A flexible solution

The flexible packaging market is a buoyant, growing segment of the overall packaging mix. Recent data from industry researcher Smithers Pira forecasts that the sector is set to grow by an average of 5% per annum from 2012 to 2017, at which point it will account for 37 million tonnes of material.

The research identifies the retail market as a key driver of demand, with a considerable 55% of flexible packaging materials being used in the construction of packaging for the wealth of products that flood onto the shelves of our local supermarkets on a daily basis.

Flexible stretch sleeves
Dow Europe and Switzerland-based flexible packaging specialist PetroplastVinora have developed a new stretch sleeve label, Visique, targeting brand owners who label highly contoured bottles and containers.

Said to combine "exceptional mechanical and optical properties", Visique stretch sleeve labels fit "like a second skin", according to the company, and carry a high gloss finish to enhance shelf standout.

Karin Katzer, Dow Performance Packaging marketing manager labels, films & adhesives, says: "This novel high performance stretch sleeve solution is the fruit of our know-how in designing innovative and distinct polyethylene resins, and PetroplastVinora's exceptional process experience and capabilities for blown film extrusion, printing and sleeve manufacturing".

Visique integrates a blown extrusion film, achieved without loss of machinability. According to Dow Europe, trials have demonstrated "exceptional processability", with its Elite Advanced Technology (AT) resins helping to enable the films to retain their stiffness while staying soft and offering a "snug fit" around containers.

"This state of the art technology helps to answer the call from the marketplace for thinner films that maintain their mechanical properties and optical appeal," says Kurt Brunner, technology leader sustainable packaging, Dow Europe.

Initially developed for the beverage market, the Visique stretch sleeve label can be adapted for a wide range of applications.

Coating developments
In the heavy machinery space, the new dsX flex-pack extrusion coating line from Davis-Standard is claimed to offer converters and package printers "a high value, competitively priced system that will give them distinct advantages when seeking to expand sales in the price-sensitive global flexible packaging market".

The pre-engineered line can be delivered in as little as six months - providing users with all the capabilities and flexibility needed to compete effectively for a variety of rapidly emerging application opportunities including salted snack and noodle bags, toothpaste tubes, sachet packs, personal care products, condiment packs and stand-up pouches.

Bob Florence, Davis-Standard executive vice president sales and marketing, says: "All of the components of the dsX flex-pack
line are based on our proven designs and technology that minimise technical risks and lower cost of ownership.

"We have included everything our customers will need to achieve their flexible packaging manufacturing objectives, whether they are converters looking to upgrade for higher throughputs and quality; multinational suppliers in search of expansion opportunities; high-quality printers who want to enhance their lamination processes; or start-ups who could benefit from partnering with a company that can lead them through all the steps that assure extrusion coating success."

The dsX line includes: flexible packaging unwinder; corona treaters; extrusion laminator; gravure primer coater dryer; pull roll with nip; winder; electrically heated, air-cooled Davis-Standard extruder with advanced feedscrew design; downstream, carriage, and controls (Siemens drives and controls used throughout).

Two versions are available: a longer line with the auxiliary unwinder placed close to the floor; the other raises the auxiliary unwinder to a position just atop the winder to shorten both the line length and the path of the auxiliary web to the laminator.

Laminate flexibles
On the European front, Sappi Fine Paper Europe andInnovia Films have combined to create a compostable laminate pack. The paper firm has partnered with the producer of high performance biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and cellulose films to offer what they claim is an alternative, combining "traditional technical properties and equivalent packaging performance".

According to the two companies, the best "end-of-life options" for flexible laminates comes in the form of industrial or home composting or anaerobic digestion that turns waste into a useful energy source.

Sappi business development manager Antoine de Forton says: "Many European countries have realised that home composting is a viable opportunity for managing some of the domestic household waste stream.

"It empowers home owners to take responsibility for their own degradable waste. Packs made from compostable packaging, such as the Innovia Films and Sappi solution, makes this task easier."

The latest developments come on the back of the new EU Packaging Directive that comes into force in 2014, which stipulates that the packaging producer will be responsible for ensuring that "packaging is not excessive for the purpose intended and is suitable for recycling, energy recovery or composting".

