SIG Combibloc said this month that it has begun work on the second stage of a plant expansion in Parana state, Brazil. An investment of more than 36 million Euros (100 million Brazilian reais) to install an extrusion line will make allow the company to laminate unprocessed cardboard on-site for the aseptic carton packs. The first phase of the project in Campo Largo, Paraná was opening the packaging plant, which occurred in mid-2011.

According to Ricardo Rodriguez (photo), Director and General Manager South America at SIG Combibloc, the company grew 60% in 2012 over the previous year.

“For this reason, we have stepped up a gear on the factory expansion works with a further investment of 100 million Brazilian reais. The investment is equivalent to more than 36 million Euros. This means SIG Combibloc has now fully completed the project in the originally announced total amount of 270 million reais”, says Rodriguez.

The extrusion line will laminate the unprocessed cardboard for the carton packs from SIG Combibloc on-site with a polymer and aluminum coating. The inner polymer layers build a liquid barrier for the product, and the outer layer keeps moisture out. The razor-thin aluminum layer protects the food packaged in the carton pack from light, oxygen and external odors. After the coating has been applied, the packaging material is printed, cut to size, stamped and sealed.

Brazil is South America’s biggest market for long-life foods packaged in carton packs. According to estimates by the Canadean market research institute, sales of aseptic carton packs totaled more than 13 billion units in Brazil in 2012. Sales are forecast to continue increasing, at a rate of 8 per cent annually up to 2015.