Thursday 10 February 2022

Drinking straws producer granted €8.5m for plastic-free packaging

Martix Pack, the largest producer of drinking straws in Europe, has been granted €8.5 million (£7.2m) to support the company's plans to eliminate the use of plastic packaging.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing the venture debt financing to boost research and development, capital investment and international expansion of its activities across Europe and North America.

Matrix Pack, which has four production units – three in Greece and one in Bulgaria – and produces single-use paper straws and biodegradable lids - is shifting its entire product portfolio to renewable and biodegradable materials.

The company currently produces 20 million paper straws per day and upon completion of its project will produce 30 million a day.

It is working exclusively with European suppliers for raw materials and machinery during the entire process.

Lyberis Polychronopoulos, Matrix Pack Chairman said: “This project indicates our high ambitions and it is already established in the market. It is a great opportunity to prove that transformation and compliance to environmental policies is a business opportunity and at the same time a challenge to contribute to the safety and independence of the European supply chain as opposed to dependence on single-use-products coming from Far East.

“I would like to thank the European Investment Bank, the whole Matrix Pack team and Deloitte for the implementation of the project.”