Wisynco eyes bagasse as packaging solution, embraces market trends

WISYNCO GROUP has found a way to carve out additional business form new rules governing sugary drinks, as seen in increased volume sales of water and its flavoured variations, but it is bracing for the likely fallout from another state mandate – the ban on plastics and styrofoam.

The environmental initiative will eventually curtail a part of Wisynco’s manufacturing operation, the Sweet line, through which it makes packaging. But the company is weighing solutions, one of which is bagasse.

Wisynco is otherwise bullish about its beverage portfolio and plant operation, both of which it sees as well positioned to take advantage of market trends towards healthier eating habits.

The ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam packaging starts taking effect in January, and Wisynco is projecting a 30 per cent fall-off in business.

Chairman William Mahfood says discussions around substitutes are ongoing, but that the company is already preparing to repurpose its equipment and retrain staff.

One of the considerations under review, he said, is utilising the waste left over from the processing of sugar cane, called bagasse, to produce packaging similar to the banned styrofoam containers, and that talks with sugar producers are ongoing.

In the meantime, Wisynco is currently experiencing doubledigit growth. Its turnover in the first quarter ending September improved by 12 per cent to $6.8 billion in revenues. Net profit improved from $664 million to $768 million. Those results indicate that Wisynco’s added production capacity was starting to show up in the