The Packman | November-December 2021

Volume 4 l Issue 3 l NoVemBeR-DeCemBeR 2021

Rs. 150

FSSAI TO INTRODUCE ‘FRONT-OF-PACKAGE LABEL’ IN INDIA

Interview with Dinesh Mungi of B&R Industrial Automation

Interview with Jens Bauer of BillerudKorsnäs

Interview with Sanjay Gupta of DS Group

Editorial

F

ood Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to put food safety labels on the front side of packaged food depending on the harm fat, sugar and salt cause to human health. Front of Package labels seek to provide simple nutrition information in a more accessible location instead on the back or side of packages. At a meeting with all stakeholders called by FSSAI in June, the industry said the food safety labeling on salt, sugar and fat should be based on serve-size rather than quantity in the packet basis as this is what the consumer eats.

A 2018 study in Brazil and Chile on impacts of food-safety labeling on people has shown that it leads to reduction in consumption of ultra-processed food products, which are considered bad for human health. Around half of the processed food sold in the United States is ultra-processed, meaning very less natural products are used. Please share with us your feedback about FSSAI’s decision to introduce ‘Front-of-Package label’ in India.

Miraclon has announced the 13 winners of the Global Flexo Innovation Awards, which recognize businesses that are driving the transformation of the flexo industry with the help of Kodak Flexcel NX Technology. Over 200 entries from 24 countries were judged by an independent panel of eight flexo industry experts during a hybrid session that saw the judges convene both in person and through digital collaboration applications. Read the detailed story in this edition.

In this issue, Sanjay Gupta, vice president – corporate procurement and packaging development, DS Group, speaks about packaging innovations, procurement challenges and the four pillars of sustainability. Gupta also shares his view on the increased raw material price and its impact on the packaging industry. Gaurav Talwar, managing director of Brilliant Polymers, shares his views about the flexible packaging industry while expecting strong growth, resulting from increased demand in end-use industries, such as food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, and pharmaceutical. Vinay Bhardwaj, vice president – flexible packaging and tobacco, Siegwerk, India speaks about Siegwerk’s stand on food safety and sustainability compliance as well as the company’s continuous move towards a toluene-free work environment and products. Not just these, there are several other interviews in this edition. We hope you will enjoy reading them all.

In his story, ‘The pursuit of sustainability – beyond recycling,’ Jaideep Gokhale, talks about the need to balance the benefits of packaging, while making choices that minimize the impact of our decisions on the environment.

Senthil Kumar Venkataramanujulu writes why digitization is the key to the future of the consumer packaged goods market.

All these and other interesting stories and news in this edition. We will see you again in the New Year! Stay safe in the meantime, and thank you all for your support this year.

– Mahan Hazarika, Editor, editor@thepackman.in

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Contents Design and Marketing

PAGE 23

PAGE 34

PAGE 26

Editorial----------------------------------------------03

Sain Packaging installs Bobst Expertfold 1100 A2 folder-gluer---------------23

IEC+ aims to double its size by year-end, joins IM Group-------------------------------------44

SIG launches family-size packaging combivita-----------------------------24

H.B. Fuller India introduces adhesive for paper straws---------------------------------------45

FLEXIBLES

PAPER PACKAGING

Editorial

DESIGN AND MARKETING

Olay launches Easy Open Lid designed with and for disabled consumers-------------- 6 Greiner Pacakging develops resealable lid for dairy packaging---------------------------- 6 Tetra Pak & Appetite Creative collaborate on AR-enabled beverage carton--------------- 8 HP Indigo helped Diageo deliver an exclusive product experience------------------- 9

Brilliant Polymers emerges more robust in laminating adhesives landscape--------------26 UFlex commissions BOPET films plant in Nigeria-----------------------------28 France to ban plastic packaging fruit and vegetables from January 2022----29

Karlo Spoon wins European Carton Excellence Award 2021-------------------------10

Bobst completes acquisition of Cerutti------30

PREPRESS AND SOFTWARE

Davis-Standard to be acquired by Gamut Capital Management-------------------32

Asahi Photoproducts receives PAS 2050 Certification---------------------------12 DuPont launches UV-LED optimized plate family----------------------------12 Miraclon announces winners of the 2021 Global Flexo Innovation Awards-- 13 Cliart installs ThermoFlexX 60 digital imager---------------------------------------15

PACKAGING PRODUCTION

Interview with Sanjay Gupta of DS Group-------------------------------------------16 Why digitization is the key to the future of consumer packaged goods market----------18 The pursuit of sustainability – beyond recycling----------------------------------19

MONOCARTON

Industriya Tsveta sets on Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-7+L with advanced Push to Stop solutions---------------------------22

