Irish firm PCH to set up sustainable packaging design centre from China base

27 Aug 2012

The Irish supply chain management company PCH International has announced that it is setting up a new sustainable packaging design centre in the city of Shenzhen in China, as well as a product showroom in San Francisco in early 2013, with the aim of coming up with more environmentally friendly packaging solutions.

Founded in 1996 by the Irish entrepreneur Liam Casey, PCH designs, manufactures and distributes hardware and has its corporate headquarters in Cork. In 2000 it set up its operational headquarters in Shenzhen.

PCH focuses on global supply chain services to industries ranging from consumer tech, medical devices, telecoms and other emerging technology industries.

In June the company said it was opening a new energy-efficient facility in Shenzhen’s Futian Free Trade Zone to employ an extra 1,500 people – more than doubling its global headcount.

PCH also acquired the Silicon Valley development consultancy Lime Lab in June.

Apparently the new sustainable packaging design centre in Shenzhen will feature a material library and a structural design engineering and quality test lab.

According to Casey, the company will now be designing packaging solutions that are 100pc sustainable with a minimal carbon footprint and a full life-cycle assessment.

He said that PCH will be looking at the entire packaging life cycle – from material sourcing, to packaging design, manufacturing, transport, and final disposal – to make it more environmentally friendly.

And with the opening of its product showroom and material library in San Francisco in 2013 the company is also planning to take on 20 new hires within the next 12 months. These new roles will be for project managers, material expert supply base managers, lab operators, print supplier management specialists and green practice experts.

PCH has also been approved as a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a project of the non-profit GreenBlue that aims to help businesses develop more sustainable products.

As for Casey, earlier this year Enterprise Ireland named him as ‘International Start-up Ambassador’ in China.

Supply chain image via Shutterstock

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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