News

Rein Nooteboom, Managing Partner of Vormenfabriek Tilburg B.V. since 1989, founds acquisition partners for the company. Anders Invest has taken over the shares, together with Gert-Jan Kloppers, who has acquired a minority stake and will lead the Vormenfabriek as new Managing Director.

They will add a new chapter to the great and long history of the company. In the almost 100-year history of Vormenfabriek, the company has grown into one of the leading players in the world in the development, manufacturing and worldwide sales of polycarbonate injection moulded-, thermo formed and silicone rubber moulds for the international chocolate and confectionary industry. The entire design, development and production process is being performed in Tilburg.

During this history, the technological expertise, innovative abilities and loyalty of the team of employees made Vormenfabriek what it is today. The new shareholders are looking forward to contribute to the future of this great company. Kloppers has extensive experience as a Managing Director in companies with international sales and marketing activities for technical products. Kloppers said, “We look forward to lead this great company, with its long history and craftsmanship, into its second century.”

In collaboration with beekeepers, Fismer Lecithin has developed special lecithins for use in pollen substitutes.  

Pollen forms the basis of natural nutritional support for bees. At certain times of the year, for example in our cultural landscape in spring, an adequate supply of pollen in nature is not guaranteed. Beekeepers can strengthen their bee colonies by feeding them with pollen substitutes. These feeds have a high protein and vitamin content. Lecithin developed by Fismer combined with brewer's yeast is a tried and tested mixture that effectively promotes the spring development of the colonies and helps them through other pollen shortages.

Josephine Coombe, Managing Director of Nulogy in Europe, has been appointed to the board of the European Co-Packers Association (ECPA). The move comes as the ECPA sees increased demand for contract packing and contract manufacturing services from brands across Europe.

Josephine Coombe joins the four existing board members of the ECPA and will help provide an international perspective on enhancing agility through innovation in the external supply chain. With over 20 years’ experience serving global FMCG and retail brands in North America and Europe, she is a senior leader focused on the digital transformation of supply chains worldwide.

Gelita AG, global market leader in the field of gelatine and collagen peptides, appoints Dr Sven Abend to the executive board of Gelita AG, effective from 1 November 2020. Dr Abend will succeed Dr Franz Josef Konert as of 1 January 2021, who is retiring at his own request at the end of the year. Dr Abend’s most recent position was COO of the Lonza Group, where he was responsible for the Specialty Ingredients division, and was also a member of the executive board.

The supervisory board furthermore appointed Jan Christoph Teetz as CFO of Gelita AG from 1 October 2020. Prior to this, Mr Teetz was CFO at Tesa SE, a company of the Beiersdorf Group, for more than ten years. Together with the current COO, Michael Van Elsacker, the new executive board shall shape the company’s continued expansion.

The upcoming interpack in Düsseldorf was postponed from its original date in May 2020 to the following year, due to the Corona pandemic. It will now take place from 25 February to 3 March 2021 and continues to be fully booked. Messe Düsseldorf relies on a comprehensive hygiene concept in order to protect exhibitors and visitors. “interpack is the most important event in the international packaging industry and, especially in times of crisis, provides crucial stimuli in order to build a successful future for the companies involved. Therefore, we give our all in order to do justice to this responsibility and simultaneously guarantee the best possible protection of the health of the people coming to our trade fair centre”, emphasises Thomas Dohse, Project Director at interpack.

The hygiene plan has already proved that it lives up to its motto: “PROTaction - Back to Business” with Caravan Salon, the first trade fair at the Düsseldorf trade fair centre after the Corona break. After selling personalised tickets exclusively online before the trade fair, extensive hygiene measures shaped implementation of the concept on-site.

Thomas Dohse (50) has been the new leader of interpack in his capacity as Project Director since the start of September. He follows Bernd Jablonowski, who rose to the Managing Board of Messe Düsseldorf as an Executive Director.  

Dohse has woven an excellent web of connections within the global packaging industry and the related process industry. He has been part of the interpack team at Messe Düsseldorf since 2005 and led interpack 2017 on an operative level as Deputy Director. During this period, the father of three supported many formative themes for interpack, such as Save Food and the special shows under the innovationparc label. These are now also successful at the international events within the scope of the interpack alliance, which will also be led by Dohse in the future.

Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC), the specialty oils and fats business of Bunge Limited, officially announces the opening of its state-of-the-art shea butter processing facility in Tema/Ghana with the launch of the Where Life Grows campaign that celebrates the company’s efforts to build a resilient and sustainable shea supply chain in Africa.  

“Our latest investment in Ghana plays a critical role in strengthening BLC’s global infrastructure for processing and supplying high-quality shea products to our customers around the world, while also bolstering the entire ecosystem of regional crushers and local shea collectors in the West African region,” said Aaron Buettner, President BLC. “The facility allows us to meaningfully support and empower the local shea communities through the transfer of knowledge of value adding processes and by investing in local skills development.”

Operational since 2019, the facility is BLC’s first shea processing plant in Africa and the largest of its kind on the continent. “The facility is a fully automated solvent fractionation plant that processes raw shea butter made from locally collected and crushed shea nuts,” said Antoine Turpin, General Manager West Africa at BLC. “Currently, the facility provides employment to 73 people from mostly the local community. Its strategic location not only allows for a more efficient production process; it also delivers on BLC’s commitment to building a more sustainable supply chain for shea.”