M. John Persenda

The SPhere group, N°1 in Europe for household packaging products (see boxed text below), is banking on innovation in order to respond to concerns for the environment. Consequently, it is aiming to quickly develop the biodegradable "bio-plastic" bag market share.

What is the secret of SPhere’s growth?
There is no secret. It is merely a strategic choice: that of innovating. As far back as 1983 we pioneered the first linear polyethylene bag and, in 1987, we launched a bag with a slide fastener, then the two-knot bag, the first anti-bacterial bag to be NF Environment certified and, finally, the first biodegradable bag. We have now given ourselves the means to stay ahead by embarking on the production of «bio-plastic» bags made from potato starch.

What are the stakes of this new technology?
These are major stakes on all fronts: economic, societal, social and environmental. First of all, we have the cost of the raw material – oil – that is becoming prohibitive: we urgently need to find a plant-based substitute. On the economy side, we also need to safeguard the future of the European plastics industry and it is becoming increasingly advisable to link this industry to agriculture. And from the environmental and society viewpoint, it has become a matter of urgency that we stop applying the traditional carbon cycle and offer consumer other alternatives. For instance, we should remember that of the 54 % of the dustbin liners that end up on a landfill site, only 8 % break down into compost and that if 38% of these bags are incinerated, we are still a long way from a unanimous solution. Here again, biodegradability is a major stake.

What is your position on this issue?
We all have to face the problem posed by the increasing scarcity of oil products and the additional costs this situation generates. Additionally, the SPhere Group is highly aware of their impact on damage to the environment. It is on this basis that we have built our industrial strategy: we seek to produce renewable plant raw materials by developing bio-plastics. That is why we bought into the AdventAgri stockholding. This Company produces Champagne-Ardennes potatoes and, together with AdventAgri – alongside a farming cooperative – we have just acquired the biggest potato starch plant in France, at Haussimont. This unit produces approximately one quarter of the 260 000 tonnes of the French starch output. This forward step will enable us to help ensure continued agricultural employment by linking farming with a developing plastic industry as well as providing us with the means of developing new biomaterials on a grand scale.

And combining research and production?
Indeed, I am convinced that the future for our European industry, which does not come into conflict with farming nor, on a wider scale, the development of lands forming part of our continent, lies in research and innovation. That was the logic behind our acquisition in 2005 of the German laboratory Biotec, as a joint-venture with the English company, Stanelco. Biotec GmbH, a German Company, is world leader in the pioneering of biodegradable materials. Biotec holds some 200 patents in this field, the fruits of approximately fifteen years of research into the development of bio-plastic compounds and this has given us a considerable edge. Therefore, we intend to capitalize on this situation to develop numerous innovative bio-plastic products, for instance, quickly transferring biodegradable bags from its present European niche to create a widespread, centralized range. Although we are currently facing opposition, mainly through agricultural regulations, I am in no doubt that French and European decision-makers will be able to make the right decisions to enable this sector to develop.

The SPhere group, N°1 in Europe for household packaging products