Fiber-based packaging leader Graphic Packaging International (‘Graphic Packaging’) has launched its KeelClip™ packaging solution in the United States with the installation of an AutoClip™ KC1600 multipacking machine at Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages’ production facility in Elmsford, New York.
This equipment, the first to be installed in the United States after a successful expansion in Europe, is a sustainable packaging system for can multipacks. The innovative solution uses fiber-based packaging for can multipacks, eliminating the need for plastic rings and shrink wrap. KeelClip technology is estimated to have saved more than 3 million pounds of plastic in 2021 alone, and has been used on more than 550 million packs globally.
Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, the local Coca-Cola bottler for markets in the northeastern United States, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, is using KeelClip technology to improve sustainability throughout its distribution network. The installation of the KeelClip 1600 machinery means that the sustainable fiber-based packaging solution can be supplied to markets in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Delaware. This transition will eliminate 75,000 pounds of plastic packaging per year from the supply chain for approximately 3.1 million cases.
KeelClip has many benefits in addition to its sustainable design. It offers consumers better hygiene, as the can lids are protected, as well as easy-to-remove cans and finger holes for ergonomic carrying. The assembly process also allows the cans to be oriented for better brand visibility.