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Comexi inaugurates new Technology Center-------------------------------31

LABELS

“We are very happy that we did not sell Gallus”---------------------------34 Avery Dennison introduces three sustainable papers------------------------36 L.comFine installs second Nilpeter FA-Line-----------------------------------37 FSSAI to introduce ‘Front-of-Package label’ in India--------------38

CODING AND MARKING

Domino launches Cx350i piezo inkjet technology------------------------------------------40

INKS AND CONSUMABLES

An interview with Vinay Bhardwaj of Siegwerk India-------------------------------------42 Flint Group Packaging Inks launches ONECode Universal Bases--------------------43

BillerudKorsnäs’ sustainable and safe packaging solutions for Indian sweets and snacks industry------------------------------------46 Mondi & Taurus Packaging collaborate to create wet strength paper shopping bag----47

AUTOMATION

“Automation in India is now a necessity for every industry”-------------------------------------48

FILLING AND SEALING

Bad Meinberger mineral water bottling plant invests in KHS technology----------------------50 Sidel Super Combi Compact line for Zulal Water Factory in Sharjah-----------------------52 Molkerei Biedermann installs Ishida multihead weigher--------------------------------53

INDUSTRY NEWS

New organics recycling program allows Cortec to use its own compostable bags---54 IPAMA announces team for 2021-23, new dates for Printpack--------54 Cosmo Films elevates Pankaj Poddar as the Group CEO---------------------55 Mitsubishi HiTec Paper adds Jetscript GS 1062---------------------------------55 UPM launches renewable product to reduce CO2 footprint of rubber and plastics applications------------------------56 New leadership team at LMAI-----------------57 Mondi and Vafo Group unleash recyclable dog food packaging----------------57

Design and Marketing

z Accessibility for everyone

Olay launches Easy Open Lid designed with and for disabled consumers

O

lay North America is introducing the Easy Open Lid, a limited-edition prototype that it says is developed with and for people with disabilities. The Easy Open Lid will be incorporated into the product design of Olay’s most popular products – the Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, Vitamin C + Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer, Retinol 24 Face Moisturizer and Collagen Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer.

To create the design, Olay met with consumers with a wide range of conditions, from dexterity issues and limb differences, to chronic issues causing joint pain and vision impairments. The team also met with external experts and incorporated personal experiences from team members into the new product design.

“Accessibility makes things better for everyone,” said journalist and model Madison Lawson who is living with

to life. “Everyone’s been there where you get product on your hands or you’re trying to open something and you can’t, so I think it’s cool that this is designed with us specifically in mind but it also makes everyone’s life better.”

Easy Open Lid – Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream

muscular dystrophy. She is one of the key members with whom Olay worked closely with to bring this jar

Chris Heiert, senior vice president of Olay, said, “As a global brand, it’s our responsibility to ensure that all consumers have access to products that serve their needs and fit seamlessly into their daily lives. But we can’t do it alone, which is why we’ve chosen not to patent this lid, and rather share the design widely with the beauty community. Our hope is that others will join us in our efforts in making products more accessible for everyone.”

Olay is part of P&G, which has pledged to make its packaging more accessible for disabled people by 2025. z

z Sustainability with convenience

Greiner Pacakging develops resealable lid for dairy packaging

G

reiner Packaging has developed a range of two-in-one sealing and re-closable lids which are designed to work with its established and successful direct-printed, sleeved and K3 cardboard-plastic combination packaging solutions.

First developed in 1997, for the Czech Republic’s largest milk processor Madeta, the unique sealing and resealable solution is reportedly popular in the

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region and is used for cream butters by four dairies in Czechia, two dairies in Slovakia, and is also used for mustard products.

and uses up to 30% less plastic than alternatives. It is also 100% recyclable as it is a monomaterial, with both the cup and lid made from polypropylene (PP).

“Since 1997, Greiner Packaging has delivered a considerable amount of cup + lid packs into the Czechia and Slovakian markets,” says Petr Simek, sales and marketing manager. “The unique sustainable solution replaces the use of non-resealable aluminum

“The unique solution has been designed to solve issues around hot-filling at 65-75˚C, without the cup deforming on cooling. Using the sealing and re-closable PP lid on Greiner Packaging’s 100% recyclable K3 pack also creates a monomaterial when the cardboard outer

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Design and Marketing wrap – which is made from 100% recycled paper – is removed for recycling.”

