The first tracks of packaging are prehistoric; in that time they were made of hides, shells and even leaves. The story of the packaging boomed in 6000 before J-C when fabrics, baskets and ceramics made their appearance. The human beings were then able to transport their supplies further, longer. Then in 1500 before J-C, Egyptians invented glass containers.
With the boost of the industrial revolution, the research on packaging truly started. The French know-how was put forward. By the way, it has always been an inspirational source in the desire of SEMCO to innovate on the packaging and on the alimentary conservation fields.
1795: Invention of the appertisation by the French Nicolas Appert. The can is born.
1810: The appertisation process is extended to tinplate boxes.
1859: Selling of a flexible tube of paint by the Lefranc company.
The second half of the xxe century saw the accession of the plastic packaging. Thin, solid and supple, plastic becomes the most used material in every domain. Plastic bottles, bags, punnets, pots, jars, cans and shrink-wraps, in polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyesters, polyvinyl chloride or any other form, plastic has become a critical material in the industry.
1960: Selling of the first P.V.C. oil bottle by Lesieur.
1969: Selling of the first round maxi-bottles in P.V.C by Vittel.
1976: Selling of the first bottles in P.E.T by Pepsi.
With the birth of the consumption society, and an incremental need to respect the environment, innovation in the packaging sector has become a real necessity. Nowadays, a packaging cannot only be a necessary envelope to transport and protect our supplies. It has to meet several other requirements:
– Optimize the storage: The packaging of a product is a necessary link in the distribution channel management.
– Allow an effective stock shelves
– Promote the product: The packaging is the first visual that allows a product to differentiate from its competitors.
– Easiness of use: A good understanding of the customers’ experience, of the use he has of the container but also of the content allows meeting their expectations.
– Protect the environment: To recycle and to use eco-friendly material is a need, but also a duty. A packaging now has to be eco-responsible as a matter of respect towards the generations to come.
All these functions represent lines of innovation for SEMCO. This desire to provide our customers continuously improved packaging has been in the DNA of SEMCO since 1971. Our values testify: Listening, Innovating, Satisfying.