Tania Simoes, Quality Manager of Ecoplas: “We want the future to go towards developing a more sustainable process, where we can have greater control of variables by providing product solutions in which the pillars of the circular economy converge”
We spoke with Tania Simoes, Quality Manager of Ecoplas to find out her point of view on the impact of environmental awareness among consumers and their influence on R & D & I processes in the food packaging sector.
Despite the short time that she has been in the company, Tania Simoes is clear about the values that Ecoplas defends and for her, quality control and food safety in waste management systems are essential to guarantee the success of each one of the products that Ecoplas sells.
1- TELL US YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS RESPONSIBLE FOR QUALITY AND R+ D+ I: HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE COMPANY? WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU LIVED IN THE COMPANY IN THE LAST YEARS?
This month of May it has been precisely 1 year since I have joined the Ecoplas team. Due to the short time that I have been in the company, I have not experienced the most relevant changes, but, in the last year, Ecoplas has carried out substantial changes that increase both the value and the quality of the work carried out in the company.
One of them, and probably the most important, has been LEAN MANUFACTURING, which is a continuous work in constant progress to improve day by day.
2- WHAT IMPACT ON THE BEHAVIOR OF THE CONSUMER AND YOUR CUSTOMERS HAVE YOU SEEN RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS IN THE R+D+I PROJECTS YOU CARRY OUT?
Our clients look for packaging solutions according to the lines developed in projects such as Biovege. In this project, bioplastics have been created using waste from agricultural production.
In other words, customers demand packaging solutions that include both the vision of the circular economy as well as solutions that are adapted to the waste management systems that exist in their region and / or country.
In addition, our clients are increasingly better informed about the different types of solutions that exist, they know their pros and cons, but this collides with the pressure exerted by the end consumer, and sometimes, they do not have the knowledge they should, what which leads companies to take advantage and generate greenwashing.
3- WHAT ROLE DO FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PLAY IN A COMPANY?
I believe that global management systems in a company are very important in all aspects and for all procedures.
In the particular case of food safety it is essential because they help to guarantee both the traceability of the product in all the stages through which it passes and for each of the procedures that have to be materialized. Therefore, all this is crucial both in terms of quality and food safety, because if there is a problem, everything is registered and available to be analyzed and obtain the necessary response.
4-IN WHICH R+D+I PROJECTS IS ECOPLAS NOW INVOLVED AND WHAT FUTURA PLANS DOES IT HAVE?
Ecoplas is currently developing an R& D & I project that is the natural continuation of Biovege, the VegePack.
Vegepack is a project in which we want to take advantage of compounds naturally present in plant fractions (non-food fractions) that have antifungal or antibacterial properties, and add these compounds to the packaging produced.
We are also investing in other projects and plans related to the circular economy and industry 4.0 are being developed in our portfolio. We want the future to go through developing a more sustainable process, where we can have greater control of the variables and where we provide product solutions where the pillars of the circular economy concur: reduction, reuse and revaluation.