our upcoming delivery bag option, since it is not currently in use in either the QSR or Fast-Casual restaurant space. We expect to roll out this new offering in the fourth quarter of this year and believe it could be a game-changer for the industry.
These new equipment components will enhance Ronpak’s ability to offer unique packaging options for our customers. We are enthusiastic about our upcoming delivery bag option, since it is not currently in use in either the QSR or Fast-Casual restaurant space. We expect to roll out this new offering in the fourth quarter of this year and believe it could be a game-changer for the industry.
Has Ronpak joined any new industry membership councils?
“We are currently members of the Foodservice Packaging Institute and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC Impact), both of which are Sustainability and Environmental based organizations.”
Has Ronpak received any additional BPI certifications for compostability and/or biodegradability product packaging?
“We are currently working with a major customer to gain BPI certification on a brand new product. Additionally, Ronpak representatives have been working on some exciting compostability & sustainability developments, including our review of the new PARA-Free paper substrates that are presently undergoing testing via BPI.”
