Creating trustworthy packaging Supravis

CREATING TRUSTWORTHY PACKAGING

Supravis’s response to the ecological requirements of the food market is the developed concept called 5-POINT ECOSTRATEGY

Supravis S.A., a company from Bydgoszcz, Poland, is the only European manufacturer to offer a comprehensive range of barrier flexible film packaging solutions for the fresh food industry. The company’s products are also used in medical and technical applications, in sectors such as electronics or automotive manufacturing.

The Supravis story begins back in 1985, when the company was founded. Four years later the production of polyamide casings was launched, while the cast line for production of multilayer barrier films was set in motion in 1999. In 2006 the company launched a UV printing machine that was one of the first of its kind in Europe and the first one in Poland. In 2008 Supravis began production of 7-layer high barrier thermoshrinkable sleeves and 7-layer high barrier casings. In 2014 Supravis acquired BRC Certification, while a year later company launched the blown extrusion line for barrier films and 11-layer production line for high barrier thermoshrinkable sleeves.

Development by investment

In the years 2012-2020 Supravis allocated more than €60 million to investments, a large portion of which was on its production lines. Single expenditures in the machinery park are close to €5 million each.

Year 2018 saw a huge investment in a finished goods warehouse with a capacity of more than 4,500 pallets. The same year, the company’s machinery park was also expanded by a new cast line and another line to produce thermoshrinkable sleeves. The year 2019 saw investment in a new flexographic printer.

Since then, although the world has been overshadowed by the pandemic, development plans haven’t been abandoned. The infrastructure investment package planned for 2020-2021 is primarily centred on the construction of new production facilities that would increase the company’s production space by one-third and secure a place for future investments. The expansion will allow Supravis to reorganise production so that each department has an optimally planned flow of materials, people and finished products.

The whole production process is realised in one production plant in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Despite more than 35 years of dynamic growth and development, Supravis remains a fully family-owned enterprise, currently in its second generation.

Wide range of production

Supravis S.A. is a global leader, serving customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Export sales account for around 60% of the company’s total sales.

Supravis offers a comprehensive range of barrier and high barrier packaging, such as: films for thermoforming, laminated films, thermoshrinkable sleeves, bags and films, vacuum pouches and casings.

The cast extrusion lines in the Supravis’ machinery park produce structures up to 11 layers. The annual production capacity in this segment is 18,000 tonnes. The company produces structures for lamination on a 9-layer blown line. In addition, it has triple-bubble

Production of cast films

Company laboratory works in a continuous system. We provide 24/7 quality control.

Warehouse of finished products with a capacity of more than 4500 pallets

lines for production of thermoshrinkable sleeves. In the field of flexographic printing, the company offers high-quality services with up to 10 colours. Annually, it prints 110,000,000 running metres of film. Supravis also produces vacuum pouches and shrink bags. Its annual production capacity in this segment is more than 150,000,000 units.

The Supravis portfolio also includes a wide range of casings, up to seven layers, which can be additionally printed in UV or solvent technology and shirred upon customer’s request.

The future starts today

The biggest development challenge faced by Supravis S.A. is to meet the requirements of the food sector in terms of ecological food packaging solutions. In 2019, the company started a cooperation with international organization CEFLEX, whose task is to enable representatives across the supply chain to achieve the goals of the circular economy.

ELBA S.p.A.

ELBA S.p.A. has been producing automatic high-speed pouch and bag making machines since 1956 and it boasts more than 2.500 active installations worldwide that cover several markets (food, pet food, groceries, dairy, chemical, diapers, agricultural, courier and much more), including medical and pharmaceutical ones. ELBA offers its customers tailor-made solutions, from the design to the production of the machines and, moreover, commissioning, training and after-sales support. ELBA’s machines have been designed to be flexible, technologically advanced and easy to use. The modular design allows the machines to be customized and their configuration can be upgraded at any time, to face new unpredictable market demands.

Blown film production line

Cooperation in the international arena gives the company access to the latest research and technological innovations necessary for the development of its production, taking into account the principles of sustainable development and care for the environment. Supravis S.A. closely follows the legislative changes that appear not only on behalf of the European Union, but also in individual member states.

Supravis’ response to the search and implementation of innovative solutions is, above all, to define the main needs of the packaging market in a long-term perspective. This is best demonstrated in the 5-POINT ECOSTRATEGY: 1. Recognize need for change, 2. Reconsider packaging design, 3. Reconfigure product offer, 4. Recover production waste and 5. Reconvert into new uses.

The starting point for the concept is to create a circular economy that minimises the negative effects of the use of plastics. Current expectations, implemented guidelines and future European legislation for plastic materials determine the development work towards expanding the company’s offer with MONO packaging, which guarantees the maintenance of the technical parameters of the film while homogenising its composition to such an extent that it is perfectly suitable for conventional recycling processes.

Products from the BIO line are designed based on renewable raw materials, which reduce the carbon footprint and ensure optimal use of natural resources. The implementation of this challenge for Supravis is also related to the investment in a technologically advanced mechanical recycling line, which will allow the reuse of waste generated during the production process. Long-term adaptation of such infrastructure will allow waste to be processed on a larger scale and to be used in other industries, such as construction, furniture and clothing, thus contributing towards a circular economy. n

For more info, visit: www.supravis.pl

SAKATA INX ESPAÑA, S.A.

Belonging to INX EUROPE, part of SAKATA INX Corp., the third largest producer of graphic inks Worldwide. SAKATA’s emphasis is to provide the best technology and know-how for customer’s application, working together as a co-development team, creating new products to bring the right chemistry and resources, together as directed by customers to increase productivity and reduce applied costs Designed in Japan own PU resin systems, with cutting-edge technology, specially to be used in inks, enable tailor-made solutions for every unique and special customer in packaging and converting market. Sakata offers complete line of high-performance ink and coating solutions technology for commercial, packaging, and digital applications fulfilling the global and local requirements for food safety.