According to Greiner Packaging, the turnkey solution replaces the use of non-resealable aluminum and uses up to 30% less plastic than alternatives. It is also 100% recyclable as it is a monomaterial, with both the cup and lid made from polypropylene (PP). The company adds that using the sealing and re-closable PP lid on Greiner Packaging’s 100% recyclable K3 pack also creates a monomaterial when the cardboard outer wrap – which is made from 100% recycled paper – is removed for recycling. z

The solution has been designed to solve issues around hot-filling at 65-75˚C, without the cup deforming on cooling

z Encouraging healthy consumer lifestyles

Tetra Pak & Appetite Creative collaborate on AR-enabled beverage carton

C

reative tech company Appetite Creative and Swiss dairy company Emmi are launching an augmented reality (AR)-enabled connectivity experience on Tetra Pak’s Tetra Stelo Aseptic 1000 carton packs, aiming to encourage healthy consumer lifestyles via its Good Day milk portfolio.

In Emmi’s new campaign, consumers can scan the Tetra Pak carton with their smartphone camera to reveal an AR animation of the pack. Four interactive games allow users to playfully explore Emmi’s milk drinks Barista, High Protein or Milk Drink and their health benefits.

The app features interactive games, such as ‘Move your Body’, which allows consumers to choose between Barista, High Protein, or Milk Drink and collect ingredients like fruit and oats to add to their breakfast bowl, as a way to introduce Emmi’s new milk drinks.

Emmi adds that the ‘Breakfast Ninja’ 2D game encourages users to slice different breakfast ingredients as quickly as possible.

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At the end of each game, Emmi says that recipe ideas and inspirational quotes are shared. These are apparently updated regularly. The app also tracks real-time interaction, offering Emmi the opportunity to optimize marketing.

“There’s a misconception that not many consumers bother to scan QR codes and near-field communication on packaging. We actually see a 14% click-through rate (CTR), which is much higher than a digital advertising campaign – usually around 0.01% CTR,” explains Appetite Creative’s managing director Jenny Stanley.

Amir Maslic, senior brand management at Emmi, says, “Our interactive connected experiences are hugely popular and successful across our range of products and packaging. We are pleased to be brightening the day of our customers with this new sleeker Emmi good day packaging and a connected experience which combines fun games and education about how to be happier and healthier.” z

Consumers can scan the Tetra Pak carton with their smartphone camera to reveal an AR animation of the pack

Design and Marketing

z Trigon Digital’s expertise and HP Indigo 25K Digital Press

HP Indigo helped Diageo deliver an exclusive product experience

W

hen India’s leading beverage company Diageo India set out to launch India’s first small-batch, artisanal craft, 100% rice whisky in just 80 days, it knew it wasn’t only the blend that had to be flawless.

The limited-edition whisky has been launched in an exclusive batch of 2,000 numbered bottles

“This was an opportunity to create a luxury whisky in India and a key part of our company’s premiumization strategy. So, there was enormous pressure to get every detail – from the flavor to the packaging and product experience – perfect,” says Vikram Damodaran, Diageo India’s chief innovation officer.

The beautiful golden liquid blend is like no other whisky in India as it’s made of locally-sourced rice from the northern frontiers of Punjab, which then travels over 2,000 km to be matured in Goa in bourbon casks over 3 years, and then finished in PX Sherry and Cherrywood casks in a 50-year-old warehouse. This limited-edition whisky has been launched in an exclusive batch of 2,000 numbered bottles, another first for the country.

To emphasize the exclusivity of its whisky, Diageo India called on Trigon Digital’s expertise and the cutting-edge HP Indigo 25K Digital Press to help it create individually numbered bottles.

Delivering small-batch and variable printing at speed “Due to the small batch size and variable printing needed, we knew it wasn’t going to be possible to use conventional printing technology here. We also needed a fast turnaround if we were to meet our extremely ambitious timeline for launching the brand – which was just 80 days,” says Hiren Dedhia, Diageo India’s design head.

After weighing up the options, the team at Diageo India recognized that Trigon’s HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press would be much the best choice for its job. As digital printing doesn’t require printing plates, the HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press enables Trigon to offer its

customers print runs with no minimum size, greater flexibility, and shorter lead times. It also allows Trigon to automate more production processes, helping them to deliver jobs with maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

The printer’s variable data printing feature, used in combination with HP SmartStream Designer software, meant Trigon was able to easily accommodate Diageo India’s request for each bottle to feature its own unique number.

Providing exceptional color matching capabilities For Diageo India’s design team, HP Indigo’s ability to print on a huge range of substrates – from plastic films and foils to glass and wood – and exceptional color matching capabilities were also significant advantages.

“Even though each bottle was different, we needed our branding and the rest of the packaging to be consistent across the whole print run,” says Dedhia.

