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Bangkok – 25 February 2026: Marking the first-ever collaboration of three industry leaders, Taokaenoi Food & Marketing Public Company Limited, or TKN, a manufacturer of seaweed snacks distributed domestically and internationally, SCG Chemicals, or SCGC, a leading integrated polymer and solutions provider for sustainability, and Dow Thailand Group, or Dow, a global leader in materials science, have jointly announced the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revolutionize the snack industry through the “Food-Grade Circular Packaging by Advanced Recycling Technology” project. This initiative aims to sustainably address plastic waste challenges under the concept of closed-loop recycling. This collaboration entails utilizing multi-layer packaging waste from the production processes of Taokaenoi, which was previously difficult to recycle. This waste will be processed using the advanced recycling technology of SCGC and converted back into circular feedstock. Following this, Dow will utilize the feedstock to produce new, clean, and food-grade plastic resins. These resins will then be safely used to manufacture food packaging for the Taokaenoi brand once again. It is anticipated that the packaging will be ready for commercial distribution by the end of 2026. Ms. Orrapat Peeradechapan, Chief Executive Officer of Taokaenoi Food & Marketing Public Company Limited, said, “Taokaenoi is committed to creating happiness for consumers through high-quality snacks, alongside prioritizing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles by emphasizing sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. This collaboration represents a significant milestone that transforms the ‘challenge’ of hard-to-recycle packaging into an ‘opportunity’ to establish a practical circular economy. It is not merely about waste disposal, but rather about creating new value from used plastic. We do not only deliver great-tasting products, but we also aim to deliver a better world to consumers through eco-friendly packaging innovations that are clean, safe, and tangibly reduce environmental impacts. This will drive our business to grow alongside genuine sustainability.” Dr. Suracha Udomsak, Chief Operations and Innovation Officer of SCGC, said, “This collaboration reflects the capability of SCGC in utilizing advanced recycling technology to manage plastic packaging composed of multiple materials, which is difficult to recycle, and converting it back into circular feedstock. This feedstock can be used to produce new plastic resins (Certified Circular Polyolefin Resin), which possess properties and quality entirely equivalent to standard virgin plastic resins in all respects and are safe for direct food contact. As a result, the materials can be reused to manufacture food packaging for Taokaenoi. In addition, our process has achieved the globally recognized sustainability certification, ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification), throughout the entire supply chain, making SCGC the first company in ASEAN to achieve such certification. This partnership is considered a crucial step in driving SCGC’s goal of reintegrating used plastic into the circular economy system at a volume of 500,000 tons per year by 2030, through collaborations with business partners across the entire value chain.” Meanwhile, Mr. Vichan Tangkengsirisin, President of Dow Thailand, added, “As a materials science leader, Dow is proud to support this collaboration in Thailand by applying our technology to produce circular plastic resins from used flexible packaging feedstock with performance equivalent to fossil-based plastics. Dow Thailand Group’s polyethylene facility in Rayong is ISCC PLUS certified for its capability of converting advanced recycled feedstock into high quality, food grade circular resins. This initiative represents an important step toward closing the plastics loop in Thailand and advancing Dow’s sustainability ambition to transform the waste through collaboration with customers and value chain partners.” This collaboration serves as a model for the comprehensive management of used multi-layer plastic packaging. It reduces the accumulation of plastic waste in the country and decreases the consumption of new resources. This aligns with the sustainability goals of Taokaenoi, SCGC, and Dow, reinforcing the role of the business sector in tangibly driving the circular economy to build a sustainable future together.

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KHS provides Georgian Mineral Water Brand Borjomi with technological support to enter the 21st century

5 July 2024 – The German machine and systems manufacturer KHS has been a reliable partner to Georgian Mineral Water Brand Borjomi for many years. First a filtering system was procured over 60 years ago from predecessor company Seitz in Bad Kreuznach and from 2004 to 2006 KHS was largely responsible for the supply, installation and commissioning of a PET line and the packaging and palletizing section of a glass line. Together, the two companies not only look back but also and above all forward: as its technology partner the Dortmund systems supplier supports IDS Borjomi Georgia, to give the beverage producer its full name, on its journey into the future.

