We are happy to be featured in Start Up magazine. You can read below a short excerpt of the interview with Tudor Georgescu, CEO of Promateris. Read the full interview here.

Prodplast is not a startup. It's a company founded in 1957 in Romania, which focused on the production of plastic products. In recent years, amid the transition to materials that do not require so much environment, the company has decided to go to compostable and biodegradable packaging or even some plant-based products, under the Biodeck brand. Start-up.ro discussed with Tudor Georgescu, the director of the company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, about this transition and the rebranding towards Promateris.

The transition to a sustainable future

Tudor Georgescu says that the transition began in 2018, when Promateris, then Prodplast, purchased the first equipment for the production of compostable packaging. “When we started this business compostable packaging was not known to the Romanian public, because it was not available on the market. Then, thanks to EU regulations, as well as research and innovation in the field, these solutions could be taxed, and now they are much more accessible and widespread ", says Georgescu. He mentions that they wanted to develop value-added products with low environmental impact. That's how they came to produce packaging from renewable, bio-based, and compostable materials. The transition was a natural one, and today they reached 75% of the production represented by this type of products.

The trend regarding sustainable packaging observed in EU was essential for the business transition decision.

"Currently we have the largest production capacity in Central and Eastern Europe and we export compostable bio-based products to countries such as: Greece, Spain, Norway, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, etc. Our products can be found either in the large modern retail chains or through the European distribution networks ”, says Tudor Georgescu.

Promateris currently has 75% of its production based on biodegradable and compostable polimers. The transition involved a dedicated research and testing team, as well as trainings. "It's a long process, still ongoing. We enjoyed the presence of the best European specialists from Italy, Denmark, Germany, etc., at our factory in Buftea, who worked with our teams in order to learn the new production process", says Tudor Georgescu.