Tetra Pak celebrates 60 years of technological, social and environmental innovation

Lahore, September 20, 2012: Tetra Pak marks the 60th anniversary of the delivery of its first filling machine with the launch of the ‘Voices of Innovation’ video series. Over the next 12 months, videos will showcase the people who have helped to deliver six decades of technology, social and environmental innovation, beginning today with perspectives from Tetra Pak CEO, Dennis Jönsson.

The Voices of Innovation series explores every aspect of Tetra Pak activity, from products, services and technology, to sustainability and the environment, and food safety and social programmes.
Speaking of the 60th anniversary milestone, Tetra Pak CEO Dennis Jönsson said “For 60 years Tetra Pak has been driven by the idea that innovation should make people’s lives better. Our products, services, environmental activities, advances in food safety and social programmes are living monuments to the individuals who helped deliver these improvements to millions.”

Beginning its voyage of discovery in Sweden in September 1952 with the first Tetra Classic filling machine, Tetra Pak has gone on to build the world’s most extensive portfolio of packaging solutions with: 229 packages, 7,000 packaging combinations, 8,700 packaging units and 66,000 processing units in operation worldwide — and receiving 5,100 technology patents for the packaging and processing of liquid and semi-liquid food along the way.

Tetra Pak’s founder, Dr Ruben Rausing, believed that “a carton should save more than it costs.” It is a principle that was not only designed to save precious food and other resources from waste, but also saw the company take the lead on carton disposal issues in the 1970s, factory emissions in the 1980s, recycling in the 1990s and tackle global challenges such as climate change and sustainability in the 2000s.

Pioneering aseptic packaging in the 1960s, the company’s contribution to food and beverage processing was recognised by the Institute of Food Technology as the greatest food innovation of the 20th century. Landmark packages such as the Tetra Classic Aseptic, Tetra Fino Aseptic and Tetra Brik Aseptic cartons have all been used by Pakistan’s leading food and beverage manufacturers to provide safe and reliable beverage options to local consumers.

As part of its corporate social responsibility, the company has been involved in school milk programmes around the world for the past 50 years, working` closely with governments, development agencies, NGOs, local dairies and farmers, to deliver 6.7 billion packages of milk and other nutritious drinks to 51 million children in schools in over 50 countries around the world. In Pakistan, the programme was executed in collaboration with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and provided milk on a daily basis to around 5400 children in 50 schools in the Rahim Yar Khan District