Using its high skills in compressing parts made from thermosetting resins, which made it successful in the luxury sector, the French high-end packaging manufacturer has just added new solutions to its cellulose-based resin business.
Specialized in designing solutions based on the transformation of thermosetting resins, like bakelite, for luxury spirits, cosmetics and perfume caps or jars, Technicaps started to diversify its industrial techniques three years ago.
Araud Revel, Technicaps
“We aimed to diversify our businesses, while keeping in line with our values, and make technological and industrial choices involving meaningful materials for our customers, for us, and for the planet. We want it to be a long-lasting investment over time,” explains Arnaud Revel, President of Technicaps.
The investment will help support two additional businesses related to the company’s original know-how: thermosetting resin compression.
“We still believe this technology has a bright future ahead. It helps make products that do not lose their shape over time, which means they can be reused,” he adds.
Technicaps has actually been studying the potential of alternative materials. An R&D team was set up with a PhD in materials, who screens all materials to check their viability in an industrial context.
The company also banks on a new injection unit for technical, mono-material capping parts with thick walls.
“We wanted to meet the rising demand for technical products, including mono-material caps with thick walls. We can inject materials based on cellulose, like Sulapac, or PETs that can be massified with existing recycling systems,” explains Arnaud Revel.
The first products will be launched in 2024.
Cellulose as a basic material
Lastly, to complete its diversification, the company has been enhancing its skills regarding moulded cellulose thermoforming, both for primary and secondary packaging. Technicaps will showcase the first refillable glass jar with a cup made from moulded cellulose at the next Luxe Pack Monaco show.
“We are the first to offer this product with a standard mould. Our cellulose is made in France, sourced 300 km from our plant, and it is a natural, renewable, abundant, and recyclable material. Right now, there is a plastic film in infinitesimal quantity which protects the bulk material without jeopardizing recycling, but we are hoping to eventually use 100% cellulose,” says the President.
Boasting a turnover of 20 million euros for 110 employees, the company, positioned on the luxury sector, has achieved a 40% growth over the past three years.
“It is a fast-moving world for companies. It is no longer workable over time to keep a strategy based on a single technology. That is why we diversified our businesses, providing our customers with more content. But our core value remains the same: maintain a long-term, sustainable strategy,” concludes Arnaud Revel.
