Telford-based Sirane to acquire board manufacturer

Based just outside Stroud, Gloucestershire, Olympic supplies the bakery, fish and cake industries among others.

Key products include salmon boards, cake boards, U-cards, sleeves and sandwich boards.

It supplies throughout the UK through both via distributors and direct sales.

Sirane is an innovative food packaging development-to-manufacture company, with expertise in absorbency and material science. Specialisms include bags and pouches, absorbent products, shelf-life extension and dual-ovenable products.

Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “This acquisition is a strategic step for Sirane to enhance and improve our product offering into new areas of the food industry.

“In particular it supports our continued development into plastic replacement technology for all types of food. Olympics’ product range is based around fibrous board products, many of which are compostable and recyclable.

“We plan to extend this product range, using our Earth Packaging banner, into all areas of food packaging which currently use plastic-coated and laminated boards.”

An eco-friendly and plastic-free sandwich pack is one of the developments which the acquisition will allow Sirane to manufacture. The packs – branded as Earthwedge – will combine recyclable boards with our plastic-free coated papers.

“The result is a sandwich pack, with a window, which gives the required barrier, but which is completely free of plastic,” added Mr Balderson. “Earthwedge will remove a lot of unnecessary plastic from supermarket shelves.

“This will be the first of many innovative new products which combine existing Sirane technology with the board-processing operations at Olympic.

“Our acquisition of B&G Products nearly two years ago allowed us to access new markets, and increase of level of innovations, and Olympic offers similar opportunities, with opportunities in new areas. We now intend to invest strongly in equipment, skills, marketing and research and development to achieve this.”

Its Earth Packaging range includes a range of products which are easily recyclable, and includes plastic-free pouches and films and paper-based absorbent pads, as well as thermally-insulated bags and other recyclable board products.

Sirane will be exhibiting at Packaging Innovations at Birmingham’s NEC from February 26 to 27.

Mr Balderson will be delivering a seminar in the Eco-Pack Theatre on February 27 entitled 'Plastic food packaging: a tough act to follow'.