American Pet Nutrition Launches New Packaging

Listen to this article

Press release: American Pet Nutrition

American Pet Nutrition has launched a partnership with Morris Packaging, a family-owned company located in Plymouth, Minnesota. Morris Packaging, run by Jim Bob Morris, has a unique manufacturing process for packaging that focuses on minimizing energy consumption, utilizing recycled goods and ultimately reducing the environmental impact. APN selected the company because of its commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly manufacturing.

“We believe we are the only company in North America implementing this number of sustainable and environmentally conscious manufacturing processes,” said Joe Fiore, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Morris Packaging. “We strive to make our world a ‘greener’ place, one step at a time.”

In an effort to conserve natural resources for future generations, Morris Packaging uses a variety of low-impact machines and processes, with none of its dryers or presses running off of natural gas. The Flextreme Dryer System utilizes compressed air which reduces the motor horsepower requirement, reducing energy consumptions by 33 percent. When not running, the dryer system remains in idle mode, which cuts the time it takes to reheat in half, resulting in a major reduction of waste in defects. In addition to the dryer, Morris Packaging uses PCMC Fusion Presses for its printing process. These presses have a quick stop feature which reduces raw material usage by a rate of 77.78 percent.

“Supreme Source is excited to partner with Morris Packaging in an effort to collectively reduce our energy and natural resource consumption,” said Matt Keller, Supreme Source Brand Manager. “This partnership not only improves the quality of our packaging but is a step towards ensuring the availability of natural resources for generations to come.”

Many of their lines of packaging are recyclable, using Morris’ EcoQuest or Post-Consumer Resin (PCR) film. This means that consumers will be able to recycle the packaging after the bag is empty. EcoQuest is store drop off ready material, which is certified through a program called Trex, guaranteeing the packaging will be recycled into a new form.

“We are extremely proud of the fact that our PCR film contains a minimum of 30 percent recycled product, which will add up to approximately 8.5 million recycled water bottles in the coming year for Supreme Source alone,” said Fiore.

While APN values the commitment to the environmentally friendly manufacturing practiced at Morris Packaging, it also was drawn to the company for the speed at which they can complete projects. It has revolutionized the production of soft matte films, with some of the shortest lead times in the industry, eliminating long lead times and allowing APN and other clients to make changes and go to market quicker. Additionally, the company has a proprietary sealant, which reduces dimpling and adds grease resistance. This material can seal at a 30 percent lower temperature, making it quicker and more energy efficient.

Morris Packaging is a certified recycler and reprocesses and reclaims ink. The ink is separated, cleaned and the solvent is removed. This leaves the pigment, which is a solid, reducing the hazardous waste by 70 percent. The plant also reprocesses and repurposes the extra heat it produces, rather than exhausting it.

“Working with Morris helps reduce our environmental impact, but also speeds up the package printing process for APN,” Keller continued. “The partnership has helped us reduce our lead time and ultimately create better quality packaging in a shorter amount of time.”