Photo: Borjomi

In 2020 construction started on a further up-to-the-minute, over €40-million facility in the historial spa town of Borjomi. Kitted out with hightech from Germany in the main, this is setting new standards for the industry and the region and pumping new impetus into the country’s economy. When finished, the new bottling plant covering 25,000 square meters will provide 20% more jobs and enable capacity to be doubled in the medium term. This is to allow the growing demand to be met on the one hand and the portfolio to be expanded as and when required on the other. Ecology is especially important here: for instance, the new machines have been optimized for efficient use of energy and water and a cutting-edge sewage plant filters wastewater. Much of the work has already been finished; the logistics centers and railroad connections are expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Aside from supplying large proportions of the equipment for the process technology and filling and packaging systems, KHS has taken on the role of consultant and general contractor, on whose experience the beverage bottler is happy to rely. “We have complete trust in KHS’ technological expertise when it comes to the filling of mineral water and carbonated soft drinks,” says Gia Shatirishvili, industrial development director for IDS Borjomi Georgia. “Together we’ve drawn up a conceptual master plan that consists of the technical preparation, calculation of production and supply capacities and the perspective layout of the new factory.” Specifically, KHS is helping to dimension the water treatment area, manage supply to the lines with media such as steam, air, CO2 and cooling and plan the supply networks and CIP concepts. The engineers from Dortmund are also involved in the design of the production shop.

Hightech for PET and cans

Two turnkey KHS lines have already been installed and commissioned: an InnoPET BloFill stretch blow molder/filler block is being used to fill PET bottles holding between 0.5 and 1.25 liters at a rate of up to 30,000 containers per hour. KHS’ Bottles & Shapes experts provided direct assistance in dialog with the customer’s marketing personnel when it came to redesigning the plastic bottles. They supported the optimization of the iconic Borjomi bottle in many different ways, namely by enabling the legendary stag to be embossed on the containers. The block itself features an Innofill DRV filler that’s also state of the art. Further highlights in the line’s wet section include a Paramix C blender and an Innoket Neo Flex 90 labeler – one of the first with a swivel arm HMI. With the help of four cameras the three cold glue paper labels on the body, shoulder and back of each bottle are aligned with the brand logo exactly as specified by the marketing department. The dry section ends with an Innopack Kisters SP Advanced shrink packer with a handle applicator and the flexible palletizing technology of the Innopal PB N combined with an Innopal RG grouping system.

Up to 36,000 beverage cans per hour are filled on the second line. After blending on the Paramix C, the cans are fed to the compact Innofill Can C filler before traveling on to a seamer from Swiss engineering company Ferrum, a KHS Innopro KZE flash pasteurizer and a tunnel pasteurizer. As the beverages are exported to 40 countries, calling for a large number of language variants, the 330-milliliter sleek cans printed with the brand motif on the front are dressed with the appropriate pressure-sensitive label on the back. In the dry section an Innopack Kisters TSP for trays and shrink film is used for packing. An Innopal LD Z depalletizer transports the empty cans to the packaging line, with an Innopal PB N again used to palletize the packaged products.

Customized process technology

Regarding the process technology, KHS has also contributed a fully customized syrup room that can serve not just the two new lines already installed but also two more in the future and boasts several special features.

“The complex water concept is controlled from here by the process control system,” explains Ilya Kukushkin, technical sales manager for key accounts at KHS. “It enables recipes to be managed, for example, and is especially operator friendly, particularly in combination with the fully automatic valve manifold. Besides machines for the manufacture, treatment and storage of sugar syrup, the syrup room includes funnels and suction lances for the dispatch and processing of liquid and solid small components and a barrel emptying station for viscous concentrates – all directly connected to the six mixing tanks that hold 10.5 or 22 cubic meters respectively. All kinds of basic substances can be produced in these; the customer has full flexibility here.”

Three CIP stations have also been integrated: one for the two lines, one for the syrup room and one for the water treatment unit including all water pipelines. “The piping includes the four-kilometer-long link to the dosing station for disinfectants at the old plant. This is the longest cleaned pipe I’ve ever heard of,” quipped Kukushkin.

In addition, in 2023, the order for a further PET line went to KHS, the is now able to fill up to 36,000 1.5-liter bottles per hour – a brand new container size for the bottler. “What we particularly appreciate about KHS are its end-to-end systems that effect an excellent balance between high line efficiency and a small machine footprint,” Shatirishvili concluded.