Joseph Beattie, youngest son of Pyrotec MD, Rowan Beattie, is making his own mark in the packaging industry as evinced by his recent win at the Student Gold Pack awards. TRICIA FITCHET reports.
As winner of the Sappi Best/Nampak award for his interpretation of Nando’s Cherry on Top project at the Student Gold Pack awards in Cape Town, Pyrotec’s Joseph Beattie is forging ahead with a career in the packaging industry.
Since matriculating in 2001, this 25 year old has not allowed the grass to grow under his feet – he has completed a Higher Certificate in production and supervision, internal auditor training for ISO 9001:2000, GS1 South Africa Alliance Partner Programme training and is an external assessor with MAPPP-SETA. Currently studying for the National Diploma in Printing Management, he also completed the Packaging Technology Diploma in 2008.
‘I wanted to do the packaging course to learn about the industry as a whole and specifically to see how labels could be integrated into it,’ he says.
Progressing in the family business has seen him move from an apprentice roll label machine minder to production converting manager.
Besides work accomplishments, he also found the time to tie the knot in 2006 and make the SA invitation biathle team, a continuous run/swim/run marathon!
Passionate and driven are the terms that come to mind when meeting this young man whose hard work and determination were the drivers behind his win at the Student Gold Pack awards where he was tasked to create a premium pack that delivered a convenient consumption experience of a Nando’s fast-food dessert.
‘I changed the existing packaging from an aluminium foil container to a biodegradable one, and the closure from an SBS board to heat-sealed aluminium foil. I wanted it to be more environmentally friendly and the beauty of this container is that it can be heated and frozen quite easily,’ he says.
Improvements to the packaging included a heat-sealing closure to eliminate seepage and smooth interior container walls that ensure no dessert is left behind.
Particularly challenging was whether the foil could be heat sealed to the biodegradable container.
‘As far as I know, this hasn’t been done in South Africa, so I conducted a test in the production line where my pack would have the potential to be converted. It was a success, and this was probably the most important breakthrough of the project,’ he adds.
He immersed himself in the project, taking a sample of the original packaging to Hot Favorites in Epping where it was trialled through the entire production process from filling to cooking and sealing.
‘It’s no good having a great concept, you need to ask if it will work and the assignment put everything in perspective – from concept to converting to consumption. I redesigned the dessert pack to make it more environmentally friendly and chose a biodegradable container and a foil closure that could be easily and affordably integrated if Nando’s decided to use it,’ he says.
He is reticent about future plans but will say that he feels it is important to pass on the knowledge he has gained. ‘Lack of skills in the packaging industry is an issue and it’s important to remedy – now that I have taken on more of a managerial role, I want to grow other people,’ he concludes.
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