ILIP, a Bologna-based company specialising in packaging solutions, is participating for the first time at the Fruit Attraction trade fair in Madrid, from 8th to 10th October 2024. The event presents a significant opportunity to showcase an even broader range of innovative and sustainable solutions dedicated to horticulture and food packaging.
The major highlight this year is the new version of the Smart Ripe Trolley, an IoT system designed to monitor the ripening process of tropical fruits, with a particular focus on avocados, the star product of the fair. Originally launched at Fruit Logistica in 2023, this tool has been further optimised to enhance efficiency in industrial applications.
Additionally, ILIP reaffirms its commitment to research and development in sustainable packaging by introducing Hortipack at the fair. Hortipack is a comprehensive range of professional solutions (trays&alveols, potholders for transport and cultivation, as well as propagation trays) for horticulture, made from recycled PET and PS. With up to 90% recycled material and fully recyclable products, Hortipack helps to reduce environmental impact and promotes a circular economy. Among the most innovative products are the pre-cut alveols, ideal for streamlining retail and transportation operations, and the R-PET propagation trays designed to be paired with XPS (extruded polystyrene) seed trays for sowing industrial tomatoes, radicchio, and tobacco. The combination allows for the reuse of XPS seed trays for several years (as they remain protected underneath and do not get contaminated), ensuring perfect sterility.
Also not to be missed is ILIP’s range of Fresh Produce Packaging, featuring punnets, trays, and fruit nest trays made from plastic, bioplastic, and R-PET. Designed to protect and enhance fruit and vegetable, these packaging solutions extend shelf life and help reduce food waste. Beyond ensuring excellent product preservation, ILIP has developed its packaging with a focus on reducing environmental impact by using recycled and recyclable materials and implementing downgauging, reducing packaging weight without sacrificing performance.
In addition, the company’s R-PET packaging comes from a virtuous T2T R-PET (tray to tray) process, which involves recycling post-consumer bottles and trays to create new trays suitable for food contact, thus avoiding the use of an equivalent amount of virgin raw materials. This process is made possible by ILIP’s membership in the ILPA Group, whose companies manage every stage of recycling and converting PET and R-PET from household bottle and tray waste, producing the secondary raw material that ILIP uses in its packaging. Complete control over the R-PET value chain allows the company to stand out in the European market as a prime example of circular economy principles in action.
