Thermoformer chases
“chasing arrows”
recycling symbol
Green coordinator kicks up dust pursuing
thermoforms’ recyclability
By Kate Bachman, Editor
Dordan Manufacturing Co. pro- ducesthermoformedpackaging, including clamshells, blisters,
trays, and components, in its manufacturing plant in Woodstock, Ill. The thin-gauged, clear, rigid plastic packaging
provides visibility of consumer products
such as small electronics, housewares,
hardwares, cosmetics, and medical instruments on retail displays while also
enclosing and protecting them.
The family-owned and -operated manufacturer has anchored its position in
a competitive industry by offering high-quality, customized packaging. Sophisticated in-house engineering and expert
tooling departments support and accelerate production and enhance customer
service.
That approach had sustained its
success since its inception until a few
years ago, when the packaging industry came under scrutiny by consumers
and environmentalists for its perceived
role in product cost and landfill waste.
Thermoformed packaging is particularly
vulnerable because it currently is not recycled postconsumer in the majority of
American communities.
The knowledgeable and normally un-
flappable company CEO, Daniel Slavin,
was being asked questions that he
didn’t know the answers to—not about
thermoforming, engineering, or poly-
mers, but about the company’s sus-
tainability initiatives, greenhouse gas
emissions, fossil fuel consumption, and
environmental impact. Business oppor-
tunities could potentially be lost to com-
panies producing packaging that was
recyclable. The patriarch decided that it
was in the company’s best interest to
incorporate sustainability into his plant.
