Marks & Spencer is the first retailer in the UK and Ireland to use LeanCover by Ecolean for butter wraps. LeanCover is a new packaging material which the Swedish-based manufacturer claims is very resource efficient and has a low environmental impact.
Marks & Spencer's butter products are sold all over UK and Ireland. "This is yet another step in introducing LeanCover in Europe," says Ecolean's sales manager, Lars-Eric Andersson. Last year, French retail giant Carrefour decided to wrap all its butter production in LeanCover.
National Flexible is Ecolean's sole agent for LeanCover in the UK and Ireland. Barry Twigg, chief executive of National Flexible, claims that the material can also be used for packing bakery products, snack foods, confectionary and ready meals.
Ecolean also manufactures filling systems for liquid foods and sealable lids for cups and tubs. All of the products are based on calcium carbonate (chalk) mixed with polyethylene plastics.
The chalk is bound by polyolefins, which create a unique packaging material with very low environmental impact.This material was introduced to the market just a few years ago.
Ecolean has 180 employees world wide. The company has production facilities in Helsingborg and Tianjin, China. Turnover for 2001 reached €10 million, an increase of 100 per cent over 2000.