Sustainable plastic production at Houweling Production bv
Houweling Production manufactures high-quality jerrycans and watering cans from recycled plastic using sustainable machinery run on green energy. With its short supply chain, innovative technologies and custom-made solutions, Houweling offers its customers sustainable packaging customised to match their needs. Houweling Production bv has three state-of-the-art machines to carry out the blow moulding production.
Short supply chain due to own transport and recoservice
We are proud that we can offer our customers a short supply chain thanks to our own transport and recoservice. This service collects the used packaging from our customers’ locations and reuses them for the production of new plastic products. This allows our customers to profit from the simplicity of a short supply chain, while we are contributing to making the world more sustainable at the same time.
Collaboration of plastic-processing companies for sustainable production
Collaboration with plastic-processing companies is essential for a more sustainable production, which is why we at Houweling Group are bundling the knowledge and expertise of a group of plastic-processing companies. Our production space is housed in part of our headquarters in Bleiswijk. Currently, our production is primarily focused on making jerrycans and watering cans from 45% to 100% recycled plastic. Each year we are reusing around 800,000 kg of plastic.
Sustainable jerrycans made from 100% recycled material of the same quality as virgin material
The jerrycans and caps that we produce in our factory from 100% recycled material are of the same high quality as those made of virgin material. In addition, recycled cans lead to CO2 savings of up to 95%, and no fossil fuel raw materials are used. We produce cans with volumes of 2.5 L, 5 L non-stackable, 10 L (with an emphasis on UN), 20 L and 25 L. We have the capacity to produce 8 million units annually.
Innovations in r-HDPE: jerrycans made from ocean waste
In January 2018 we had a first: the introduction of an in-house developed jerrycan made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. It’s the best alternative to a jerrycan made of virgin raw material with all of the associated sustainable benefits. In 2022 there was another first in the factory: the first blow moulding jerrycan in the world made from ocean waste.
It’s an innovation that we are justly proud of given how difficult it is to make a high-quality product from low-quality waste. And we have proven that it is possible and that plastic is a substance that is perfectly suited for a circular economy, even when it is a waste product. The difference lies in how we deal with it.
Machinery run on green energy
At Houweling there is a focus on sustainability, not only by producing sustainable products, but also in our production methods. Our factory has state-of-the-art electric machines that run on sustainable energy generated by our own solar panels. In addition, we are utilising the residual heat to keep our new headquarters warm.
Custom-made plastic packaging for customers
Many countries are continuously tightening the rules regarding the use of recycled material. The Houweling Group can flexibly adjust to these changes and come up with ideas for its customers. For example, in the UK there is a ruling that packaging must contain at least 30% recycled material, otherwise a surcharge will be imposed. Thanks to our flexible approach, we can adjust the percentage of recycled material in our packaging to match the changing legislation. This allows us to customise the order to match the customer’s requests and requirements. For one of our customers in the UK, for example, we produce 220,000 customised 20 L jerrycans each year in black, blue and grey.
Another example involves the watering cans for Elho based on their own mould. We use the mould in our machines and produce the watering cans in the preferred material and the desired quantity. This allows us to serve our customers to their specifications and meet their particular needs.
