A “circular economy” glue

Principles of sustainability ahead of one’s time distinguish the activity of Menichetti, which has been producing organic glues for boxes, papermaking and bookbinding since 1950: faithful to a tradition that derives from the past, it puts its experience at the service of today’s packaging industry. Meri Menichetti, at the head of the family business, tells us about it.

It was in the 1950s, when Vincenzo Menichetti, founder of the family business now in its fourth generation, founded a “company” in the countryside of Fucecchio, in the province of Florence, that produced glue using by-products from the tannery. “And so he gave life, in a completely unconscious way, to what today is called circular economy, including the famous “3 R’s”: reduce, reuse, recycle” points out Meri Menichetti, managing director of the Tuscan company, who has never abandoned the old headquarters.

«Starting from there - continues the owner - over the years, we have written much of the history of packaging (the simple “boxes” of the beginnings, Ed.), until we became market leader in the production of adhesives, first in Italy and then in Europe».

Knowing how to keep up with the times

«Our strength lies in experience, that which is not learned but handed down; and even today our goal is to provide a product capable of gluing increasingly attractive and difficult papers, seeking a perfect “craftsmanslike” quality but with the speed of automation. Starting with shoe boxes, we continued onto boxes for games, currently in great demand, until we arrived at luxury packaging, a promotional tool for many sectors, from cosmetics to perfumery, from jewelry to fashion, from fine food to wines and spirits, from audiovisuals to optics».

Because, in fact, Menichetti Glues & Adhesives, from the simple “boxes” of the beginnings, has moved on to adroitly serve evolved paper&board converting: cases, boxes, folding and self-assembling boxes...

«A packaging that reinvents itself thanks to the mastery in gluing paper and cardboard in the most varied ways that make the container unique. In the midst of all this, there is our protein glue, which glues in a natural way but at high speed, a peculiarity this which refers to the second “historical” sector of reference, the bookbinding, that is the gluing of hard covers of books, binders, files, samples, photo albums...».

But in addition to gluing “naturally”, protein glue reveals its biodegradability right from the raw material, the perfect interpreter of a logic of circular economy.

«Our glue - explains Menichetti - is in fact derived from recycled material and with 100% natural, water-based formulations; consequently, even the packaging produced is totally eco-friendly compared to solutions that, using synthetic glues such as hot melt and vinyl glues, cannot be considered totally biodegradable. As proof, a reminder that last December also E.N.E.A. cited Menichetti products as an example of eco-compatibility, in line with the most advanced principles of environmental sustainability».

The right size and the right tools

«We are big enough to ensure the quality and control required by large companies, but at the same time, we are small enough to be able to respond to any requirement in a flexible and dynamic way. Constantly by the customer’s side, we hold courses for machine operators to make the best use of our products; we can tailor and customize boxes and cases in our climatic chamber to test their resistance under extremely stressful temperature and humidity conditions. In short - concludes Meri Menichetti - when the luxury brands started talking about green, sustainability and naturalness, recyclability and circular economy, we were already there, completely ready. Even 70 years ahead of time!».