Both paint and pail are plant based

After years of research and trials a new paint product based on plants is now being launched by France’s leading quality brand TOLLENS in a pail, which also contains plant material. RPC Superfos is one of three driving forces together with Roquette and Materis on the project which bolsters a sustainable development.

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A unique collaboration between three different companies has led to a groundbreaking result within paint and packaging. The trio consists of Roquette, a producer of bioplastics, paint producer Materis and RPC Superfos, the biggest packaging provider for Materis in France and European leader in injection moulded plastic packaging.

A fruitful cooperation
The result is a solution, where both the pail and the paint under the brand GEODE are plant based. Estelle Wallich-Petit, Raw Material and Packaging Purchasing Manager at paint producer Materis, stresses that the collaboration between Materis, Roquette and RPC Superfos has been exemplary, each party complementing the other two:

“The three of us could join forces on this highly interesting project because we share the same values concerning sustainable development and innovation. We developed the plant-based paint GEODE. Roquette has created the plant-based plastic GAÏALENE® from starch. RPC Superfos has worked intensively in laboratories with the injection process, for example by testing how the starch-based plastic pail would interact with elements of the water-based paint.”

“For a plant-based paint, we found it obvious to develop a container that also holds renewable resources. Our paint GEODE contains up to 97 per cent natural ingredients and has a high density and a very low content of volatile organic compounds. For any indoor painting task it leads to beautiful results and the plant-based packaging solution is a perfect match.”

Starch – a renewable resource
Léon Mentink, Product Manager at Roquette, has been working pertinaciously with the plant-based plastic called GAÏALENE® for the pail. A specific grade has been developed for the purpose. It derives from starch, a natural renewable polymer widely produced by plants by atmospheric CO2 capture. He explains:

“Our plant based plastic material represents a big leap forward and is now available in industrial quantities. GAÏALENE® can be used to replace the fossil-based raw material normally used for plastics and among the environmental benefits is the reduction of the carbon footprint by 65 per cent compared to polypropylene, as certified by the accountancy and consultancy company PwC. It has been a pleasure to be part of this exciting project, turning an eco-friendly raw material into an industrial solution together with our partners.”

Innovation is paramount
Regional Sales Director from RPC Superfos, Laurent Morel, is thrilled about both the process and the result and says:

“Roquette approached Materis in France, who decided to take us on board as an innovative partner for the packaging. The collaboration has worked out very well and we have been very enthusiastic about it, keeping focus on common goals, mutual confidence and innovation.”
 
The plant based pail has the design of the SuperLift pail from RPC Superfos. The paint made of plant resin targets the professional segment and the launch of the product takes place in April 2013 in France.