Scandinavian pioneer

There's not exactly a shortage of suppliers in the market for plastic products for the kitchen, home and garden. When an allegedly new supplier gains a foothold here, there must be something behind it.
This is the case with the Orthex Group. A plastics specialist from Finland, the company is the Scandinavian market leader. This is due not least to it having invested at an early stage in the business of organic and recycled raw materials, and it now intends to make its mark in the European DIY market.
"Sustainability is an essential element in the corporate culture and strategy of the Orthex Group," says CEO Alexander Rosenlew emphatically. This statement sounds a little modest when considering the facts. Established in 1916, the company has been using recycled materials since the 1990s. In 2020, products made from recycled or biobased materials account for 20 per cent of production of the more than 22 million items leaving the three plants in Sweden and Finland each year.
"We manufacture more than 90 per cent of our products ourselves here," states Rosenlew. "In this way we can guarantee quality and safety." Specifically this means giving a ten-year guarantee.
It also means that sustainability plays a key role in the production processes too. The plant in Sweden is heated entirely using the waste heat from the machinery - even at minus 20 degrees outside, which can often be the case there.
The Orthex Group regards itself as a pioneer not least because it is no small player. With around 300 employees, it generates annual sales of more than EUR 65 million, supplying customers in over 40 countries. Its major customers include well-known retailers with operations across Europe.

"Throughout Europe," explains Michel Mercier, the Orthex sales director responsible for exports, "the DIY market is an important distribution channel for us." Here Orthex offers primarily storage solutions under the SmartStore brand. Its iconic SmartStore Classic boxes can be closed firmly and securely as well as being stackable on and inside one another. The concept is characterised by a large number of sizes and inserts for different contents and spaces, just as it is by "Made in Sweden", its food-safe properties and longe­vity. On top of these, the customer gets a…