Jan 19 2015
TrakRap Secures Funding for Packaging Innovation
TrakRap has been awarded a grant by Innovate UK, a grant scheme which offers funding to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in R&D projects in the strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology.
Together with on-going commitments from existing investors, the £85k Smart: Innovate UK grant will enable the company to develop a proof of concept for its automated stretch wrapping system for heat sensitive products and aerosols. This is a key next step in the commercialisation of TrakRap's alternative solution to shrink wrapping in this highly challenging sector of the packaging market.
This latest Smart Grant follows the successful outcome of a proof of market study, also funded through Innovate UK, with detailed market and customer analysis performed by Ieading innovation consultancy Inventya.
Shrink wrapping is widely used within the secondary packaging industry, but carries inherent risk in wrapping aerosols or volatile products because of the high temperatures (around 200 degrees) required to shrink polyethylene film onto the product. TrakRap's concept, which is already being successfully used in the food and pharmaceutical sectors, eliminates the use of heat, as applied in shrink wrap systems, substituting it with seven microns thick C8 LLDPE stretch film - a 100% recyclable polymer film that is lighter and, when combined with the innovative TrakRap machine, uses over 90% less energy, less film and variable speeds of up to 50 packs per minute.
The grant from Innovate UK will allow TrakRap to explore the specific challenges associated with the packaging of volatile products, along with the technical feasibility and commercial potential of the application of the TrakRap system to the aerosol industry. A customer survey carried out amongst users of heat tunnel systems in the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy as part of this proof of market study, revealed that the potential for fire and risk of explosion were the main safety concerns, with more than half of respondents reporting between 1 and 3 safety related incidents per year. Other commercial issues identified included speed, flexibility and increasing energy costs.
Martin Leeming, CEO of TrakRap said: "Aerosols have always presented the packaging industry with some very significant challenges. The unique geometry of the pressurised canisters, along with highly inflammable propellants means safety and flexibility in pack formats is top of the list for manufacturers, over and above the every day considerations of cost and environment. The industry has managed this fantastically well over the years, but has always been seeking a safer, more energy efficient solution. We believe we have that solution in the TrakRap system."
For further information please contact Eloise Garrett or Sam Parish at The Right Agency on 0800 910 1898
