Soaking Up Success

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PRODUCERS
Multisorb Technologies
WINTER 2012
Multisorb Technologies develops and manufactures active packaging systems designed to keep food fresher in transit and on store shelves.
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Soaking Up Success
Multisorb Technologies provides the means to keep food fresher longer, and
has become a world leader through innovation. By Chris Petersen
K
eeping food fresh was one of man’s earliest problems, and
it continues to be a concern to this day. Even in an age of
airtight plastic containers and refrigerated transportation,
food manufacturers still struggle against the age-old enemies of freshness – moisture and oxygen being chief
among them. Fortunately, modern science continues to facilitate solutions for today’s food manufacturers that their early predecessors could
never have imagined.
Providing those solutions is what Multisorb
company profile
Technologies does best. As the World Leader in
Multisorb Technologies
Active Packaging Technology™, the company prowww.multisorb.com
Headquarters: Buffalo, N.Y.
vides customized sorbent solutions that work to
Employees: More than 500
actively regulate the packaging environment. The
Specialty: Active packaging
technologies
main objective of active packaging is to enhance the
Bob Sabdo, business
product’s shelf life while protecting its quality. In
development leader: “We’re selling solutions.”
some cases, oxygen removal may be the goal; in
others, maintaining a specific moisture level may be
food & drink • winter 2012 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com
required. The solution Multisorb provides is dependent on many variables,
including characteristics of the food
and the packaging materials.
“We’re selling solutions and innovation,” Bob Sabdo, business development
leader for the United States says. “We
take a consultative approach, working
with our customer from concept to sorbent dispensing and beyond. We have a
continuous reliability program where
we come back regularly to make sure
everything is running smoothly.”
Company History
The U.S.-based company was founded
by John Cullen in 1961 to protect products
Multisorb Technologies
within the electronics industry against the
damaging effects of moisture. Today, the
company has expanded both geographically and in terms of the markets it serves.
The company has four facilities: two in
New York and one each in Alabama and
Telford, England. In addition to food and
electronics markets, it also serves the
healthcare and transportation industries.
Broad but Focused
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With 50 years of experience in developing sorbent solution technologies,
Multisorb has attained a leadership position in the United States and Europe.
“Multisorb’s solid reputation has
been one of our greatest strengths
globally,” says Stefano Santagostino,
business development leader for
Europe. “We have become known as a
reliable company that can deliver highquality solutions all over the world.”
Sabdo agrees, adding that customization has helped to build its reputation.
“We have an excellent reputation for
delivering quality,” says Sabdo. “It is our
ability to tailor solutions to our customer’s needs that has made us a leader.
“By utilizing our Calculations through
Operations™ corporate philosophy, we get
involved early on,” Sabdo says. “We provide the technical support to select the correct sorbent, provide manufacturing dispenser support and aftermarket support –
essentially it is a total systems approach for
our customers.” This increases the company’s speed to market, which is highly valued by the food and beverage market.
Multisorb’s solutions for the food and
beverage market consist of a wide variety of customized drop-in, fit-in and
built-in solutions for moisture and oxygen control.
According to the company, drop-in
solutions include oxygen- or moistureabsorbing packets that are dropped
into the packaging. Fit-in solutions are
attached to the product packaging, such
as a self-adhesive oxygen absorber that
can be attached to a deli meat package.
Another option is a built-in sorbent
solution. In this case the sorbent is inte-
food & drink • winter 2012 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com
Multisorb Technologies’ active packaging solutions work by absorbing moisture and/or oxygen, two things that
contribute to food becoming stale. These solutions include drop-in packets that are placed inside packaging, fit-in
solutions that are attached to the inside of the package and sorbents that are built into the packaging material.
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PRODUCERS
Multisorb Technologies
Multisorb was also the first sorbent
manufacturer to provide both the sorbent packet as well as the sorbent-dispensing equipment from one company,
thus eliminating the suppliers placing
blame on each other.
“Many of these innovations were initiated by the company after listening to
the marketplace’s short and long term
desires,” Sabdo says.
Trend Spotting
Multisorb Technologies continues to develop new products to help preserve food, especially as trends toward more
organic and all-natural food products means artificial preservatives are used less frequently.
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grated into the packaging material; for
example, an oxygen absorber built into
a plastic bottle.
Multisorb has ongoing development
projects to provide built-in solutions in
semi-rigid and flexible structures.
