New facility brings fibre bottle technology into commercial production, creating up to 40 million units of annual capacity and establishing the blueprint for global expansion

RENFREW, Scotland, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pulpex, the UK packaging technology company behind the world’s leading fibre bottle platforms, today opened its first commercial manufacturing facility near Glasgow, marking a major milestone in the scale-up of fibre-based packaging. The site has an initial capacity of up to 40 million units per annum, has created approximately 39 skilled manufacturing jobs and serves as the first step towards Pulpex’s ambition of producing one billion bottles annually through a global network of Manufacture Under Licence partners. 

Commercial demand has already been secured, with more than 90% of the site’s initial available capacity for the current financial year committed. Launch customers include household cleaning brand smol, which is introducing Pulpex fibre bottles into the liquid laundry category, and Purely Scottish Natural Mineral Water, which plans to launch what is expected to be the UK’s first natural mineral water in a paper bottle following an 18-month collaboration with Pulpex. Additional launches involving consumer brands across food, beverage, home care and personal care sectors are expected to be announced in the coming months.

The opening marks the transition of Pulpex fibre bottle technology from pilot-scale production into commercial manufacturing. The Glasgow facility at Westway will support customer launches, scaled production and future manufacturing partnerships while serving as the reference plant for Pulpex’s international licensing strategy.

“The opening of our Glasgow facility marks the moment Pulpex moves from proving the technology to proving the industrial model,” said Sandy Westwater, Chief Executive Officer of Pulpex. “Every Manufacture Under Licence discussion we have from today is a conversation about a working manufacturing facility rather than a prototype.”

Pulpex’s patent-protected fibre bottles are manufactured from sustainably sourced wood pulp, contain no hidden plastic and are designed to be recycled through existing household paper and card recycling systems. The bottles have also been developed for compatibility with established filling infrastructure, providing brand owners with a practical route to adopt renewable, lower-carbon packaging without major production-line modifications.

Pulpex’s licensing model is designed to use the global network of established packaging production sites and experienced manufacturing partners already serving regional markets. By transferring its technology and operating model into this existing infrastructure, Pulpex can accelerate adoption, enable production closer to customer demand and support alignment with regional supply chains and recycling systems.

In Europe, Perlen Industrieholding AG has become Pulpex’s first Manufacture Under Licence partner, securing manufacturing exclusivity across Switzerland, Austria, Italy and southern Germany. In Asia, Alternicq has secured exclusive rights to develop the market across India and the Gulf Cooperation Council region as a precursor to a full manufacturing partnership. Together, these partnerships provide the foundation for scaling production from Glasgow’s 40 million-unit capacity towards the company’s ambition of one billion units annually through a global manufacturing network.

“With an initial capacity of up to 40 million units a year, Glasgow is the first step on our path to one billion units globally,” said Scott Winston, Managing Director and Chief Science and Sustainability Officer at Pulpex. “This facility demonstrates how UK-developed innovation can create skilled manufacturing jobs, support lower-carbon packaging solutions and provide a scalable platform for international growth.”

The Glasgow facility, supported by investment from the UK’s National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank, will act as the operational blueprint for future licensees, supporting commercial launches, technology transfer and international manufacturing partnerships. As additional manufacturing partners come online, Pulpex’s licensing-led growth model is designed to enable local production at scale while maintaining product consistency and compatibility with regional recycling infrastructure.

Further details at Pulpex.com 

ABOUT PULPEX

Pulpex is a packaging technology company developing recyclable fibre bottles made from sustainably sourced wood pulp. Designed to contain no hidden plastic and be recycled through existing paper and card recycling streams, the company’s patent-protected platform enables brands to adopt renewable packaging using established filling infrastructure. Through its Manufacture Under Licence model, Pulpex works with manufacturing partners to scale fibre bottle production globally while supporting local supply chains and recycling systems.

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New prices offer greater transparency for key chemical markets

LONDON, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched new monthly price indexes for the domestic European ethylene and propylene markets, bringing greater transparency to these important chemical markets.

The new monthly Argus northwest Europe ethylene and Argus northwest Europe propylene indexes provide independent price references for the industry and were developed through discussions with market participants. Initially useful as a point of refence and to aid traditional monthly contract price (MCP) negotiations, the prices are designed to be suitable for adoption as an alternative to or in combination with existing benchmarks in pricing mechanisms.

