EVANSVILLE – Berry Global is to expand its hygiene, healthcare and speciality films platform in North America.

The move follows Berry’s acquisition of Clopay, a long-established supplier of breathable films for hygiene, for $475 million, at the end of 2017.

The new investment will address both extrusion and printing capabilities, in support of growing breathable film and sustainable product market demands in the North American region. It will include added capacity for Berry’s proprietary Sof-Flex technology and the addition of the latest flexographic printing equipment.

Sof-Flex technology allows for weight reduction in breathable films while maintaining best-in-class performance.

“As a global leader in films and nonwovens, we are continuing to invest around the world,” said Curt Begle, president of Berry’s Health, Hygiene, and Specialties Division. “Our focus on serving the North American market with advanced technology remains a high priority for our business.”

Berry announced its sustainability strategy, Impact 2025, last year, and in alignment with it, will focus on three key sustainable product improvement areas in hygiene – light-weighting, sustainable materials and designing products that are easily recyclable, reusable, or compostable. The expansion of Berry’s lighter breathable films supports this strategy by reducing unnecessary materials as well as facilitating the use of sustainable raw materials without compromising product performance.

The expansion, involving an investment of approximately $20 million, will be operational in 2020 across Berry’s US network breathable film producing plants and represents the first of a three-phase Sof-Flex film expansion plan to be completed by 2022.

www.berryglobal.com