Experimenting with an uncoated substrate for the first

time meant the stakes were even higher for the company. “It was a risk but HP Indigo’s ability to produce consistently amazing print quality regardless of the substrate meant we got the perfect color match we were after. The team at our design agency Butterfly Canon was amazed at how good it was,” says Dedhia.

With the HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press, Trigon was also able to turn the job around quickly without compromising on quality, helping the company to meet its tight timeline for completing the project.

“Using the HP Indigo Press enabled us to realize our goal of giving each bottle of our limited-edition whisky its own unique number. By doing so, we’ve been able to create an exclusive product experience that will delight whisky connoisseurs, collectors of artisanal liquors and younger generations of whisky enthusiasts who particularly appreciate hyper-personalized experiences. This approach is also helping to bolster our position as a leader in the premium alcoholic beverage market,” says Damodaran. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Design and Marketing

z Sustainable innovation of Cardbox Packaging

Karlo Spoon wins European Carton Excellence Award 2021

C

ardbox Packaging has been recognized by the organizers of European Carton Excellence Award and earned Innovations Award 2021 with Karlo Spoon. It is already the second hit of Cardbox Packaging in the competition.

The previous year Cuckoo Ice Cream won in the same category. With this recognition, the company can enter Worldstar Packaging Awards 2022.

In response to the 2021 ban on disposable plastic cutlery, Cardbox Packaging presented its first cardboard spoon on the market in 2020. The further development, however, resulted in an even smarter packaging solution for dairy and convenience food.

Introducing the Karlo Spoon, a joint development with Greiner Packaging, is another step forward in this project which has become an official part of the portfolio in February 2021. Up until now, millions of spoons have been sold.

Klaus Hockl, managing director of the group, says, “It is another sustainable innovation of Cardbox Packaging which has been awarded. We are highly motivated that our innovative solutions will be a part of our daily life in the future. We are very proud of our development team.”

The innovative spoon seems to be a game changer in disposable cutlery range. Jean-René Truttmann, a member of the jury, says, “The jury has not seen many products on the market like this spoon and we believe it will be really popular with consumers. The spoon is delivered folded so is very compact, is easy to unpack and assemble and the structural design ensures that it holds food really well. Disposable cutlery was previously made of plastic, sometimes of wood, but this one is 100% paper based making it recyclable and sustainable.”

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Cardbox Packaging is an international producer of high-quality and sophisticated cardboard packaging in the luxury and branded goods sector, with a particular emphasis on the food industry. Cardbox Packaging benefits from its lean structure with locations in Austria, the Czech Republic, Serbia and the United States (Pittston, PA). It is an attractive, expert partner for the European and American markets, particularly in the confectionery, food, cosmetics, and healthcare sectors. z

Cardbox Packaging presented its first cardboard spoon on the market in 2020

Up until now, millions of spoons have been sold

The right paper for Indian snacks

Preserve the taste and looks with a 100% natural grease-repellent paper for bags & wraps Packaging that looks beautiful and stays beautiful Healthy for consumers – food remains fresh A sustainable choice – paper from cultivated forests In the competitive Indian snack and fast food business, you are what you serve. Packaging from BillerudKorsnäs makes the food look just as good in the wrap or bag as it did in the frying pan. The packaging paper is free from optical brightening agents – good for consumer health and the environment.

Protect your brand, not just the product. Scan the code for more info.

billerudkorsnas.com Mail: Zaheer.Abbas@billerudkorsnas.com Mobile: +919599225212

Prepress and Software

z Important step towards achieving Carbon Neutral status

Asahi Photoproducts receives PAS 2050 Certification

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sahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, has received PAS 2050 certification by the Carbon Trust for its AWPTMDEF/DEW CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates. This certification is the starting point for Asahi to implement a Carbon Management Plan in order to drive product development in harmony with the environment. The ultimate goal is to achieve PAS 2060 Carbon Neutral certification soon. These efforts are in line with the Carbon Neutrality Policy of Asahi Kasei Group with the ambition of the entire corporate operation becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

“For many years, Asahi Photoproducts has recognized that climate change is a serious global issue, impacting both the natural environment and society as a whole,” said Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager at Asahi Photoproducts, a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei.

“Its group mission has been and continues to be, to contribute to life and living for people around the world.

This Carbon Trust certification is an important step for us toward the achievement of Carbon Neutral status.

PAS 2050 takes a process life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to evaluating the GHG emissions associated with goods or services, enabling companies like ours to identify ways to minimize emissions across the entire product system.” z

z Cyrel Lightning plate

DuPont launches UV-LED optimized plate family

D

uPont Cyrel Solutions has introduced the new Cyrel Lightning plate family at the FTA’s Fall Conference in Frisco, TX, 3-6 October. The new printing plates are reportedly optimized for UV-LED exposure systems, such as the Esko XPS Crystal, to make full use of these systems’ capabilities. According to Dupont, the benefits of the plates include a further optimized match between access time and plate performance, while not compromising the print quality.

