Berry Global Announces Investment to Address Ongoing Wipes Shortage to Meet Strong Customer Forecast for Long-term Demand
February 04, 2021 at 06:30 pm IST
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Berry Global Group, Inc. announced its investment of over $70 million in its United States wipe substrate capabilities. The investment includes anew line, producing additional capacity, and enabling the Company to better serve its global customers as well as support the continuing growth of its business. Berry provides many of the world’s leading brands with wipe materials for infection prevention. Prior to the demand surge of 2020, the impregnated wet wipes segment, specific for home cleaning and disinfecting, was growing at 6% in the 2014 to 2019 time frame. Amplified by COVID-19 prevention, the demand for disinfectant wipes is expected to have permanently shifted to its current, increased use. Berry will add to its broad scope and scale by installing the line in the United States. This investment is complementary to Berry’s existing portfolio and features the Company’s proprietary Spinlace® technology. The U.S.investment has a targeted commercialization date of the March quarter 2023. Berry’s Spinlace® technology is a critical component of its growth in the wiping space, as it enables the Company to produce and deliver innovative nonwovens to customers across multiple market segments. These segments include home care, personal care, commercial, transportation, and healthcare. The newly announced asset will be flexible in its production capabilities, with the ability to supply materials for wipes, filtration, personal care incontinence, and healthcare applications. Berry continues to differentiate itself in the market with its unmatched expertise and technologies. The Company’s Spinlace® technology is a highly efficient process that incorporates almost limitless material inputs, including pulp, with high-speed hydroentanglement. Additionally, Berry's proprietary Apex™ technology is combined with Spinlace® technology to impart customizable three-dimensional images directly into the fabric to provide differentiated functional and aesthetic attributes. The Apex® process improves strength, pick up or lay down of liquids, and improves visuals versus traditional manufacturing methods.
Berry Global Group, Inc. creates packaging and engineered products. The Company operates through four segments: Consumer Packaging International, Consumer Packaging North America, Health, Hygiene and Specialties, and Engineered Materials. The Consumer Packaging International segment primarily consists of closures and dispensing systems, pharmaceutical devices and packaging, bottles and canisters, and containers. The Consumer Packaging North America segment primarily consists of containers and pails, foodservice, closures, bottles, prescription vials, and tubes. The Health, Hygiene & Specialties segment primarily consists of healthcare, hygiene, specialties, and tapes. The Engineered Materials segment primarily consists of stretch and shrink films, converter films, institutional can liners, food and consumer films, retail bags, and agriculture films. It is also engaged in offering a full suite of tooling capabilities, including injection, blow, compression, and thermo-forming molds.