Tetra Pak
Encyclopedia
Tetra Pak is a multinational
food processing and packaging company
of Swedish
origin. It was founded in 1951 in Lund
, Sweden
, by Ruben Rausing
. It was Erik Wallenberg
who invented the tetrahedral
package, today known as Tetra Classic. The company is part of the Tetra Laval
group which also includes Sidel
– who specialise in PET bottles – and DeLaval
, a producer of dairy farming machinery and food processing equipment.
Ruben Rausing
's sons Hans
and Gad Rausing
ran Tetra Pak from 1954 until 1985, building the company from a small family business with six full-time employees, in 1954, to one of Sweden's largest corporations. At his death in 1983, Ruben Rausing
was Sweden
's richest person.
(UHT), allows liquid food to be packaged and stored under room temperature conditions for up to a year. This allows for perishable goods to be saved and distributed over greater distances without the need for a cold chain
.
Tetra Pak's first product was a paper carton used for storing and transporting milk. The first product was a package in the shape of a triangular pyramid (or tetrahaedron), called the Tetra Classic.
Ruben Rausing
and his team had been working on the Tetra Classic design since 1944, and by 1952 had perfected techniques for making his cartons fully airtight, using a system of plastic coated
paperboard
. These initial cartons were tetrahaedral, leading to the company's name, derived from "four" in the Greek language. The first Tetra Classic package was launched in 1952, and in 1963 the company introduced Tetra Brik, a rectangular cuboid carton.
Later, Tetra Pak launched other packaging formats such as Tetra Wedge (wedge-shaped), Tetra Prisma (round octagonal), and Tetra Fino (pouch-shaped). Tetra Pak also produced other non aseptic packaging systems – including Tetra Rex (gable-top), Tetra Top (paper and plastic moulded in one), Tetra Brik (foldable paper/aluminum container), and the now-discontinued Tetra King. Recent innovations have seen the introduction of laminated paper boxes for vegetables as an alternative to tinned goods. It is claimed that this new product, Tetra Recart, allows for more subtle processing of vegetables than canning permits.
Since about 2007, some wineries have started selling wines in 500 ml and 1 l Tetra Prisma Aseptic packages with reclosable screw caps. Although unsuited for long-term storage or aging of wine
s, they save weight and space and eliminate the concerns of glass bottle disposal, saving consumers money.
with its proprietary Combibloc technology and Elopak
with Pure-Pak
. Milliken manufactures a similar packaging system in the United States. Tetra Pak was the largest packaging company in the world, until Amcor
's acquisition of Alcan.
In 2003, internal audit exposed a serious case of internal embezzlement by a senior manager based in SE Asia within the Tetra Laval Group that was widely reported in the Swedish Press. Slush funds and kickbacks involved 50 million Swedish kronor.
Early in 2004, there were reports that the Tanzi family, the owners of the Italian dairy food company Parmalat
, had benefited from some improper activities. Investigators claimed the company's former chief financial officer reported that Parmalat's packaging supplier, Tetra Pak, had paid the Tanzis millions in kickback
s. Tetra Pak denied any wrong-doing and was later fully acquitted from all charges of bribery, recognizing that no money had been paid to the Tanzi family. It claimed that Parmalat, as a major customer for many years, benefited from marketing support and discounts on packaging material. The discounts to Parmalat, it said, are similar to those that benefit other large customers.
On January 1990, Tetra-Brik received patent number 4892229 from the US Patent Office (USPTO) for a "system for dispensing liquid from a paperboard carton". The term expired on 24 August 2008. Since then competitors can freely copy Tetra-Brik and sell it under a different name.
In June 2009, Tetra Pak announced it would invest in production in 2010 in China, India and Pakistan.
In September 2010 Tetra Pak announced it was considering ceasing production at its only UK plant, in Wrexham, North Wales. This would mean the loss of up to 150 jobs.
In 2011, Tetra Pak hired ex Brazilian president Lula da Silva to deliver a corporate lecture. Lula promised to Tetra Pak CEO Paulo Nigro, that he would lobby to decrease taxes on milk cartons.
The paperboard is made from wood
. To secure responsible forestry, Tetra Pak works with the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) and Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC). In 2009, Tetra Pak delivered more than 2.3 billion FSC certified and labelled cartons. The paperboard provides stiffness and stability to the package.
The plastic (polyethylene
) is used in layers on both sides of the paper structure to protect the package from inside and outside moisture. Cartons designed for long life or high acidity content contain aluminium
foil, which is about 6 um thin. This layer provides additional protection for the content against oxygen
, bacteria
, undesired flavours
and light
.
Through the square shape and low ratio of package-to-content, the use of space is optimised. Less transportation is thus needed for this type of package compared to most other shapes and materials. Transportation of packaging material to factories is also optimized (large rolls of material instead of prepared empty packages). Aseptic packages also allows for transportation without consistent cooling, which also reduces the environmental footprint.
The food production phase contributes with a significantly greater part of greenhouse gases than the distribution phase does. Prolonged shelf-life of packaged food (e.g. through aseptic technology) contributes to a reduced environmental footprint.