Previously, exposure settings on LED units often had to be adjusted for either higher quality or shorter access time. The company says that Cyrel Lightning

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plates challenge this as they were formulated from the ground up with UV-LED exposure characteristics in mind.

“Cyrel Lightning plates use chemistries with tailored UV profiles to achieve tunability between surface- and through-cures. This innovation enables a balanced cure that can be tailored to the unique dynamics of a scanned LED exposure sequence. At the same time, it provides sufficient through-cure using a finely tuned UV absorption profile,” says Suniti Moudgil, global technology leader at DuPont. Cyrel LSH is the first of the new range of photopolymers plates and will be available in 045 and 067 gauges; it is solvent

processable and comes with certified exposure recipes in the latest software of the Esko XPS Crystal units.

Cyber Graphics, a tradeshop from Memphis Tennessee, was one of the pioneers in adapting UV-LED technology in their prepress operation and has been involved early during the external evaluation of the new photopolymer. “In flexo, we constantly talk about driving process optimization. So, having a plate that is tuned for LED exposures, driving throughput, not having the exposure be a bottleneck with LED technology, while still delivering the printing quality that we expect, was a great benefit to our business,” said Kevin Bourquin, vice president at Cyber Graphics. z

Prepress and Software

z Transforming flexo industry with Kodak Flexcel NX Technology

Miraclon announces winners of the 2021 Global Flexo Innovation Awards Miraclon has announced the 13 winners of the Global Flexo Innovation Awards, which recognize businesses that are driving the transformation of the flexo industry with the help of Kodak Flexcel NX Technology. Over 200 entries from 24 countries were judged by an independent panel of eight flexo industry experts during a hybrid session that saw the judges convene both in person and through digital collaboration applications.

W

ith high quality a pre-condition of entry, submissions were evaluated on four criteria: the efficiency of the company’s workflow, conversion from other print processes to flexo, the degree of creativity in the graphic design and the level of sustainable business practices in the project. Excellence in two categories received a silver award (seven winners), in three categories a gold award (five winners) and in all four categories a platinum award, demonstrating to the industry and to the winner’s customers a commitment to the highest level of print production. This year, Lorytex (Uruguay) became the first winner ever to receive the platinum commendation. The judges also awarded Highest Honors to four of the winners that they believed demonstrated the biggest impact on advancing the flexo printing process.

“At a time where all of us were experiencing the additional challenges because of the pandemic, these winners prove that we’re not only part of an incredibly resilient industry, but one that continues to innovate with companies that drive creativity and efficient, consistent and sustainable manufacturing processes,” comments Grant Blewett, Chief Commercial Director, Miraclon. “The high conversion rates from other printing processes to flexo, focus on fixed color palette printing, and efforts to maximize on-press productivity and efficiency that also contribute to sustainability that we have seen in so many of the entries, all demonstrate how much the flexo industry is set to become the print process of choice for packaging.”

well as driving the transformation of the flexo printing industry,” continues Grant. “Each one of the winners, as well as the companies that received special mentions, demonstrated incredible commitment to the advancement of flexo and set great examples of what can be achieved when fully utilizing the tools and technology at their disposal; it should motivate the rest of the industry to do the same.”

Highest Honors Winners Numex Blocks India - The customer wanted to explore a ‘direct-to-tube’ printing workflow to remove the variability in recycling and eliminate a manufacturing step. As most jobs were eight colors, Numex had detailed discussions with printer and brand to establish how best to improve colors or textures, including the choice of varnish.

Using Flexcel NX Plates, excellent results were achieved at 150 lpi and a production speed of 130 tubes per minute.

Out of the top 13 companies, seven winners are based in Latin America, three in Europe, two in North America, and one in the Asia Pacific region. “We’re pleased to see companies from around the world innovating and being creative in growing their businesses as

Bosisio SA, Celomat SA & Mondelez SA, Argentina (Joint Entry) – Gold Bosisio SA and Celomat worked together to prove flexo a cost-effective and high-quality alternative to gravure for Mondelez, meeting their need for shorter turnaround times and lower costs. This included Expanded Color Gamut (ECG) implementation.

Bosisio, Celomat & Mondelez, Argentina (Joint Entry) - Gold

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Prepress and Software Fathom Optics, Grace Label Inc and Confluence Brewing Company, United States (Joint Entry) – Gold In what the judges described as “a really impressive innovation,” Grace Label and Fathom Optics created a striking 3D multi-dimensional moving image on a standard flexo press without any additional steps – an achievement the judges had not seen before.

