Fruit and vegetables are the centerpiece of today’s grocery stores and often the first department that customers experience when walking in the door. Visually appealing produce signals quality and freshness, and for brand owners and retailers, it is critical that fruits and vegetables arrive undamaged. With fruit and vegetable loss already as much as 50% throughout the value chain, strong packaging can play a role at minimizing this by preventing damage to fresh produce. Producers and sellers have high expectations for packaging reliability and at the same time seek to balance this with increasingly ambitious sustainability measures. This includes combating food waste and reducing their packaging’s environmental impact. In the fruits and vegetables category, retailers and brand owners are commonly presented with a choice between recyclable corrugated containerboard packaging and reusable plastic crates. Both offer protection, but how can they know which is the most sustainable choice? To help our customers better understand the options and their potential environmental impacts, we recently conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing corrugated containerboard box to a reusable plastic crate for transporting fresh produce.

O-I Glass, Inc. will build a new greenfield glass plant in Bowling Green, KY. In line with strong consumer trends towards healthy, recyclable, and sustainable food and beverage packaging, the company is adding capacity to support its customers with brand-building premium glass containers. The company plans to invest up to $240 million in multiple expansion waves over time and create approximately 140 new jobs in the region. The new plant will be the first facility purposely-built for O-I’s revolutionary MAGMA technology that is set to redefine the glass production process for the future. MAGMA is expected to further enhance O-I’s capabilities to support multiple product categories and expand in today’s highly differentiated product segments. The production facility is also expected to set new standards in sustainable glass manufacturing. Using renewable electricity, gas-oxy fuel, and other innovative solutions, it will significantly advance O-I’s sustainability roadmap and make glass an even more compelling choice for consumers, customers, and the environment.

Net sales for the third quarter were a record $1.32 billion, an increase of $115.9 million, or 9.6 percent, from last year’s quarter. The improvement in sales was a result of higher selling prices, largely driven by rising raw material prices; sales added from acquisitions, net of divestitures; and the positive impact of foreign exchange. Gross profits were a record $250.9 million in the third quarter, an increase of $15.5 million or 6.6 percent, compared with $235.4 million in the same period in 2016. Gross profit as a percentage of sales declined to 18.9 percent, compared with 19.5 percent in the same period in 2016. The gross profit percentage reduction was primarily due to higher raw material and other operating costs offset by manufacturing and procurement productivity. Third-quarter selling, general and administrative expenses increased $8.7 million from the prior year to $130.3 million. This increase was driven by wage inflation and acquisition-related expenses. Click Read More below for additional information.