Formed in 1951, Tetra Pak was based on the then new process of manufacturing tetrahedral packages for distributing milk, juice and similar products.
Tetra Pak was named after the Greek word tetra, meaning ‘four’, stemming from its core product, which was a tetrahedron-shaped package for the storage of cream.
The founder believed in the driving tenet that ‘the packaging should save more than it should cost’. He initiated the development of the tetrahedron shaped package.
It is the first time, someone tried to optimize a package by creating value throughout the chain, from producers to users, via transporters and retailer.
In 1951, Tetra Pak used a single packaging machine but by 1977 it manufactured 22 billion packages for worldwide usage.
In 1952 the first Tetra Pak machine was placed for commercial operation in Sweden.
Tetra Brik Aseptic was introduced in North America by Laiterie Cite in Canada in 1974. Concentrated juice is packaged in 200 ml Brik Aseptic cartons and becomes a major dairy product.
In 1991, Tetra Pak acquired Alfa Laval, another Swedish engineering company, mainly to access its dairy and food processing equipment technology.
The acquisition provided the new company name Tetra Laval, was an opportunity to diversify into solid food packaging.
Tetra Pak Company
