Parkside seeks to further its presence in Asia

Parkside has made significant investments in its Malaysian operations in the past six months to meet the needs of its growing customer base in the Asia region, and to deliver a faster turnaround service and reduce lead times so that customers can respond to changing market demands quickly. A new slitter and full plate making technology has been installed enabling the site in Kuala Lumpur to be self-sufficient from receipt of design through to end product shipment. This development is reported here. In addition, a 10-color flexographic press has been transferred there from Parkside’s UK site. These investments are reported here.

John Taylor, general manager of Parkside Asia, said: ‘Parkside is focused on growing its reach into speciality packaging for the food and beverage markets in the region in line with its core strategy in Europe.

‘As a leading player in Europe, Parkside is eager to demonstrate its abilities in Asia and ensure its increasing number of customers in the region have access to local facilities and capabilities. The recent investment will enable us to offer our international customers the high level of service they are used to from our UK operations and for Asia to build on this strength with local manufacturing, service and support.’

Further to its aims, Parkside is exhibiting at next week’s (July 27-29) Malaysian International Food and Beverage (MIFB) 2016 trade fair, showcasing products for the food and beverage markets, including its cook-ready range, compostable pouches and spiral wrap, as well as demonstrating its capabilities in laser technology, print and lamination.

Products to be showcased include Parkscribe Steam, a flexible, microwavable self-venting steam bag for frozen vegetables. The pack is portion-sized and uses a special food-safe lacquer and lasered seal that degrades under heat and pressure to self-vent. It is part of the Parkscribe family of cook-ready solutions from Parkside which uses laser-scribing technology to create an integral opening of any size, shape or position as part of pack design.

Parkside’s spiral wrap product, launched earlier this year and reported here, is a flexible pack that allows consumers to peel away the packaging in a spiral motion, revealing the product inside. It has been developed in response to demand for convenience features such as easy opening, portability and dispensing.

And to meet the green challenge of flexible packaging, Parkside has developed a range of paper and film barrier lamination films that are fully compostable and suitable for both home and industrial composting. Under the brand Park-2-Nature, the compostable laminates are manufactured from sustainable sources whilst offering excellent graphic shelf appeal for retailers and brand owners. The packs are said to be ideal for coffee, dried goods and confectionery.

The company has also developed a flexible packaging product with built-in antimicrobial technology, as reported here, to reduce bacteria growth on the outer packaging of fresh poultry.

MIFB, taking place at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, is Malaysia’s leading food and beverage trade event, bringing together global manufacturers, suppliers and brands from across the industry.

‘Visitors to MIFB will be able to see the very latest innovations from Parkside which have been developed in response to key trends in the industry such as on-the-go snacking, convenience, easy-open and sustainability,’ added Taylor.