In South Tirol, arguably the home of the organic apple, you can find Biosüdtirol organic and sustainable apple farming. 250 apple farmers care for the apples with their hands, from the orchards till the packing. And those organic apples deserve a sustainable packaging. Which is where JASA came in. Werner Castiglioni, director of the cooperative Biosüdtirol, tells us all about it.
What are your activities in the company?
My name is Werner Castiglioni and I’m the director of the cooperative Biosüdtirol. I’m leading the company and I am responsible for the sales of the organic apples within our umbrella organisation VOG.
What kind of company is Biosüdtirol?
We grow and sell organic apples. We are fully owned by the 250 headstrong farmers that grow apples in South Tyrol, a region in the North of Italy, and therefore we store, pack and sell exclusively our own organic apples.
How does JASA fit in there?
We were looking for a sustainable packaging for our organic apples and JASA was at the right time in the right place: our office.
How did JASA appeal to you?
At the beginning of 2019 there were a few solutions on the market that cover trays with carton. Among the solutions that we liked, JASA was the fastest in the delivery time of the machine and right away we got the feeling that the team is also willing to develop the machine further. This feeling was essential for us as we presumed that a lot of progress is just around the corner, and therefore we wanted to team up with the right ones to bring it to the next level.
Why did you look for a new packaging solution?
When you grow organic apples, you want them to be packed in a sustainable way. We were convinced that for the apples that we commercialize under our brand Biosüdtirol it was time to get rid of plastic films that are stretched around trays. Before JASA we used a tray of grass paper that was covered with a plastic film. We are happy that with Jasa we substituted the film with a sleeve out of grass paper. The first JASA sleever was a single line and it started to run at the end of April 2019. Only a few months later we exchanged it for a double line sleever.
How are your experiences with the JASA Sleever?
A big advantage of the sleever is that JASA runs similar concepts since many years in other industries. It was clear that at the beginning there would be some issues that had to be fixed, as we have different apple varieties, of different calibres and shapes. Therefore, we knew at the beginning that it would take some experience and trails to bring the speed of the machine close to where we want it to be.
That this was possible shows the excellent teamwork between the brains of JASA and our own technicians. We are especially happy that the infeed and the outfeed of the machine were further developed, and that the Flex-Cassette was realized. We are on a good level and are sure that there are yet good things to come.
What’s your point of view on the Flex-Cassette?
Actually, the Flex-Cassette was the first adoption of the machine that we requested. For us it’s essential to have it, as now our packaging team can switch easily from one tray size to another. And the best: the switch can be made without any screwdrivers or technician needed, straightforward and quick.
Did the JASA sleeves live up to your expectations?
The sleeves protect our apples and make them at the same time visible for people that want to have a look at them. They are fully paper based, which is great as we were looking for mono material packaging.
The consumer feedback that we received on Facebook and Instagram was overwhelming. Our customers told us on trade shows and wrote on LinkedIn that they loved the sleeves. And when the consumer is happy, our clients are happy and the packaging is sustainable according to our own perceptions, we are happy as well.
Is there anything else you’d like us to know?
JASA for us is an excellent partner, for today and also for tomorrow. We just ordered the next JASA sleever and we are sure that together we can improve the machine in some details and create the future of packaging.
Read more about paper packaging over here.
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