Tetra Pak supports polyAl facility upgrade in Malaysia

Tetra Pak collaborated with Malaysia-based pallet and packaging company SHA Hup-Aik to upgrade its polyAlfacility. SHA Hup-Aik is a leading recycler, and with Tetra Pak's assistance, aimed to enhance its polyAl recycling capabilities, improve the quality of its end products, and diversify its product portfolio.

Background and initiative – improve recycling capacity and product quality

SHA Hup-Aik recognised the need to increase its polyAl recycling capacity and enhance the quality of its roofing sheets and polyAl boards. The company also sought to venture into the business-to-business market and explore opportunities for producing pellets.

Results – a diversified product range and robust market position

In collaboration with Tetra Pak, SHA Hup-Aik initiated an ambitious upgrade project for its polyAl facility. The project scope included implementing a new dry-cleaning line, a hot press line, and a pelletisation line. These upgrades boost the facility's capacity from 1.4 TPD (tonnes per day) to 8 TPD.

The upgraded polyAl facility has a far-reaching impact on SHA Hup-Aik's recycling capabilities and product quality. With the enhanced setup, the recycler can produce superior-quality roofing sheets and polyAl boards. Additionally, the facility is now able to diversify its product range, moving from a single profile of polyAl panel boards and roofing sheets to multiple thickness options. It also enables the production of full-carton chipboards, expanding the possibilities for recycling end products.

Furthermore, the newly introduced pelletisation line opens up avenues for producing recycled polyAl pellets, a raw material used in various household and industrial products.

Looking ahead – capitalising on growing demand for polyAl

SHA Hup-Aik is now better positioned to meet the growing demand for polyAl products. The increased capacity, improved product quality, and diversified offerings strengthen the company's market position. By expanding into the B2B market and venturing into the production of pellets, SHA Hup-Aik is embracing innovation and the path to sustainability while contributing to the circular economy2.

Tetra Pak's continued support and collaboration will play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of this transformational project.

1The non-fibre component of carton packages is known as polyAl, which designates the layers of polyolefins and aluminium being used as barrier against oxygen and humidity to protect the food content in aseptic carton packages.

2The circular economy refers to a system in which materials never become waste and are kept in circulation through processes including recycling, reuse and composting. It tackles environmental challenges by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. Source: Ellenmacarthurfoundation.org, What is a circular economy?

Location
Malaysia

Companies involved
KPT

Tetra Pak contacts
Tan Terrynz