Platinum

Silver

Lorytex, Uruguay Lorytex became the first-ever GFIA Platinum winner with an outstanding all-round performance. Transforming flexible packaging that was previously gravure printed in China to local flexo production, the entry demonstrated exceptional cooperation between Lorytex, the converter and the brand to overcome several technical challenges and implement an ECG workflow.

Litoplas, Colombia This gravure to flexo conversion highlights what is possible when the converter and brand work together closely. The three jobs entered are all examples of Expanded Color Gamut (ECG) projects. Litoplas Colombia did an excellent job of implementing the workflow and demonstrating the company could achieve the savings and quality levels required by a major global brand.

Numex Blocks, India

Fathom Optics, Grace Label, and Confluence Brewing Company, United States (Joint Entry) - Gold

Lorytex, Uruguay

Gold Mega Embalagens, Multipack & Pontyn, Brazil (Joint Entry) – Silver Mega Embalagens combined the Extended Color Gamut (ECG) process with the Flexcel NX printing matrices to combine four different jobs, resulting in a saving of three printing setups and 23 plates in addition to the 40% reduction in setup time.

Sunshine FPC & Trisoft Graphics, United States (Joint Entry) – Gold California-based Sunshine FPC, as vertically integrated manufacturer, and prepress trade shop, Trisoft, converted a gravure job imported from overseas, thus yielding freight and time savings as well as improved quality control. By printing on a sustainable plant-based substrate, Sunshine reduced the total gauge, size and dimension of the package, eliminating a lamination process and reducing waste and power consumption.

Sunshine FPC & Trisoft Graphics, United States (Joint Entry) - Gold

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Cromograf & Strong SA, Uruguay (Joint Entry) The four-color Expanded Color Gamut (ECG) workflow implemented by Cromograf and Strong delivers considerable savings in plates, mounting tapes, special inks and solvents, as well as faster press set-up.

The entry also showed design innovations, including moving press marks inside the print; the resulting 1% reduction in substrate consumption translates into significant cost savings.

U. Günther GmbH & Flexo-Service Cl. Jaehde GmbH, Germany (Joint Entry) U. Günther’s Impulse Screen technology and FLEXCEL NX Plates enable older flexo presses and aniloxes to print at higher standard resolutions — up to 269 lpi instead of 150 lpi — matching, and often exceeding, the results possible with gravure. Other benefits recorded include resolution two times finer than gravure; ink savings of up to 15% per job; and speed increases of up to 25% per run.

U. Günther & Flexo-Service Jaehde, Germany. (Joint Entry)

The customer wanted to explore a ‘direct-to-tube’ printing workflow to remove the variability in recycling and eliminate a manufacturing step. As most jobs were eight colors, Numex had detailed discussions with printer and brand to establish how best to improve colors or textures, including the choice of varnish.

Using FLEXCEL NX Plates, excellent results were achieved at 150 lpi and a production speed of 130 tubes per minute.

Tadam & Gruppo Sada, Italy (Joint Entry) Tadam’s customer Sada proposed converting from offset to flexo to streamline the production workflow, and as a result shortened the production time from 20 working days to six hours. The job was printed using FLEXCEL NXC Plates and DIGICAP NX Advanced Patterning, achieving a minimum dot hold of 1%.

Tadam & Gruppo Sada spa, Italy (Joint Entry)

Technofilms, Guatemala Technofilms reduced the spot colors used in this job from four to two, translating into a 22% reduction in set-up times. In another job, the company used new packaging materials manufactured from more sustainable polyethylene foam films to reduce weight – by 11% in this case – and enable more efficient packing for transit.

Prepress and Software Teruel – Papeis Amalia Ltd, Brazil Teruel worked with three brands to adapt and create packaging designs and new substrates that not only matched the quality of the product when previously produced gravure, but also enhanced sustainability credentials and eliminated steps in the post-print process to significantly shorten production times.

Victory Graphics & Caps Cases, United Kingdom (Joint Entry) Produced for luxury fashion brand The Rake, Victory and Caps used a single FLEXCEL NX Plate to create the photographic-quality image with its challenging

Victory Graphics & Caps Cases, United Kingdom (Joint Entry)

mix of highlights and dark shadows. Printed inside the box, the image created an enhanced ‘unboxing’ experience for consumers in a highly efficient manner — the post-print cost 30% less than litho, and flexo post-print also significantly reduces lead time for re-orders.

