Envision Plastics to expand EcoPrime manufacturing capacity

Recycled resin manufacturer Envision Plastics is investing to increase its EcoPrime manufacturing capacity, furthering its efforts in being a market leader in fit-for-food contact postconsumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene resin.

While exact figures were not disclosed, the Reidsville, North Carolina-based company says the project is a “multimillion-dollar expansion” that will increase the capacity of its EcoPrime line—its flagship product—by up to 50 percent.

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“This is significant growth and supports our goal of leading the industry as the preferred supplier of fit-for-food contact HDPE [high-density polyethylene] PCR,” says Roberto Fontanillas, vice president and general manager at Envision. “We have been bringing unique solutions to the market since we started in 2001, including EcoPrime, Prisma, OceanBound and fit-for-food contact polypropylene PCR.”

EcoPrime is Envision’s curbside-collected recycled HDPE PCR resin that has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as fit for direct contact with food and beverages up to 100 percent PCR content. The product has earned letters of no objection (LNO) from the FDA and Health Canada and can be used in direct food contact in applications including rigid bottles, blown film and caps and closures.

“As we continue to expand, we can better support the growing need to meet legislative requirements, sustainability commitments and consumer demands for PCR,” Fontanillas says.

Envision currently produces EcoPrime in two plants—Chino, California, and its hometown of Reidsville.

The company says the investment also will allow it to grow its fit-for-food contact PCR polypropylene business for which it has received LNOs from both the FDA and Health Canada.

“This expansion of our market-leading solution … is made possible by our customers with long-term contractual commitments who enjoy the peace of mind of security of supply,” Fontanillas says. “We are grateful to these customers and proud to be able to continue to service those commitments as we also take on new customers and continue to make investments to meet demand and, ultimately, help our customers and the industry achieve sustainability goals.”

Envision was established in 2001 and has since produced more than 1.8 billion pounds of recycled resin. In 2014, the company was acquired by Altium Packaging, formerly Consolidated Container Co., and continues to operate as a separate division of Altium.