Tetra Pak packages can be fully recycled in some cities. Availability of recycling
facilities, recycling methods and actual recycling rates vary from location to location. The actual recycling rate of carton packages was 33% in Europe in 2009, which has been continuously increasing since 1992.
Tetra Pak has been criticized for its monopoly practices by restricting the use of generic Chinese paper to be run on Tetra Pak machines.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
food processing and packaging company
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
of Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
origin. It was founded in 1951 in Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, by Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing was the founder of the liquid food packaging company Tetra Pak. He was born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1895. On his death Ruben Rausing was Sweden's richest person.-Early life:...
. It was Erik Wallenberg
Erik Wallenberg
Erik Wallenberg was a Swedish researcher, and as an employee of the Tetra Pak company invented the first Tetra Pak packaging in 1944....
who invented the tetrahedral
Tetrahedron
In geometry, a tetrahedron is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at each vertex. A regular tetrahedron is one in which the four triangles are regular, or "equilateral", and is one of the Platonic solids...
package, today known as Tetra Classic. The company is part of the Tetra Laval
Tetra Laval
Tetra Laval is a private multinational corporation of Swedish origin, owned by the Rausing family. In the 1980s Tetra Laval relocated its headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland....
group which also includes Sidel
Sidel
Sidel is a manufacturing company providing solutions for packaging liquid foods including water, carbonated soft drinks, milk, sensitive beverages, edible oil, beer and other alcoholic beverages. In filling and blow moulding, Sidel covers three main categories of packaging: glass bottles , plastic...
– who specialise in PET bottles – and DeLaval
DeLaval
DeLaval is a Swedish company, split in 1991 from Alfa Laval, which was founded in 1883 by Gustaf de Laval and Oscar Lamm. The company is a leading producer of dairy and farming machinery...
, a producer of dairy farming machinery and food processing equipment.
Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing was the founder of the liquid food packaging company Tetra Pak. He was born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1895. On his death Ruben Rausing was Sweden's richest person.-Early life:...
's sons Hans
Hans Rausing
Hans Rausing, KBE, is a Swedish businessman based in the United Kingdom. He made his fortune from his co-inheritance of Tetra Pak , a company founded by his father Ruben Rausing and currently the largest food packaging company in the world...
and Gad Rausing
Gad Rausing
Dr. Gad Rausing was a notable Swedish industrialist and archaeologist. Together with his brother Hans he co-inherited Swedish packaging company Tetra Pak , founded by their father Ruben Rausing and currently the largest food packaging company in the world...
ran Tetra Pak from 1954 until 1985, building the company from a small family business with six full-time employees, in 1954, to one of Sweden's largest corporations. At his death in 1983, Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing was the founder of the liquid food packaging company Tetra Pak. He was born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1895. On his death Ruben Rausing was Sweden's richest person.-Early life:...
was Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's richest person.
Overview
Tetra Pak's innovation is in the area of aseptic liquid food packaging which, when combined with ultra-high-temperature processingUltra-high-temperature processing
Ultra-high temperature processing, ultra-heat treatment , or ultra-pasteurization is the sterilization of food by heating it for an extremely short period, around 1–2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding 135°C , which is the temperature required to kill spores in milk...
(UHT), allows liquid food to be packaged and stored under room temperature conditions for up to a year. This allows for perishable goods to be saved and distributed over greater distances without the need for a cold chain
Cold chain
A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of storage and distribution activities which maintain a given temperature range...
.
Products
Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing
Ruben Rausing was the founder of the liquid food packaging company Tetra Pak. He was born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1895. On his death Ruben Rausing was Sweden's richest person.-Early life:...
and his team had been working on the Tetra Classic design since 1944, and by 1952 had perfected techniques for making his cartons fully airtight, using a system of plastic coated
Coated paper
Coated paper is paper which has been coated by a compound to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness or reduced ink absorbency. Kaolinite or calcium carbonate are used to coat paper for high quality printing used in packaging industry and in magazines...
paperboard
Paperboard
Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...
. These initial cartons were tetrahaedral, leading to the company's name, derived from "four" in the Greek language. The first Tetra Classic package was launched in 1952, and in 1963 the company introduced Tetra Brik, a rectangular cuboid carton.
Later, Tetra Pak launched other packaging formats such as Tetra Wedge (wedge-shaped), Tetra Prisma (round octagonal), and Tetra Fino (pouch-shaped). Tetra Pak also produced other non aseptic packaging systems – including Tetra Rex (gable-top), Tetra Top (paper and plastic moulded in one), Tetra Brik (foldable paper/aluminum container), and the now-discontinued Tetra King. Recent innovations have seen the introduction of laminated paper boxes for vegetables as an alternative to tinned goods. It is claimed that this new product, Tetra Recart, allows for more subtle processing of vegetables than canning permits.
Since about 2007, some wineries have started selling wines in 500 ml and 1 l Tetra Prisma Aseptic packages with reclosable screw caps. Although unsuited for long-term storage or aging of wine
Aging of wine
The aging of wine, and its ability to potentially improve wine quality, distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds can alter the aroma, color,...
s, they save weight and space and eliminate the concerns of glass bottle disposal, saving consumers money.
