SPAIN – French multinational food group Danone is planning to stop operations of its desserts and cheese manufacturing plant in northern Spain in a move to improve “competitiveness and industrial efficiency”.
The company has stated that the planned closure is part of a rationalization process aimed at reducing capacity and concentrating volumes in order to guarantee the continuity of the brands- and to gain competitiveness and industrial efficiency.
The French group said in a statement that talks with representatives of staff at the plant, located in the town of Salas, have started.
This gesture of closing down comes shortly after last year’s announcement to build another factory in Spain – in Parets del Vallès, near Barcelona.
According to Danone, the factory will be the first in Europe to make conventional dairy and dairy-alternative products.
Danone’s new redesigned packaging
Meanwhile, Danone has developed a new bottle for Danacol brand following the ‘Design for Recycling’ principles, which aim to ensure that it is easily recyclable.
The new bottle has been created following a partnership between Danone Iberia R&D team and the plastic packaging manufacturer Graham Packaging and is set to be launched in the rest of European countries this year.
The redesign has eliminated its PET plastic label, replacing it with an embossed engraving on the bottle itself, thus improving its recyclability while reducing 0.72g of plastic per unit.
The bottle has been given opacity and color to prevent light from affecting it while maintaining the quality of the product.
Instead of the label, it has opted to add both the logo and the brand’s slogan in relief with a color code that has been designed to facilitate the differentiation of flavor through the lid of the container.
Danone has adopted two production lines at its factory in Aldaya, Valencia, to enable the production of the new bottle which will be then distributed to the rest of the countries.
Additionally, Ainia technology center has awarded the company with the “Rigid Packaging Solutions” award, which is given to the development of barrier and sustainability packaging solutions in the food industry.
The award is attributed to French group moves that have made possible an annual saving of 130,000 kg of plastic since its launch in November 2021.
Danone Spain is pushing its way in innovating its packaging by having another launch this year of a new 1.25-litre Lanjarón bottle made from 100% recycled and recyclable plastic. This Lanjarón bottle has its cap has been integrated and the label has been removed to ensure total recycling.
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