____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Solidus
CEO Niels Flierman describes the last five years as a turbulent period, with the Covid pandemic unsettling supply chains across the industry and causing unprecedented demand for products.“ 2022 was probably the peak of that instability,” Niels elaborates.“ We’ ve worked very hard to bring our cost base back in line with a market that now has overcapacity. Alongside that, we’ ve been very active commercially and exploring how we distinguish ourselves from competitors. Continuing our innovation journey was already a priority in 2022, and it’ s become even stronger since, driven partly by legislative pressure.”
He adds:“ You can either see new regulation as a threat or an opportunity – I choose to see it as an opportunity. We’ re talking about plastic replacement, deposit return schemes and retailers actively looking for alternative packaging materials. Our innovation teams need to be ready to capitalize on those shifts and outperform competitors.”
Moving away from a regional approach, Solidus has reorganized into two core businesses: board and converting. The aim is to improve efficiency and strengthen end-toend performance.
Furthermore, the company has invested € 11 million in the development of its Futurline ® packaging solutions.“ Futurline ® products differ from our traditional solid board boxes used to pack fish, meat and poultry,” Niels explains.“ Futurline ® is focused on retail-facing packaging. One element is fiber-based punnets, such as mushroom and soft fruit punnets. Another is skin packaging, comprising of shrink film over a board tray. We make it, amongst others, for meat, hamburgers and fish. Skin packaging is particularly popular in southern European markets, for example within large grocery retail chains. The third element is modified atmosphere packaging( MAP), which includes trays designed for chilled and fresh food applications, such as ready meals.”
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