Built on Innovation
Developing those customized solutions
would not be possible unless Multisorb
pany has devised in conjunction with its
customers include:
• FreshMax® – the first oxygen-absorbing labels and patches to replace loose
packets inside food packages;
• FreshCard® – a multifunctional
card stock with oxygen absorbing
capabilities; and
• FreshBlend® - an award-winning
polymer blend with oxygen absorb-
“Active packaging can go a long way to
help customers reduce waste and control
their costs.”–Stefano Santagostino
Technologies had a capability for innovation. Examples of innovative solutions for the food industry that the com-
ing capabilities that can be used in
molded, sheeted, thermoformed or
film packaging applications.
Keeping ahead of global industry
trends can be one of the most challenging aspects of Multisorb’s work, Sabdo
says. “It is possible to get consumed
with day-to-day operations, so we must
make a point not to lose sight of the big
picture.”
Part of the big picture is paying attention to global trends in the food industry, such as the movement toward more
natural foods. As consumers become
smarter about food, they are rejecting
preservatives and other artificial ingredients. However, foods still require
solutions to extend their shelf life, and
that’s where Multisorb can find greater
opportunities. “We have to respond to
these trends,” Sabdo says.
In Europe, one of those trends has
been the increasing amount of regulation in the food markets. One example
of this is the increase in sustainability
requirements. “Active packaging can go
a long way to help customers reduce
waste and control their costs,”
Santagostino says. He explains that
Multisorb works with customers to optimize their packaging with the sorbent
solution. This allows for reduced packaging in food products, an optimized
package size, and results in a smaller
carbon footprint. In addition, by
extending the shelf life, their customers
will see less food waste.
“We are really helping our partners
to become sustainable,” he says. “All of
these aspects together can create a sustainable attitude.”
One way that Multisorb stays current
on trends and global changes in techfood & drink • winter 2012 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com
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PRODUCERS
Multisorb Technologies
In addition to the company’s domestic facilities, Multisorb Technologies has a facility in the United Kingdom, which gives it greater capability to respond to the demands of
customers overseas. The company says it expects its global presence to increase in the coming years as food safety regulations in Europe continue to evolve.
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“Active packaging can help customers
maintain quality [and] increase their
shelf life.”–Stefano Santagostino
nology is by working closely with thirdparty organizations that have strong
industry ties. This gives the company
greater speed when reacting to
changes in the marketplace.
European Success
The company’s expansion into Europe
was a natural extension of its proactive
and innovative philosophy, Santagostino says.
Santagostino was hired in 2009 to
help expand the company’s development of solutions for customers in
Europe and South Africa.
“Europe has long been aware of active
packaging, but was not fully aware of the
latest technologies and solutions that
were available. My main goal in the first
year was to inform the market about its
potential,” Santagostino says.
“Active packaging can help our customers maintain quality, increasing
their shelf life, and thus help them in
their geo-expansion programs,” Santagostino says.
Of course, one of the main obstacles
to working globally is the language barrier. “Our strategy is to serve the global
market, and this is why we have developed internal multilingual capabilities
to support our global markets,” according to Santagostino.
Strength with Flexibility
The company’s flexibility is another significant advantage in the global arena.
Santagostino says having a facility in
the U.K., for example, provides the
capability to respond quickly to customers’ demands.
“Often people think an off-the-shelf
product will work, but when we look at
the whole system – the product, the
packaging – we discover that is not the
case,” he says. “So we work with them
and provide an optimal solution.”
As a business model, Santagostino
says, it works as a consultant with customers. “This is the extra-service package that we use with our partners.”
Growth Ahead
Santagostino says Multisorb projects
significant global growth through
2015 because active packaging has
so much room to expand. “With all
the new food regulations coming
out in the EU, creating a need for sustainability and clean label, the
demand for active packaging is
increasing rapidly.”
Sabdo agrees and adds the company
will experience continued success
in the United States and will place
greater emphasis on global expansion.
No matter where the company moves
next, Sabdo says its focus on providing
customers with complete answers
to their needs will continue to be
the backbone of its success. “We’re
selling solutions.”
Published by Phoenix Media Corporation Tel: 312.676.1101 Fax: 312.676.1280
On behalf of Multisorb Technologies © 2012 Phoenix Media Corporation. All rights reserved.