 |
Gunther Mele Ltd. is a Canadian manufacturer and supplier of retail packaging. The company's headquarters are located in Brantford, Ontario. Gunther Mele is privately owned and has operations in the United States, China and Canada.
| |
Gunther Mele Ltd. is a Canadian manufacturer and supplier of retail packaging. The company's headquarters are located in Brantford, Ontario. Gunther Mele is privately owned and has operations in the United States, China and Canada.
Gunther Mele was established in 1857 [1] by two German immigrant brothers and was originally named the E&A Gunther Company. The company’s mission statement was "Everything for the Jeweler except Jewelry". They supplied jewelry packaging, watch materials, and workshop tools to independent jewelers, jewelry chain stores, and large department store jewelry departments.
In 1962, a great-grandson of the founders was killed in an automobile accident after leaving a trade show. His widow sold the company to Mele Manufacturing Company of Utica, New York. In 1987, Douglas M. King, who is the current owner and CEO, purchased Gunther Mele from Mele Manufacturing. Mele Manufacturing was a major jewelry case manufacturer which owned Farrington Packaging, which itself made cases for Cross Pen, Schick Shavers and many consumer product companies. His son, Darrell King, joined the company in 1995 and now serves as the company's president.
Over the years, the company has evolved into one of the largest suppliers of packaging and packaging-related products in North America. The company employs over 250 people in two facilities including a 108,000-square-foot (10,000 m2) manufacturing plant in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and an 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) operation in Buffalo, New York, United States.
The company manufactures cotton-filled paper boxes as well as poly bags, paper bags, reusable bags, and a variety of printed ribbon, seals and packaging accessories. Gunther Mele has been an early adopter of environmentally friendly packaging, licensing TDPA oxo-biodegradable technology from epi-global and utilizing FSC approved suppliers of papers for it shopping bags. Reusable non-woven fabric style bags have become a major category for Gunther Mele.
In addition to manufacturing capabilities, the company has more than thirty years experience working with manufacturers in Asia and established a "working venture" with several overseas manufacturers. Product volume with these three manufacturing companies in China is substantial and allows the company to control production schedules, quality and delivery. Gunther Mele also owns a Chinese company called KDI Limited, located in Hong Kong, which acts as a sourcing agent, liaises with factories in quality, delivery and production methods and facilitates the company's importing activities.
Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.
Brantford is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independent of the county's municipal government.
Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells. In many countries it is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industrial, and personal use.
Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products.
A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste. It is a common form of packaging.
Fabri-Kal is a United States company. It is the sixth largest thermoformer in North America and is a provider of plastic foodservice and custom thermoformed packaging. Products include consumer and foodservice products including plastic cups, containers and lids. It is privately owned. It is headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Fabri-Kal specializes in materials including PP, PET, PCR-PET, HDPE, PLA, renewable agricultural pulp and HIPS.
A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers’ demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some consumer goods. They carry a wide range of products from groceries, glass bottles, clothing, books, toiletries, electronics and various other goods and can also function as means of transport in day-to-day activities.
Reverse logistics is for all operations related to the reuse of products and materials. It is "the process of moving goods from their typical final destination for the purpose of capturing value, or proper disposal. Remanufacturing and refurbishing activities also may be included in the definition of reverse logistics." Growing green concerns and advancement of green supply chain management concepts and practices make it all the more relevant. The number of publications on the topic of reverse logistics have increased significantly over the past two decades. The first use of the term "reverse logistics" in a publication was by James R. Stock in a White Paper titled "Reverse Logistics," published by the Council of Logistics Management in 1992. The concept was further refined in subsequent publications by Stock (1998) in another Council of Logistics Management book, titled Development and Implementation of Reverse Logistics Programs, and by Rogers and Tibben-Lembke (1999) in a book published by the Reverse Logistics Association titled Going Backwards: Reverse Logistics Trends and Practices. The reverse logistics process includes the management and the sale of surplus as well as returned equipment and machines from the hardware leasing business. Normally, logistics deal with events that bring the product towards the customer. In the case of reverse logistics, the resource goes at least one step back in the supply chain. For instance, goods move from the customer to the distributor or to the manufacturer.
