Rapak (Rugby / UK; www.rapak.com) a division of DS Smith Plastics (Rugby / UK; www.dssmith-plastics.com), has opened a manufacturing facility in Chachoengsao / Thailand. “The new facility .... will be focusing on the manufacturing of aseptic bag-in-box products and has great potential of expanding its product offer to other emerging market segments for bag-in-box such as Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) and Food Service,” said Rapak Thailand’s general manager Santi Khunpisitwong.

The company said the plant’s proximity to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport and shipping port at Laem Chabang will result in reduced lead-times, lower inventories and freight costs for its customers in Southeast Asia.

Simon Mander, managing director of Rapak Asia Pacific, said bag-in-box solutions were expected to continue growing as customers become more familiar with its environmental credentials, variety of dispensing applications and cost advantages over traditional forms of liquid packaging. In early 2010, DS Smith Plastics opened a bag-in-box facility in Moscow / Russia, to meet growing local demand – see Plasteurope.com of 23.02.2010.

DS Smith Plastics focuses on six main business areas: liquid packaging and dispensing; rigid packaging; fresh produce packaging; temperature-controlled packaging; foam products and print solutions.