From:Packaging News

Petainer, the global PET and other plastics packaging business, has expanded its distribution and manufacturing footprint in the US after partnering with G3 Enterprises.

The partnership with G3 Enterprises, who offer the wine and spirits industry quality packaging and supply chain solutions across the US, leverages UK headquartered Petainer’s expanding customer base, and the growing popularity of wine-on-tap as a viable alternative to bottled wine for the retail trade.

The Petainer and G3 Enterprises partnership has launched a new operation to enhance G3 Enterprise’s customer experience offering mobile keg filing as well as opening up a blowing hub in North America.

The new operations are in response to their customers’ needs for a flexible manufacturing approach and reduced logistics costs, allowing customers to react quickly to market demands.

The mobile keg filling operation allows wine producers and retailers to keg their wine at any of their locations using one-way petainerKegs that are said to be both economically and environmentally friendly.  The blowing hub located in Modesto, California serves customers across North America and has the capacity to blow kegs for wine, beer and water coolers.

Annemieke Hartman-Jemmett, Petainer’s group commercial strategy director said: “Petainer’s partnership with G3 Enterprises is strategically important as it supports our offering to our customers, partners and our sales operations. G3’s industry knowledge and unique ability to provide innovative solutions will greatly benefit the US wine industry.  We are working closely with G3 and its customers to deliver superior product quality and technical support.”

Mihailo Panovich, vice president of sales at G3 Enterprises explained: “The Petainer 20 litre PET kegs allows wineries to grow sales of wine-on-tap with a low cost of ownership.  The one-way, recyclable keg from Petainer is a real gamechanger, offering wineries competitive manufacturing and logistics costs while utilising the same dispensing systems required for conventional steel kegs.”

The environmental benefits of the lightweight, fully recyclable petainerKeg system includes low carbon emissions and reduced freight costs.  The company said petainerKegs also have the added advantages of being space efficient (compared to bottles of wine), safe and easy to handle due to their lightweight, and for venues zero waste as there is no bottle shock or corkage issues with wine from a petainerKeg.