Timelessly successful
Packaging III: Elopak is celebrating its 50th anniversary. From its beginnings as a small beverage carton factory in Spikkestadt, Norway, Elopak has grown into a global company.
Packaging III
Elopak celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. From a small beverage carton factory in Spikkestadt, Norway, Elopak has developed into a global company. The hundred-year history of the beverage carton reveals just how complicated this seemingly simple product is. Elopak has played a key role in the success of the beverage carton. It all began when the Norwegian paper engineer Christian August Johansen returned from a trip to the USA with a vision: a European license agreement for the American Pure-Pak beverage carton and representation for Pure-Pak filling machines. In the USA, "paper bottles" for milk had been used commercially for the first time in the early 1930s. Especially after the Second World War, the carton with the gable top was able to quickly secure market share. The market was dominated by the Pure-Pak carton from the Detroit-based Ex-Cell-O Corporation. Norwegian dairies had also tried to introduce disposable packaging in the 1950s. However, this innovation was received very skeptically. However, factory owner J. H. Andresen was not deterred. On February 11, 1957, the company A/S Elopak Ltd. was formally founded. The name is an abbreviation for European Licensee of Pure-Pak.
Gable top carton conquers the worldThe transition from glass bottles to cartons proved to be extremely difficult, however. In the end, the company was saved by the American troops stationed in Germany after the Second World War. The soldiers received their daily milk ration in practical cartons, as they were used to at home. They were supplied by the Dutch dairy Sterovita. Elopak took a big risk to put the American supplier of the milk cartons out of the running and was successful. Today, the cartons with the characteristic gabled roof occupy a leading position among packaging for fresh milk, dairy products and juices in Norway.
However, the Norwegian market represents only a small part of Elopak's overall business activities. 94 percent of business is conducted outside Norway in around one hundred different countries. The second half of the 1960s in particular saw expansion on the European continent. Over time, Elopak was able to secure a strong position in the most important markets for fresh milk and juices. In 1987, Elopak became the owner of all rights to the Pure-Pak system worldwide. These rights also included production facilities for filling machines in Detroit, USA.
Since then, many of Elopak's expansion movements have taken place outside Europe. Today, the most important growth markets are in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Russia and the Americas. The company has also secured a strong position in both the Middle East and various African countries.
Premium products targetedElopak is starting the next fifty years with a clear strategy that will focus on the packaging of premium products. These are fresh and aseptically packaged products that have extremely high quality requirements and a clear profile. These are specialty products where packaging plays a key role in terms of the general perception of the product and its ability to attract consumer attention. In line with this strategy, Elopak has launched a whole range of cartons on the market in recent years, the design of which is protected.
Sabine Flaxman
ElopakElopak
is one of the world's leading suppliers of packaging systems for liquid foods and is known as a supplier of gable-top carton packaging thanks to its Pure-Pak system. In 2006, the company achieved a turnover of 626 million euros with 2500 employees. Elopak is part of the FERD Group. This is privately owned by Johan A. Andresen Jr. and is one of Norway's largest industrial and financial groups. www.elopak.comDrei major playersGlobal
The market for beverage cartons is dominated by three major suppliers: Tetra Pak:
Originally from Sweden and now based in Switzerland, Tetra Pak is the largest supplier with a market share of 70 percent. The Rank Group:
New Zealand. Owns SIG in Europe, Blue Ridge and International Papers in the USA.Elopak:
Norway. Markets the Pure-Pak system worldwide and is the licensor for it. Third largest provider.
Elopak celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. From a small beverage carton factory in Spikkestadt, Norway, Elopak has developed into a global company. The hundred-year history of the beverage carton reveals just how complicated this seemingly simple product is. Elopak has played a key role in the success of the beverage carton. It all began when the Norwegian paper engineer Christian August Johansen returned from a trip to the USA with a vision: a European license agreement for the American Pure-Pak beverage carton and representation for Pure-Pak filling machines. In the USA, "paper bottles" for milk had been used commercially for the first time in the early 1930s. Especially after the Second World War, the carton with the gable top was able to quickly secure market share. The market was dominated by the Pure-Pak carton from the Detroit-based Ex-Cell-O Corporation. Norwegian dairies had also tried to introduce disposable packaging in the 1950s. However, this innovation was received very skeptically. However, factory owner J. H. Andresen was not deterred. On February 11, 1957, the company A/S Elopak Ltd. was formally founded. The name is an abbreviation for European Licensee of Pure-Pak.
Gable top carton conquers the worldThe transition from glass bottles to cartons proved to be extremely difficult, however. In the end, the company was saved by the American troops stationed in Germany after the Second World War. The soldiers received their daily milk ration in practical cartons, as they were used to at home. They were supplied by the Dutch dairy Sterovita. Elopak took a big risk to put the American supplier of the milk cartons out of the running and was successful. Today, the cartons with the characteristic gabled roof occupy a leading position among packaging for fresh milk, dairy products and juices in Norway.
However, the Norwegian market represents only a small part of Elopak's overall business activities. 94 percent of business is conducted outside Norway in around one hundred different countries. The second half of the 1960s in particular saw expansion on the European continent. Over time, Elopak was able to secure a strong position in the most important markets for fresh milk and juices. In 1987, Elopak became the owner of all rights to the Pure-Pak system worldwide. These rights also included production facilities for filling machines in Detroit, USA.
Since then, many of Elopak's expansion movements have taken place outside Europe. Today, the most important growth markets are in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Russia and the Americas. The company has also secured a strong position in both the Middle East and various African countries.
Premium products targetedElopak is starting the next fifty years with a clear strategy that will focus on the packaging of premium products. These are fresh and aseptically packaged products that have extremely high quality requirements and a clear profile. These are specialty products where packaging plays a key role in terms of the general perception of the product and its ability to attract consumer attention. In line with this strategy, Elopak has launched a whole range of cartons on the market in recent years, the design of which is protected.
Sabine Flaxman
ElopakElopak
is one of the world's leading suppliers of packaging systems for liquid foods and is known as a supplier of gable-top carton packaging thanks to its Pure-Pak system. In 2006, the company achieved a turnover of 626 million euros with 2500 employees. Elopak is part of the FERD Group. This is privately owned by Johan A. Andresen Jr. and is one of Norway's largest industrial and financial groups. www.elopak.comDrei major playersGlobal
The market for beverage cartons is dominated by three major suppliers: Tetra Pak:
Originally from Sweden and now based in Switzerland, Tetra Pak is the largest supplier with a market share of 70 percent. The Rank Group:
New Zealand. Owns SIG in Europe, Blue Ridge and International Papers in the USA.Elopak:
Norway. Markets the Pure-Pak system worldwide and is the licensor for it. Third largest provider.