In addition to the 13 winners, the judges highlighted the contributions of the following entrants with special recognition: CR Serigrafia Srl & Esbe Srl, Italy, (Joint Entry) produced an excellent example of direct printing onto rigid packaging; Mondi Halle GmbH, Werner & Mertz GmbH, Knecht GmbH and Flexicon AG, Germany (Joint Entry), worked together to create a genuinely innovative pouch design to improve recyclability and sustainability; Papierfabrik Palm, site plant Seyfert, Reichenbach an der Fils, and D&W Flexo-Manufaktur GmbH & Co. KG, Osterwieck, Germany (Joint Entry), cooperated to create an impactful and novel packaging design – a cardboard bag that can easily be transformed into a cardboard box; Rotoplast d.o.o., Hungary, converted a job from gravure to flexo by creating

a ten-color design with a paper-touch varnish finishing effect – something previously the preserve of gravure and a novel achievement using flexo; and Z Due, Italy, impressed judges with an excellent collection of work converted from offset and gravure to flexo, enhanced using the company’s own BlueEdge screening technology.

The independent judging panel for the Global Flexo Innovation Awards comprised experts in the packaging value chain from design to print production and sustainability. The members were: Christopher Horton (USA): Graphic Services Consultant (Lead Judge); Laurel Brunner (UK): Journalist and Consultant, Verdigris; Stefano d’Andrea (Italy): Flexo & Industrial Graphic Expert; Kai Lankinen (Finland/ Germany): Chairman & Co-owner, Marvaco Ltd; Sebastian Longo (Argentina): President & Managing Director, Fotograbados Longo S.A.; Ken McGuire (USA): Research Fellow, Procter & Gamble; Jason Goode (Australia): Packaging Design and Development Professional; and Dr. Chip Tonkin (USA): Chair – Department of Graphic Communications, Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design & Graphics. z

z Flexo plate production

Cliart installs ThermoFlexX 60 digital imager

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leading packaging design agency and prepress specialist in Brazil, Cliart has installed a ThermoFlexX 60 digital imager with Woodpecker surface screening technology. Cliart was founded in 1985 by Ezequiel Fernandez after working in the graphics industry since the mid-1970s.

“At that time, it was common for repro houses to remain passive and simply wait for the customers to come to them. No-one went out to look for new business, so I decided to reverse that situation and take a more proactive and professional approach,” said Ezequiel Fernandez of Cliart.

Having initially focused on offering layout creation, films for platemaking, plus zinc and rubber

plates, the company brought in new equipment to expand its prepress services into photopolymer plates in the early 1990s. Since then, Cliart has remained at the forefront of the flexo market with investments that have included nyloflex NExT LED exposure technology. Just recently, the company chose to invest in a ThermoFlexX imager with Woodpecker surface.

“We have built a great partnership with XSYS over the years, in particular with Davi Cardoso, the business manager here in Brazil,” said Fernandez. “So we trust their technology. However, before making our final choice, we still carried out numerous tests to make sure the ThermoFlexX and Woodpecker solutions delivered on their promise.” z

Cliart installed a ThermoFlexX 60 digital imager with Woodpecker surface screening technology

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Packaging Production

Interview with Sanjay Gupta of DS Group In an interview with The Packman, Sanjay Gupta, vice president – corporate procurement and packaging development, DS Group, speaks about packaging innovations, procurement challenges and the four pillars of sustainability. Gupta also shares his view on the increased raw material price and its impact on the packaging industry.

Mahan Hazarika: What are the key influencing factors that drive innovation in packaging?

Sanjay Gupta: The pandemic has changed the socioeconomic-political-constitutional-environmentalglobalization-consumer landscape of business. The Indian packaging industry, pegged at around USD 70 billion, is agile and resilient enough to counter this kind of sudden disruption – the secret behind is the continuous innovations in this industry. India is one of the fastest global economies, home to a fifth of the world’s youth with a 50% population below 25 years of age and nearly 560 million internet subscribers.

These are some strong fundamentals to pave way for new things.

Since the pandemic, consumer landscape concerning preferences, choices, expectations, desires, brand loyalty, price point, consumption pattern, buying method, shopping experience, repeat buying – everything has changed. In addition, sentiments and awareness towards sustainable packaging have also increased manifold. It is important to note that manufacturing, logistics, storing, warehousing, inventory norms, aging, credits, supply chain ecosystem have also observed a significant transformation. In this complete ecosystem, packaging plays a vital role, and innovation is the key towards achieving these goals and a successful and sustainable business model having a win-win situation for this ecosystem.

Time-bound commercially viable speedy innovation

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up? 4. What sort of economy it would be that is based on renewable energy?

What are the key procurement challenges in bringing out an innovative package format successfully into the market?