Business and competition
Until recently the company held a monopoly in China, but in mid-2000, the Tetra Pak monopoly was broken. An alternative supplier called Greatview Aseptic Packaging headquartered in Beijing with its 18 billion packs annual capacity, will deliver close to 12 billion packs in 2011. Greatview sells under the trade name GA Pack, and had an estimated 9.6% market share by volume in China in 2009. Other companies producing comparable but different aseptic beverage carton packagings system are SIGSchweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft
Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft , or SIG, is the former name of SIG Holding AG, a Swiss company that has been active in various businesses during its more than 150 years of operation. Since the year 2000 the Society has undergone strategic refocus, concentrating on its core compentence in...
with its proprietary Combibloc technology and Elopak
Elopak
Elopak is a Norwegian company producing cartons for liquids, starting with aseptic gable top cartons for milk. The company was founded in 1957 as a European licensee of Pure-Pak, the Elopak name standing for European License Of PURE-PAK - showed where the Norwegian founders were headed...
with Pure-Pak
Elopak
Elopak is a Norwegian company producing cartons for liquids, starting with aseptic gable top cartons for milk. The company was founded in 1957 as a European licensee of Pure-Pak, the Elopak name standing for European License Of PURE-PAK - showed where the Norwegian founders were headed...
. Milliken manufactures a similar packaging system in the United States. Tetra Pak was the largest packaging company in the world, until Amcor
Amcor
Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. Its headquarters are in Hawthorn, Victoria ; and it is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange....
's acquisition of Alcan.
In 2003, internal audit exposed a serious case of internal embezzlement by a senior manager based in SE Asia within the Tetra Laval Group that was widely reported in the Swedish Press. Slush funds and kickbacks involved 50 million Swedish kronor.
Early in 2004, there were reports that the Tanzi family, the owners of the Italian dairy food company Parmalat
Parmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
, had benefited from some improper activities. Investigators claimed the company's former chief financial officer reported that Parmalat's packaging supplier, Tetra Pak, had paid the Tanzis millions in kickback
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
s. Tetra Pak denied any wrong-doing and was later fully acquitted from all charges of bribery, recognizing that no money had been paid to the Tanzi family. It claimed that Parmalat, as a major customer for many years, benefited from marketing support and discounts on packaging material. The discounts to Parmalat, it said, are similar to those that benefit other large customers.
On January 1990, Tetra-Brik received patent number 4892229 from the US Patent Office (USPTO) for a "system for dispensing liquid from a paperboard carton". The term expired on 24 August 2008. Since then competitors can freely copy Tetra-Brik and sell it under a different name.
In June 2009, Tetra Pak announced it would invest in production in 2010 in China, India and Pakistan.
In September 2010 Tetra Pak announced it was considering ceasing production at its only UK plant, in Wrexham, North Wales. This would mean the loss of up to 150 jobs.
In 2011, Tetra Pak hired ex Brazilian president Lula da Silva to deliver a corporate lecture. Lula promised to Tetra Pak CEO Paulo Nigro, that he would lobby to decrease taxes on milk cartons.
Environment
To produce packaging materials, Tetra Pak uses paperboard (73%), plastic (22%) and aluminium foil (5%), which is only used in aseptic packages. Raw materials production has the greatest environmental impact of all stages within the package life cycle.The paperboard is made from wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
. To secure responsible forestry, Tetra Pak works with the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
(WWF), the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) and Forest Stewardship Council
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
(FSC). In 2009, Tetra Pak delivered more than 2.3 billion FSC certified and labelled cartons. The paperboard provides stiffness and stability to the package.
The plastic (polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
) is used in layers on both sides of the paper structure to protect the package from inside and outside moisture. Cartons designed for long life or high acidity content contain aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
foil, which is about 6 um thin. This layer provides additional protection for the content against oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, undesired flavours
Flavours
Flavours is an album released in 1975 by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who.A Quadraphonic mix was available on both vinyl and Quadraphonic 8-track tape formats.-Track listing:All songs written by Burton Cummings/Domenic Troiano....
and light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
.
Through the square shape and low ratio of package-to-content, the use of space is optimised. Less transportation is thus needed for this type of package compared to most other shapes and materials. Transportation of packaging material to factories is also optimized (large rolls of material instead of prepared empty packages). Aseptic packages also allows for transportation without consistent cooling, which also reduces the environmental footprint.
The food production phase contributes with a significantly greater part of greenhouse gases than the distribution phase does. Prolonged shelf-life of packaged food (e.g. through aseptic technology) contributes to a reduced environmental footprint.
Tetra Pak packages can be fully recycled in some cities. Availability of recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
facilities, recycling methods and actual recycling rates vary from location to location. The actual recycling rate of carton packages was 33% in Europe in 2009, which has been continuously increasing since 1992.
Criticism
Although Tetra Pak has indeed promoted recycling and has financially supported several environmental projects, many of the Tetra Pak products have actually been constructed in such a way that they are not easily recycled after use.Tetra Pak has been criticized for its monopoly practices by restricting the use of generic Chinese paper to be run on Tetra Pak machines.