Mondi offers bicycle packaging alternative

Vienna-based Mondi, a global supplier of packaging and paper, says it has entered the bike packaging market with its Protector Bags. Mondi calls the paper product “a new sustainable solution for [German bicycle maker] Diamant to replace plastic wrapping used around the handlebars of its Trek and Diamant brands.”

The use of the Protector Bags by Diamant will reduce the bike maker’s plastic use by 16 metric tons every year, around 85 percent of its previous consumption, the two companies estimate.

Mondi says the Protector Bags are delivered flat, meaning more can be carried on a pallet, providing a more cost-efficient stacking compared to plastic bubble wrap reels that entail transporting “excess air.” Additionally, Mondi produces the paper bags at its Trebsen plant in Germany, which is a one-hour journey from Diamant’s factory, compared to the previous bubble wrap material that had been sourced abroad.

“Our development team worked very closely with Mondi to create these uniquely tailored bags, which will provide increased protection for the handlebars of all mountain and trekking bikes of our brands Trek and Diamant during transportation,” says Geoffrey Ziegahn, a senior engineer with Diamant.

He continues, “This is a major step towards our sustainability goals: we aim to only use recyclable packaging by the end of this year and replace all plastic and bubble wrap with paper-based solutions. Mondi’s careful and thorough approach to the challenge has demonstrated how we can achieve this – we are saving transportation costs, storage space and are contributing to a better world by making this big change.”

Comments Nadja Nickel, Mondi’s sales manager for the Protector Bags, “This is a fantastic example of how our EcoSolutions approach can work for customers in a wide range of industries, and we are delighted to make our first foray into bike packaging with our Protector Bags. While the previous plastic bubble wrap protected the product, Diamant was looking for packaging made from paper.”

Mondi says the Protector Bags are made from “renewable resources” and are created from two layers of kraft paper. They are completely recyclable and can be recycled through existing programs in Europe, says the firm.