News

2000, Nr. 11, S. 62 News    Lower cost of materials for flat-end sacks    Lawson Mardon Neher, the Kreuzlingen-based Swiss packaging specialists, expect the still high cost of materials for the flat-end sacks popular with the pet industry to continue to go down. The Ceramis bonds developed by the company, which consist of modern barrier films based on SiOx enamelling, would lower costs considerably, since direct vapour depositing of the wafer-thin barrier layer onto one of the plastic films during manufacture would reduce the number of layers. A coating plant for Ceramis films with a processing width of 2 100 mm and a capacity of 100 mio m2 is to go into operation at Lawson Mardon Neher in Kreuzlingen this very autumn. Within the next two years the company is planning to set up a processing centre for flat-end sacks capable of withstanding sterilisation and to implement the necessary increases in printing and pasting capacity. A pilot plant for SiOx coatings plus a sterilisation unit are available to the company at Neuhausen.      Turbulent times for Fressnapf    The Krefeld-based franchising operation is proceeding rapidly with its forward-looking strategy: it has just moved into a new building with an overall floorspace of 85 000 m2, the company's online shop is ready and waiting to go, store number 300 was recently inaugurated and, almost by the bye, three of the four stores previously belonging to the bankrupted specialist chain, Freddy's Reich der Tiere, have also been taken over. Now just at this point of time, when the 60 staff employed at central office are in any case being pushed to the limit by the company's rapid pace of development, comes the announcement of the withdrawal as of 1 October for personal reasons from active participation in top management of Achim Jannes, right-hand man of Fressnapf chief Torsten Toeller up to now. Jannes, who is equally popular with both industry and franchisees, will however continue to be available as a consultant in future. What is more, he will also remain linked to the group as a franchise partner with five stores at the moment.       The new logistics centre is Fressnapf's showpiece.    Because of the retreat of Achim Jannes, who had been earmarked as chairman of Fressnapf Online AG, the opening of the online shop has been postponed from mid-October to November. Torsten Toeller will now become temporary chairman of Fressnapf Online AG. A leading position in the new en-terprise is also to…