SunOpta, a Canada-based organic, specialty and natural health products manufacturer, is set to add additional filling lines at its Allentown, Pennsylvania facility in the US, as part of its strategy to expand flexible re-sealable pouch processing and packaging capabilities.
The move is in response to growing demand for flexible re-sealable pouch products. It is expected to more than double the processing capacity at the facility.
The new lines are scheduled to go onstream in the third quarter of 2013, while increasing the company's total filling capacity to approximately 150 million pouches.
This pouch format is applicable to a wide range of products including natural and organic fruit and vegetable snacks, apple sauces, tomato products, baby food, yogurts, beverages, toppings, among others, the company noted.
SunOpta chief executive officer Steve Bromley said that the continued expansion of the company's pouch processing and packaging capabilities remains a key strategic objective designed to leverage its integrated field to table capabilities.
"The variety of products offered in pouches continues to grow, driven in part by the consumer's desire for convenient, portable, healthy and nutritious foods in sustainable packaging formats, and we believe SunOpta is well positioned to capitalize on these trends as we continue to focus on our strategy of becoming a pure play natural and organic foods company," Bromley added.
SunOpta entered the flexible, re-sealable pouch segment in late 2011 with the installation of processing equipment at California facility, followed with the commissioning of a flexible pouch processing and filling facility in Allentown.
