Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Danish Business Spotlight
Danish tin packaging specialist Companized designs and produces stylish metal canisters for everything from chocolate to liquor. Tin is 100 per cent recyclable and as such makes one of the most sustainable types of packaging available on the market today.
An iron-clad argument for metal packaging Few might consider tin canisters an environmentally friendly way of packaging and storing food. However, when considering the low environmental impact of production and transport and the recycling potential, metal canisters do not just make stylish, image-boosting packaging. According to Danish tin packaging specialist Companized, these canisters also offer an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic and cardboard. By Signe Hansen |
Photos: Companized
Founded in the 1970s, Companized today designs and produces customised tin packaging for brands in more than 20 countries. The stylish tin canisters are approved for all food as well as non-food items, but are particularly suitable for decorative gift items such as tea, alcoholic beverages, and chocolate. Besides, they are much more environmentally sensible than most people think, says CEO Lars Møller Bengtsen. “As tin is created through the electrolysis of iron, there is no significant use of fossil fuels in the production of metal containers. Another advantage is the fact that our containers are very solid and thus don’t need extra packaging for transport, while most cardboard and plastic containers do. That obviously saves our customers money, but it is also more sustainable as there’s less wasted packaging and less transport and CO2. Moreover, people tend to keep the containers for longer and use them for other storage purposes, whereas plastic and cardboard are typically just thrown away.” 98 | Issue 96 | January 2017
the recycling policies takes time, but we’re getting there and we want to be part of that. More and more places are incorporating metal recycling into everyday recycling systems, and I believe that one day, not before long, just like glass, metal will be considered and treated as a fully recyclable resource.”
The company, which is run and owned by Bengtsen and his wife, CFO Majbritt Møller Bengtsen, is located south of Copenhagen, where sales, purchasing and design take place. The production takes place in China. “We’ve been making metal packaging for many years and have developed two key strengths. Firstly, creativity – we don’t just make round tin canisters; we adapt each product to create a delicious, customised design. Secondly, quality: we work directly and closely with our producers, know the different pitfalls and production processes, and do our own quality checks before shipping an order off. That way, we achieve a consistently high quality and minimise mistakes and delays,” explains Bengtsen. Passionate about the qualities of metal, Bengtsen hopes that, as more and more countries are realising the great advantages of using and reusing metal, Companized can help lead the way. “Obviously changing people’s perception and
For more information, please visit: www.companized.dk