Niverplast seeks to minimize plastic usage in seafood packaging in Europe, Asia, and now the US

Niverplast’s automation solutions can help seafood companies streamline their packaging operations, while the company’s unique Easy Open bags can make operations more environmentally friendly. 

Located in the historic, rural community of Nijverdal in the Netherlands, Niverplast employs over 300 people who specialize in making easy-to-use bag-in-box packaging solutions with unique pre-made bags for a variety of food products, including seafood, the company recently explained to SeafoodSource. 

“Packing meat and fish is one of our passions. Whether you want to pack in crates or boxes, Niverplast offers machines to accelerate your packaging process. From manually placing bags to complete packaging lines,” the firm said. 

Niverplast works with companies of all sizes, from large corporate entities to small mom and pop operations. 

“We are a family-owned business, so we work hand-in-hand with companies and get to know how they operate within the industry,” Niverplast Director USA Sales Mark Finneran told SeafoodSource. “Our goal is to make our clients’ work just a little bit easier.” 

Niverplast offers standalone packing machines with easy-to-use pre-made bags as well as complete turnkey systems that implement automation throughout the line. The company offers a variety of labor-saving equipment, including case-erecting, bag inserting, case-filling, uncuff closing solutions. 

“We don’t just handle the packaging side – we also can provide solutions on the processing side with automated weighing, sorting, and transporting,” Finneran said. 

Niverplast has a large list of clients it’s collaborating with all over the globe, and the company already partners with some of the world’s largest seafood companies, including Norway-based Mowi, NovaSea, and Cermaq, Finneran noted. 

“We have a lot of knowledge and applications that we do in the seafood industry,” Finneran said. “It’s been one of our leading industries, alongside applications for meat, poultry, and wholesale bakeries. Niverplast has a customer base of 50 plus customers with more than 150 machines installed all over the United States.” 

The company has seen wide success in developing and installing bag-in-box packaging systems throughout Europe and Asia over the last 35 years. 

“Now we want to take the success that we’ve had in packaging automation in Europe and bring it to Seafood companies in the U.S.,” Finneran said. “Niverplast has a substantial U.S. presence, with locally based sales representatives, field service technicians, support, and spare part warehousing. 

One of the main ways Niverplast wants to help is in reducing plastics usage, Finneran added. Companies that team with Niverplast can reduce their impact on the environment by switching from standard bags on a roll to Niverplast’s thinner, ultra-strength Easy Open bags, which cost less, use less material, and have less impact on nature, according to the company. 

“On the sustainability front, one of our biggest capabilities is the ability to reduce the use of plastics in customers’ factories,” Finneran said. “We can cut 30 to 50 percent of their plastic usage by going to our type of automation. Not only does that reduce cost; it reduces their impact on the environment. That’s a big part of what we do for our customers.” 

U.S. consumers want to know that the seafood they purchase is produced through a sustainable supply chain, and reducing plastics usage can be part of that. 

“We take responsibility out of respect of our earth and all living creatures. We’re passionate innovators continuously searching for better sustainable solutions to improve business together,” Niverplast said in a statement. “Niverplast promotes recycling and, where it fits the purpose, biobased and biodegradable packaging.” 

Niverplast provides audits for prospective clients to show how its solutions can improve operations. 

“Before we worked with Niverplast, everything was done manually, from setting up the boxes to stacking them,” Lubbert Hakvoort, head of planning and purchase at Holland-based Noordzee, said. “Now we can do all the packaging with just two people.” 

One of Niverplast’s first seafood partners, frozen fish exporter Noordzee International has valued innovation and sustainability since its inception in 2001 – principles that served to unify the two companies. 

“Before [Noordzee] worked with Niverplast, everything within their packaging process was done manually; from erecting the boxes to lining them,” Finneran said. “It was very labor-intensive, which is why increasing efficiency was needed. At the time, Noordzee opted for a weight filler machine and a case erector with automatic bag placing – after product filling, the bag and case gets sealed by the VarioSeal and stacked on the pallet by a robot. This allows Noordzee to do all the packaging with just two people.” 

With Niverplast equipment installed, seafood companies can lower labor rates and requirements, improve operations efficiency and performance, and provide a safer workplace for employees, Finneran concluded 

Visit the company’s website for more information on its suite of packaging and automation products.