Tetra Pak is a multinational food processing and packaging company of Swedish origin. It was founded in 1951 in Lund, Sweden, by Ruben Rausing. It was Erik Wallenberg who invented the tetrahedral package, today known as Tetra Classic. The company is part of the Tetra Laval group which also includes Sidel – who specialise in PET bottles – and DeLaval, a producer of dairy farming machinery and food processing equipment.
Ruben Rausing's sons Hans and Gad Rausing ran Tetra Pak from 1954 until 1985, taking the company from a seven-person concern to one of Sweden's largest corporations. Before his death in 1983, Ruben Rausing was Sweden's richest person.
Overview
Tetra Pak's innovation is in the area of aseptic processing liquid food packaging which, when combined with ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT), allows liquid food to be packaged and stored under room temperature conditions for up to a year. This allows for perishable goods to be saved and distributed over greater distances without the need for a cool chain.
Products
Tetra Pak's first product was a paper carton used for storing and transporting milk. The first product was a package in the shape of a triangular pyramid (or tetrahedron), today called Tetra Classic. Rausing had been working on the design since 1943, and by 1950 had perfected techniques for making his cartons fully airtight, using a system of plastic and aluminium coated paperboard combined with an aseptic filling system. These initial cartons were tetrahedra, leading to the company's name, derived from "four" in the Greek language. The first Tetra Classic package was launched in 1953, and in 1963 the company introduced Tetra Brik, a rectangular cuboid carton. Later, Tetra Pak launched other packaging formats such as Tetra Wedge (wedge-shaped), Tetra Prisma (round octagonal), and Tetra Fino (pouch-shaped). Tetra Pak also produced other non aseptic packaging systems – including Tetra Rex (gable-top), Tetra Top (paper and plastic moulded in one) and the now-discontinued Tetra King. Recent innovations have seen the introduction of laminated paper boxes for vegetables as an alternative to tinned goods. It is claimed that this new product, Tetra Recart, allows for more subtle processing[1] of vegetables than canning permits.
Since about 2007 some wineries have started selling wines in 500 ml and 1 l Tetra Prisma Aseptic packages with reclosable screw caps. Although unsuited for long-term storage or aging of wines, they save weight and space and eliminate the concerns of glass bottle disposal, saving consumers money.
Business and competition
Until recently the company held a monopoly in China, but in mid-2000, the Tetra Pak monopoly was broken. Other companies producing comparable aseptic beverage carton packagings are SIG with its proprietary Combibloc technology, Tralin Pak with its Tralin Brick Aseptic materials, and Elopak with Pure-Pak. Milliken manufactures a similar packaging system in the United States. Even so, Tetra Pak remain the largest packaging company in the world.
Early in 2004, there were reports that the Tanzi family, the owners of the Italian dairy food company Parmalat, had benefited from some improper activities.[2] Investigators claimed the company's former chief financial officer reported that Parmalat's packaging supplier, Tetra Pak, had paid the Tanzis millions in kickbacks. Tetra Pak denied any wrong-doing and was later fully acquitted from all charges of bribery, recognizing that no money had been paid to the Tanzi family.[3] It claimed that Parmalat, as a major customer for many years, benefited from marketing support and discounts on packaging material. The discounts to Parmalat, it said, are similar to those that benefit other large customers.
In June 2009, Tetra Pak announced it would invest in production in 2010 in China, India and Pakistan.[4]
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