Heinz, Graham Packaging
and the Benefits of a Near-Site Relationship
In the 1990s and earlier, Heinz operated ketchup manufacturing facilities in multiple U.S. locations. As a result, suppliers like Graham Packaging needed to transport empty bottles to several sites where they were then filled with Heinz® Ketchup. Distances averaged more than 200 miles between the Graham bottle plant and the Heinz filling facility.
In 1998, Heinz adjusted the production of select products to a primary fill location in Fremont, Ohio. At the same time, Graham chose to build a near-site facility just three miles away that is dedicated to supplying bottles to the Heinz plant.
Within the Graham facility, the staffing went far beyond manufacturing; it included dedicated engineering, design and product development staff for Heinz. This enabled constant interaction between bottle making and bottle filling, allowing rapid development with the Heinz packaging group on numerous lightweight initiatives both in terms of bottle weight and barrier materials. This cooperative atmosphere has reduced material consumption by 1.8 million pounds over the past four fiscal years.
The sustainable benefits for Heinz from near-site supply include the reduction of GHGs related to transportation. The close proximity of the sites, which are just three miles apart, has saved 26 million gallons of fuel each year, or a total of approximately 260 million gallons of fuel savings between 1998 and 2008. This short distance also led to a reduction in damaged materials returned, an additional savings of 26 million gallons over the 10-year period.
In addition, the Fremont plant is home to Graham’s technical center for the multilayer injection process, which is a bottle making process consisting of several different layers of plastic material. This collaboration led to the development of the first multilayer food package containing post-consumer recycled content (PCR) that meets the guidance of the Food and Drug Administration. Using 10% PCR in a plastic package reduces GHG by 11%.
Heinz also encourages consumers to support our sustainability efforts. Heinz products feature recycling logos and information to remind consumers that the packaging can be recycled. Consumer awareness is one of the keys to eliminating millions of pounds of landfill waste annually.