BORDIC is one of South Africa’s longest-standing suppliers of films into the South African labelling sector, focusing on grades such as shrink, in-mould and wraparound labels. In the past decade, Bordic has shifted its focus beyond expanding its offering to the labelling sector to broadening its focus and product offering to include films for the flexible packaging market segment. This has enabled the company to grow into one of South Africa’s largest importers of films.

‘In the past few years, we have strategically shifted our focus to include polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon films to the flexible packaging market,’ reports Sameer Narang, head of the Films Division.

Sameer is pleased with the success and growth that Bordic has had in this segment, and is convinced this is due the team’s strong focus on customer service and building and fostering relationships. ‘We strive to give customers exactly what they want, when they want it and where they need it in the most cost-effective manner possible,’ he states. ‘Further to this, we partner with and represent global leaders and innovators in their respective market sectors, which enables the team to ensure consistent quality and strong technical support.’

‘Bordic’s model is by no means unique, we import the raw materials from our suppliers all over the world, and warehouse these as close to our customers as possible. However, when partnered with our team’s strong focus on being totally customer-focused and putting their needs first, it makes our offering unique and certainly is our defining factor,’ Sameer asserts.

‘Furthemore, we place a strong emphasis on product quality and versatility. These are facilitated by a fully temperature-controlled warehouse in Durban for our heat-sensitive films, as well as an in-house slitting division to accommodate any size changes and requirements our customers may have,’ he reports. ‘This business philosophy is part of our ongoing quest to offer peace of mind in the quality and impeccable service delivery of our raw materials wherever possible.’

In other territories where Bordic is active, such as West and East Africa and the SADC region, it offers direct indent shipments against forecasts received from customers with a focus on competitive pricing and preferential payment terms.

Since the pandemic, which has created a global shipping crisis, Bordic has seen tremendous delays on production lead times and shipping times for raw materials. ‘These delays have created a surge in demand in Bordic’s locally held stocks. In an attempt to assist customers in overcoming any shortages, we try and hold several hundred tons of stocks of various films (BOPP, CPP, PET and other label films) to cater for these delays and unforeseen demands,’ says Sameer.

Promoting recycling through 100% mono-material laminates

‘Bordic is not just a product distributor. In our quest to serve as a one-stop shop solution provider for all our customers’ requirements, we bring technical know-how to the table, advising them on the types of products that will work best for particular applications, as well as when and how they can downgauge and use alternative materials to obtain similar barrier properties,’ he states. ‘Our mission to help them on their extended producer responsibility and sustainability (reduce, reuse and recycle) journeys is to introduce new raw materials, to try to bring down costs and to promote recyclability. We are keen to encourage the move towards this trend, which currently represents a smaller section of the market, as it answers calls from manufacturers, retailers and consumers to help serve the greater good and reduce their environmental footprints.’

Sameer adds that Bordic’s primary focus is currently on introducing products that can replace conventional packaging, which goes into landfills, with 100% mono-material laminates that are 100% recyclable. The company is offering various replacement options under the PE-PE and PP-PP packaging waste recycling streams.

1. PE- PE:

• MDO PE (PET replacement);

• MET PE (MET BOPP/MET PET replacement);

• EVOH PE (barrier heat sealable layer);

• BOPE (nylon replacement).

2. PP-PP:

• Heat-resistant BOPP (PET replacement);

• Transparent barrier BOPP (PVDC replacement);

• Ultra-high barrier BOPP (alu foil replacement);

• Puncture-resistant BOPP (nylon replacement);

• Low-temperature seal CPP (95°);

• MET CPP;

• Retortable PP films.

BOPP joint venture

Another interesting development is Bordic’s extension of its 10-year partnership with Argha Karya, during which time the partners have become key suppliers of BOPP films in the African flexible packaging and labelling industry.

Sameer describes Argha Karya as a leading BOPP films manufacturer, which is based in Indonesia and has a total installed capacity in excess of 100 000 metric tons/annum at its production facilities. The company’s latest investment in a Brückner BOPP film production line means that Argha Karya has started to focus even more on the export of flexible packaging films to the continent

He explains that this investment has resulted in a new joint venture between Bordic and Argha Karya, which will allow the partners to meet the growing demand for BOPP films in the SADC region via a consignment stock model. ‘This will enable us to supply customers on a just-in-time basis from Q4-2022.’

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