Blue Ocean Closures, the Swedish start-up developing proprietary fiber based screw caps, has obtained a second investment from co-owners the ALPLA Group in order to further develop and speed up the process of bringing environmentally friendly closure solutions to market.
Quite precisely one year ago Blue Ocean Closures was founded and the ALPLA Group, an Austrian family run corporation leading in plastic packaging and recycling, partnered up as a part owner. The decision has now been made to further invest in Blue Ocean Closures, increasing possibilities to grow its sustainable operations and activities in the field of fully biobased, biodegradable and recyclable caps and lids.
“We have seen great progress, moving fast to meet the goal of developing usable fiber solutions, and as part of ALPLA’s important strategic development in circular economy, we have now decided to invest further in Blue Ocean Closures,” says Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at ALPLA Group.
Since Blue Ocean Closures’ start, ALPLA has participated closely in the development with an option to expand their engagement. Glatfelter Corporation, a global manufacturer of engineered materials, is also a founding partner of Blue Ocean Closures, the partners have come a long way since its inception.
“It is a very important step that a fully functioning machine is already installed, up and running together with a skilled and knowledgeable team” affirms Zmölnig.
Founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Closures, Lars Sandberg, comments; “We now have a product with the potential to replace plastic closures in several important global product segments and markets. The intention is to go commercial with our fiber screw caps in 2023. A dedicated and growing team and the additional investment from ALPLA is for sure evidence that we are on the right path and means that we can significantly strengthen our business resources”
