Q&A: Peter Delain

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By Dan Bolton

Peter Delain has been involved in the packaging industry since 1985 with his first role as a mechanical engineering intern. A 1986 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Peter has worked with paper and plastics equipment as well as converting systems his entire career.

Since 2003 he has been with OPTIMA Machinery Corporation in Green Bay, WI, a wholly owned subsidiary of OPTIMA packaging group GmbH of Germany.

In his role as director of sales for the consumer products group, Peter is responsible for the primary and secondary packaging equipment for cosmetics, chemicals, filtration, as well as with food and beverages.  His love of coffee keeps him tied closely to the single-serve markets.

STiR: In the past 50 years manufacturers created 9.1 billion tons of plastic of which only 9% has been recycled, and 12% incinerated. The remaining 79% is buried in landfills and floating at sea. Consumers are increasingly outspoken about the billions of single-use capsules, billions of plastic degassing valves, and billions of tons of foil and multi-layer film generated by the coffee industry.

Peter Delain: People around the world are aware of the waste issue, and it is gaining momentum. Control of these waste streams is very high in the minds of  leading coffee companies in these markets. Nestle, for example, has long been recycling their aluminum capsules. 

Keurig has vowed to have a fully recyclable K-Cup soon (2020). The science behind creating a high-quality product, with low environmental impact – while keeping the cost as-is is a difficult task.  People are not only aware of the environmental effect, but they are voting for this when they make choices in the market place.

STiR: The single-serve format pioneered by Nespresso and Keurig is deeply entrenched in Europe and North America and spreading globally. Describe from your vantage the trends driving growth.

Delain: The world has multiples of single-serve coffee systems. The Espresso pods that defined the market in the 1960s and 70s still exist.  However, the Nespresso capsule and Keurig K-Cup have leapt to the front of these markets. Consolidation around these formats has been very simple in reality. 

People want a reliable system that offers quality and convenience.  Both systems now have alternative manufacturers for consumers to choose from which creates a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is more competition which has lowered the average price and offers more selection.

This has brought more consumers to these systems – which means that these systems will remain as the primary formats.

STiR: The challenge of introducing effective packaging that is effective, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly has led to a lot of marketing claims later disproved.

Delain: This is a large challenge where consumers really need to be educated.  A graphic that states “fully recyclable” or “compostable” may not tell the whole story. 

What about the packaging that the capsules come in? Does this product require a foil-lined film to keep it fresh? If so there is a very small chance that foil laminate is recyclable. In contrast there are materials being introduced that will move us toward a truly fully recyclable or compostable system.

Industry leading companies are very much working to perfect these materials and still protect the quality of the products within.

STiR: Efficient and sustainable manufacturing is both good business and good for business as it lowers cost, and reduces waste while improving packing products.

Delain: Manufacturing is a hidden practice to most consumers.  Yet this is a huge impact to the environmental equation.  Each piece of roasted coffee spilled or any capsule, pod, or cup that is not in-quality is rejected and lost. 

Preventing any loss increases operational efficiency, lowers costs and ultimately makes the manufacturer more competitive. This keeps jobs. 

The new sustainable materials at times has significant challenges in production.  The normal shape tolerances are hard to hold. The sealing parameters may be very narrow. This challenges the packaging equipment to have very precise control systems.

Equipment selection should never be a simple price discussion.  Quality manufacturers are normally very aware of their TCO – total cost of ownership. These features and functions are a large part of this discussion.

STiR: Mintel International reports that globally, it is coffee pods that are causing the biggest concern among consumers. This is one reason why pods accounted for more than one quarter (26%) of all global coffee retail innovation in 2016, up from 11% of launches in 2011. As markets mature in Europe and North America pod innovation continues to show strong signs of growth. Around one in eight (13%) of the European and North America coffee products launched in 2016 were coffee pods.

Delain: The single-serve market in Europe and North America has had a huge evolution over the past five years. The markets have consolidated around a few platforms. 

Yet have fragmented due to the explosion of coffee companies supplying into these markets. The next five years is always an interesting discussion. 

Will a new platform arrive that challenges the incumbents?  Will the material sciences figure out a system that allows for high quality and low cost, yet have a minimal environmental footprint?  I expect that we will see all of this in the next five years.  These are exciting times for those that love innovation and challenges.