Pact Group has extended its existing contract with Woolworths Group to own, operate, wash and store reusable plastic produce crates which the retailer uses in its fruit and vegetable supply chain.
The crates circulate in a continuous loop from suppliers’ packhouses to Woolworths’ distribution centres and into stores, replacing traditional single use corrugated cardboard, waxed cardboard and expanded polystyrene boxes.
Unlike a single-use cardboard or polystyrene box, Pact’s reusable crates are designed to be used about 140 times before being recycled.
The crate pooling contract with Woolworths Group was originally announced in 2016 and has now been extended for a further 10 years. The current annual revenue generated by Pact in connection with the Woolworths crate pooling contract exceeds $50 million per annum.
Pact Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Dayal says, “We are very pleased that Woolworths has extended what is clearly a cornerstone and material contract for our crate manufacturing and pooling business.
“This extension reflects our strong relationship with Woolworths and is further evidence of our market leading capability in crate pooling that underpins the performance of our Materials Handling & Pooling segment.
“This is another example of Pact’s and Woolworths’ long-term commitment to the circular economy, with Pact recently entering into a new partnership with Woolworths to provide packaging to increase the recycled content used in Woolworth’s own brand packaging,” Mr Dayal said.
In February this year, Pact and Woolworths Group signed a strategic partnership that will see Pact’s recycled packaging used for Woolworths Own Brand products including milk bottles, meat trays, fruit and vegetable punnets, and beverage bottles. The partnership is the largest of its kind in retail Australia.
Pact will source recycled PET and HDPE resin from its recycling facilities in Australia to manufacture new food and beverage packaging for the retailer.