A contract manufacturer (CM) is a manufacturer that contracts with a firm for components or products. It is a form of outsourcing. A contract manufacturer performing packaging operations is called copacker or a contract packager. Brand name companies focus on product innovation, design and sales, while the manufacturing takes place in independent factories.
A disposable is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months to distinguish from similar products that last indefinitely. The word "disposables" is not to be confused with the word "consumables", which is widely used in the mechanical world. For example, welders consider welding rods, tips, nozzles, gas, etc. to be "consumables", as they last only a certain amount of time before needing to be replaced. Consumables are needed for a process to take place, such as inks for printing and welding rods for welding, while disposable products are products that can be thrown away after it becomes damaged or otherwise unuseful.
Waste minimisation is a set of processes and practices intended to reduce the amount of waste produced. By reducing or eliminating the generation of harmful and persistent wastes, waste minimisation supports efforts to promote a more sustainable society. Waste minimisation involves redesigning products and processes and/or changing societal patterns of consumption and production.
A milk bag is a plastic bag that contains milk. Milk bags are usually stored in a pitcher or jug with one of the corners cut off to allow for pouring. A typical milk bag contains approximately 1 L (1.8 imp pt) of milk in South America, Iran, Israel, Eastern Europe and the Baltics, while in the United Kingdom they contain 2 imperial pints (1.1 L), in Canada 1+1⁄3 litres (2.3 imp pt), and in India, 0.5 L (0.9 imp pt).
Bunzl plc is a British multinational distribution and outsourcing company headquartered in London, England.
Birks Group is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, timepieces, silverware and gifts, with stores and manufacturing facilities located in Canada and the United States. The Group was created in November 2005 through the merger of Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. (Canada) and Mayors Jewelers Inc..
Disposable food packaging comprises disposable products often found in fast food restaurants, takeout restaurants and kiosks, and catering establishments. Food-serving items for picnics and parties are very similar. Typical disposable foodservice products are foam food containers, plates, bowls, cups, utensils, doilies and tray papers. These products can be made from a number of materials including plastics, paper, bioresins, wood and bamboo.
Kruger Inc. is a Canadian corporation which manufactures publication papers, tissue, lumber and other wood products, corrugated cartons from recycled fibres, green and renewable energy, and wines and spirits. Kruger Inc. operates facilities in Québec, Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the United States.
Mac Papers, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, is an industrial distributor of paper and print solutions, packaging materials and equipment, facility supplies and office products. The company is the largest supplier of printing paper and envelopes in the Southeast United States, delivering 100,000 tons of paper each year. The company also provides graphic supplies, wide format media and equipment, packaging solutions, and office supplies, as well as custom product and logistics solutions.
A paper sack is a packaging type that can be constructed of one or several layers of high quality kraft paper, usually produced from virgin fibre. Paper sacks can also be referred to as industrial paper bags, industrial paper sacks or multi-wall paper bags or sacks. They are not to be confused with Paper bag/Paper bag, the term which usually refers to paper carrier bags or paper shopping bags.
Energy Products Inc. is a privately owned company based in Madison Heights, Michigan. They are a provider of batteries, chargers, industrial utility vehicles, scrubbers/sweepers and recycling services. They sell and maintain industrial batteries and charging systems for forklifts, material handling equipment, AGV’s and utility vehicles used primarily in manufacturing and warehousing. Energy Products is also a wholesale distributor of automotive, deep cycle and sealed lead acid batteries as well as batteries and chargers for consumer electronic devices. In 2012 Energy Products started engineering, furnishing and installing backup power systems, service testing and provides removal services for a wide range of customers including banks, hospitals, property managers and the telecommunication industry. Energy Products offers a comprehensive recycling program for all battery chemistries. In 2013 they announced they recycled over 2,000,000 pounds of batteries in 2012 for customers located throughout the United States.
Plastic containers are containers made exclusively or partially of plastic. Plastic containers are ubiquitous either as single-use or reuseable/durable plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic bags, foam food containers, Tupperware, plastic tubes, clamshells, cosmetic containers, up to intermediate bulk containers and various types of containers made of corrugated plastic. The entire packaging industry heavily depends on plastic containers or containers with some plastic content, besides paperboard and other materials. Food storage nowadays relies mainly on plastic food storage containers.