Why sustainability is crucial in shipping, according to Deufol

Cyann Fielding at Tank Storage Magazine sat down with Ralph Mertens, business development and marketing manager at Deufol to discuss the company’s sustainable packaging.  

Deufol provides two main services to its clients: packaging and supply chain logistics. Deufol is involved with a lot of industrial exports, which means one-way packaging – this is not sustainable. So, over the past five years, the company has established a unique design programme that focuses on the customer feedback to produce a packaging solution. 

By having discussions with customers, Deufol can understand whether they can create reusable options, for example. According to Ralph Mertens, reusable options usually have a life span of between 20 and 30 uses – a much better yield than throwing packaging away after one use. For example, Deufol has developed reusable wooden packaging that can run for years. The company has also designed a steel transport range, which can be reused indefinitely. 

Sustainability is also integral to Deufol from both a packaging and business perspective. It is important to obtain stable resources as well as produce sustainable processes. Deufol’s customer base includes leading national corporations, such as Siemens, so it’s important to keep on top of sustainable practices to match the mood of the market. ‘We know that our customers will start asking for more sustainable solutions as demand and pressure grows,’ says Mertens. ‘We create the same solution with fewer resources. This is the first step that we do to limit our steel, plastic, and wood usage.’ 

Deufol aims to achieve daily business that is of great quality, safe, and cost-effective. Mertens says: ‘We are about empowering people, improving products, and streamlining our processes. But we are now also trying to figure out how, in every decision we make, we can also consider environmental impact. We are a family business, so we know that business starts with yourself, and then you can talk to customers about it. It is very important that we keep on moving towards sustainability solutions.’ 

Source: Cyann Fielding, Journalist, AntwerpXL