In addition, there will be an emphasis on integrating the minimisation of waste and recovery into the package at the design stage to ensure resource efficiencies as well as product protection.

Shelf life extension
Retail giant Tesco recently enlisted Paragon Print & Packaging to develop a new film that is claimed to extend the shelf life of the supermarket's asparagus by an additional two days. The new packaging utilises special laser perforation technology to pinpoint scientifically placed 'holes' of precisely calculated size to control and balance in-pack moisture levels, resulting in better product appearance, improved shelf life and reduced waste.

The technically engineered film was developed at Paragon Flexibles' food science facility and integrates perforation technology to help address a loss of moisture within the packs, which delays the "toughening and fibrousness" that onsets after four days on shelf.

Paragon says: "Keeping the asparagus fresher for longer, the packaging product significantly enhances flavour, texture andappearance to deliver an all-round optimal solution for asparagus packaging.

"As well as serving to enhance the product, the film also delivers a more hygienic solution in-store, compared to traditionally unpackaged bundles, via its physical barrier to contamination."

Tesco was impressed with the results of the new pre-printed format that has been launched in Tesco stores across the 2013 UK asparagus season.

Tesco technical manager for produce (potatoes & seasonal vegetables) Laura Drew explains: "We are delighted with results so far achieved during store trials. This new pack solution enables us to maximise our quality and freshness offer to customers and gives us greater flexibility with merchandising location in store."

Elsewhere in the flexible food packaging arena, UK-based eco-friendly manufacturer Biopac has also been making headway in developing innovative packaging products aimed at improving shelf life. The company maintains a lead role in a consortium called ISA-Pack, which last year secured a €3 million European Commission grant to help cut food spoilage.

The group, which also features Domino Printing Sciences, has been tasked with developing "fully sustainable packaging for fresh foods to extend shelf life, improve quality and reduce waste".

With levels of perishable fresh food wastage in the supply chain estimated to be about 10%, the consortium is aiming to halve this amount through the development of new packaging products.

Stretch wrap packaging produced from microbes that feed on sustainable natural materials may provide the answer to high performance protection stretch film packaging. And intelligent indicator systems that can be directly printed onto packaging materials will also be investigated to combine time/temperature indicators (to monitor bacterial growth) with freshness indicators.

Mark Brigden, technical director at Biopac says: "For retailers ISA-Pack has the potential to extend shelf life and reduce wastage of fresh foods. The opportunity to combine the use of sustainable materials and create significant supply chain benefits in extending shelf life is a major leap forward in fresh food packaging."

Chemical creations
While organisations such as ISA-Pack are striving to develop new ways to cut food spoilage, the refining and chemicals division of oil and gas company Total has recently unveiled a new metallocene polyethylene (mPE) film material designed for flexible packaging converters.

Total is pitching Lumicene Supertough 32ST05 at converters, claiming the material can help generate films that are reportedly
25% thinner and stronger. The grade serves as a lightweight solution for industrial packaging, personal care, hygiene and food sectors, offering a combination of strength and toughness, even at low temperatures.

The characteristics of the grade mean it is expected to allow converters to create a better film using less material, but with the easy processing advantages of low-density
polyethylene (LDPE).

As a result, thin, lightweight multilayer films can be created, which offer manufacturuers processability on extrusion and conversion lines.

The potential of the Lumicene Supertough 32ST05 film is demonstrated by several multilayer applications that include compression packaging, such as for heavy mattresses and lightweight diapers, deepfreeze and lamination films and shrink applications.

Total Polymers Division senior vice president Carl Van Camp said: "The downgauging story is a never-ending quest to push the thickness limits of packaging down. Where these limits of downgauging are reached, Supertough 32ST05 steps in to give the necessary boost in toughness to overcome the thickness barrier."

Supertough 32ST05 is a member of a new family within the company's Lumicene portfolio, which features easy processing, film mechanical properties and stiffness/optics balance.

Lumicene is said to be a new offering for the packaging film sector that comes with a combination of properties and is suitable for use with a wide range of film production processes.

The grade slate encompasses the full range of low (mLLDPE), medium (mMDPE) to high (mHDPE) densities.