14 August 2025 – At Metier, we are proud to back businesses that don’t just respond to change, they drive it. One of the clearest examples of this is our Portfolio Company, Master Plastics, which has become the first flexible packaging converter in South Africa to fully commercialise water-based ink technology across its flexographic printing lines.
A Strategy Rooted in Sustainability and Risk Mitigation
This transformation was catalysed by an unexpected event – a fire that damaged one of Master Plastics’ facilities (Peninsula Packaging). Rather than rebuild conventionally, the leadership team used the opportunity to accelerate its vision for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly production environment.
With support from technical partners Hi-Tech Inks, Polyflex Premedia, and Acme Graphics, the company committed to phasing out solvent-based inks, long used as an industry standard, in favour of a non-toxic, low Volatile Organic Compounds (“VOC”), water-based alternative.
Why It Matters
The shift to water-based inks has tangible environmental and operational benefits:
- Significant reduction in VOC emissions, improving both environmental impact and factory-floor air quality;
- Enhanced pressroom safety, reducing flammability risks and improving working conditions;
- Less reliance on VOC supply chains, improving resilience during crises;
- Lower carbon footprint, with some studies estimating up to 3kg of CO₂ savings per kg of printed film (equivalent to recycling 10 plastics bottles per kg of printed film); and
- Fewer materials to landfill, supported by self-adhesive sleeve systems and smart ink optimisation.
Built for Commercial Scale
The switch to water-based inks wasn’t just a sustainability initiative, it was a technical transformation at commercial scale.
Water-based systems were integrated into presses from Uteco and Windmöller & Hölscher, supported by the introduction of extended colour gamut (“ECG”) printing, engineered plates, and precision colour management.
A five-day ink trial, involving global and local suppliers, saw South African innovator Hi-Tech Inks emerge as the lead partner, co-developing a bespoke water-based formulation for plastic substrates. The result is full production readiness, not just lab success.
A Platform for the Future
This change is more than a once-off investment. Every new press at Master Plastics is now designed to run water-based inks. The company has also formalised this offering under the Blue Dot Printing line, a platform built to serve clients looking to reduce their environmental footprint without compromising quality.
Dieter Kreissel, general manager at Peninsula Packaging (a division of Master Plastics) said: “This isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of something better. A cleaner, safer, smarter way of doing what we’ve always done. We’re saying to the market: if you want to reduce your carbon footprint and eliminate harmful chemicals, we’ve carved out this space for you.”
Learn more about this transformation in the June feature of The Packaging Mag → PPM
View our broader ESG and sustainability principles → Metier & Sustainability
