Recycled PET

Shawbrook lends £9m to recycled PET producer, which is tackling single-use plastics




Shawbrook Bank has provided asset finance facilities totalling £9m to Esterform Packaging Ltd and its new food grade recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) production business Esterpet Ltd.

The funding was used to purchase two Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ production lines in order to manufacture over 13,000 tonnes of rPET each. 

It will also provide funds to build out its non-beverage tooling library as they look to diversify into non-beverage sectors.

This is part of Esterform Packaging’s project to tackle single-use plastics.

A portion of Esterform’s Sherburn in Elmet site in Leeds has also been redeveloped, with a new 18m-high building to house up to three identical rPET convertor lines. 

The rPET resulted from those new lines will be supplied to Esterform clients against contracts with customers for use in preform/container production.

The decision to tackle single-use plastics follows the government’s tax on plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled plastic.

“There is widespread concern from manufacturers and consumers about the use of single-use plastics and [its] impact on the environment,” said Mark Tyne, founder and managing director of Esterform Packaging Ltd. 

“Together with Britvic, one of our largest customers who supported the establishment and launch of the Esterpet business, we are tackling that issue head on through this funding from Shawbrook Bank.

“It is a project that we are proud of and excited about in equal measure.”

Kelly Henney, senior director at Shawbrook Bank, added: “At Shawbrook, we pride ourselves on supporting ambitious and innovative SMEs in the UK through specialist funding facilities, and this project with Esterform via Esterpet is a great fit for us.

“We have also been incredibly impressed by Mark, who is a prominent figure in the British plastics industry and has steered the business in a way that complements current thinking and elevates the environmental credentials of Esterform and Esterpet.

“This project is a real statement of intent by Esterform and one that we are delighted to be supporting and associated with.”

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