The indexes are calculated using a transparent and publicly available (LINK) methodology. Each is based on a weighted combination of spot ethylene or propylene prices and spot cracker feedstock prices for naphtha, propane and butane, all assessed by Argus.

European ethylene and propylene MCPs have served as benchmarks for long-term contract pricing for decades. They are set through independent negotiations between industry participants, historically providing a baseline against which companies could negotiate their own contract prices, including discounts to the MCPs. But participation in these negotiations has declined, underscoring the need for innovative new pricing tools.

Beyond the ethylene and propylene markets, MCPs are also key benchmarks for many downstream value chains, including polymers and other chemical products. As a result, they ultimately influence the prices of a wide range of industrial and consumer goods.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: “We are pleased to have worked closely with chemical market participants to develop a fresh approach to pricing. Our new indexes respond to reduced participation in the monthly contract price process and offer a fresh transparency which addresses a growing disconnect between contract prices and observed market values. Argus is committed to providing accurate, reliable and independent price assessments that bring clarity to complex and often opaque markets.”

Argus contact information 

London: Seana Lanigan
+44 20 7780 4200
Email Seana

Houston: Liz Orr
+1 713 968 0000
Email Liz

Singapore: Tomoko Hashimoto
+65 6496 9960
Email Tomoko

About Argus Media

Argus is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets. We offer essential price assessments, news, analytics, consulting services, data science tools and industry conferences to illuminate complex and opaque commodity markets.

Headquartered in London with over 1,500 staff, Argus is an independent media organisation with 32 offices in the world’s principal commodity trading hubs.

Companies, trading firms and governments in 160 countries around the world trust Argus data to make decisions, analyse situations, manage risk, facilitate trading and for long-term planning. Argus prices are used as trusted benchmarks around the world for pricing transportation, commodities and energy.

Founded in 1970, Argus remains a privately held UK-registered company owned by employee shareholders and global growth equity firm General Atlantic.

Trademark notices

ARGUS, the Argus Logo, ARGUS MEDIA and ILLUMINATING THE MARKETS, Argus publication titles and index names are trademarks of Argus Media Limited. Visit Trademarks for more information.

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SOURCE Argus Media

The palm oil and natural rubber group sets five ESG priorities for its operations in Africa and Asia, from supply chain traceability to human rights due diligence.

FRIBOURG, Switzerland, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Socfin Group, an agro-industrial group producing natural rubber and palm oil in Africa and Asia, has published its Sustainability Strategy 2026–2031 together with an updated Responsible Management Policy (RMP), establishing a common approach to guide the Group’s environmental, social and governance priorities through 2031.

The two documents are designed to work together. The Sustainability Strategy defines Socfin’s long-term direction, priorities and roadmap, while the RMP sets out the commitments, governance principles and responsibilities guiding implementation. Together with the Sustainability Action Plan, they connect commitments with implementation, performance monitoring and continuous improvement.

The Strategy is structured around five priorities:

Strengthening governance and transparencyProtecting nature and the climateEmpowering people and communitiesBuilding responsible and traceable supply chainsDriving ESG performance

These priorities cover biodiversity, human rights, supply chain traceability, ESG data reliability, certifications and strategic partnerships.

The updated RMP builds on principles first introduced in 2017 and revised in 2022. It is aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria and the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) Policy Framework.

Implementation will follow a three-phase roadmap through 2031, moving from compliance, structuring and strengthened commitments in 2026–2027 to deployment and consolidation in 2028–2029, followed by increased focus on performance monitoring and continuous improvement in 2030–2031.

“This Strategy gives us a clear direction for the next stage of our sustainability journey. It brings our environmental, social and governance priorities together within a common roadmap and strengthens the link between our commitments, their implementation and the way we measure progress across our Group.” Céline Schmitz, Head of Sustainability, Socfin Group

Read the full press release and access the documents

About Socfin

Founded in 1905, Socfin is an international agro-industrial group active in tropical agriculture, whose activities focus primarily on the production of natural rubber and palm oil. Operating in 10 countries across Africa and Asia, the Group draws on long-term experience in agricultural development. Its approach is based on the gradual strengthening of environmental and social practices, constructive stakeholder engagement and a continuous-improvement process, in line with internationally recognised standards.

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