Sanjay Gupta, vice president – corporate procurement and packaging development, DS Group

and investment in R&D are the key to existence. As per the latest survey of GII, India has been ranked as 48th Innovation Index, among 131 economies of the world In packaging innovations, the topic of sustainable finance is of extreme importance. There are implications of divesting from fossil fuels that affect the economy. However, some questions need answers: 1. It is not clear about the physical possibility of having an industrial global economy for 9 billion people without fossil fuels. 2. There is no evidence of the production/distribution of renewable, at any scale, entirely without fossil fuels. 3. Should this be scaled

Sanjay Gupta: This is an era of unpredictable and extreme volatility where you need to develop tools, knowledge bank, skillset, technology, and human resource to predict the unpredictable outlook scientifically since a single mistake can land you up in a complete business knockout situation or ruin your brand image.

Just to emphasize, globalization which was an engine of prosperity to global economies has suddenly started working against the basic principles during a pandemic due to closure of borders which led to serious supply chain disruptions or rather complete breakdown of the supply chain ecosystem impacting both demand and supply side.

Besides, the Indian packaging industry is heavily dependent on China and European Union countries for its infrastructure to technical know-how, machines and equipment, raw material to value engineering formats. It’s high time we accepted that apart from manufacturing scale and capabilities, we need to invest a sizable pie in R&D. To become more competitive, the packaging industry is focusing more on reducing costs. Instead of importing

Packaging Production innovations from Europe or the USA, planned investment in R&D collaboration with our premier institutes like IIT, IIM, ISC, ISRO, DRDO and others are required.

developed a skill-set to predict these unpredictable factors and are ahead on R&D front, you can mitigate this increased cost credibly.

How do you strike a balance between innovation and cost?

Both India and China are in the elite club of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world whose nominal GDP contributes around 67% of the world’s economic growth. However, India has fallen behind China in the last three decades and this pandemic has given a lesson not to be dependent on China but to fast track the China+1 strategy to combat import issues which ultimately will pull India up in productivity and economic growth.

Sanjay Gupta: It is a hen and egg story. This is a real dilemma that affects the industry in emerging and poor economies in striking a balance between cost and innovation without compromising on product quality and organizational goals and objectives while keeping the consumer at the center in this competitive environment.

Innovation in packaging has to align as per marketing which has evolved from the Production Era to the Product Era to the Selling Era to Marketing Era to finally the Holistic Era wherein it encourages customers to purchase a business’ products or services rather than going to its competitor.

It is very important to understand the DNA and architecture of your organization, brand, consumer, competition and extend a strong hand-holding with your channel vendor partners, develop skill sets, knowledge, acquire technology, invest in R&D, be ready to pay more in the beginning and optimize as it matures. I have seen that innovation in packaging can be done not at an increased cost, rather when the cost goes down over a while.

Hence, cost management is the fabric of a company’s operations and innovation efforts. In brief, the following areas need to be observed very minutely – complexity reduction, lean configuration, design interface management, product modularity, collaboration and cultural changes, and finally, cost management for the ‘new normal.’

How is the increase in raw material price impacting the packaging industry?

Sanjay Gupta: As I explained earlier, for a variety of exogenous and endogenous variables right from trade barriers, global and domestic political volatility, violations of intellectual property, crude oil price, currency fluctuations, de-globalization, severe and fragmented logistics and supply chain issues, sentiments against China, development of China+1 strategy, sustainable and climate change issues, cartel formations, there has been a very steep surge in raw material prices which is affecting the packaging industry. But if you have already

There had been challenges in managing global supply chains. Over the past 20 years, the business environment has been continuously responding to the pressures of globalization to lower their costs, increase their profits and improve productivity in a highly competitive global marketplace. A paradigm shift has occurred in which companies that were once built domestically to sell internationally now look globally.

This shift is happening because of reduced barriers to trade and investment, lower transportation costs, ease of information flow, new enabling technologies and the emergence of economies such as China and India. But post-pandemic, entire business models have changed.

Is it a myth or reality that sustainability drive in packaging has got a boost due to the pandemic – or was it bound to get accelerated irrespective of the pandemic?

Sanjay Gupta: There are four pillars of Sustainability – Human, Social, Economic and Environmental. While all of these are independent of each other, the first three pillars – Human, Social and Economic – are responsible for the destruction of the fourth pillar – Environmental – which has been just realized as the most important one for human existence.

The industry is looking forward to having mass scaled, economical, global supply chain friendly packaging solutions such as multi-functional barrier coatings for paper, film, and foil which can eliminate the need for complex, expensive, and unrecyclable multi-layer structures, making it possible to create packaging that is recyclable, repulpable, and industrially compositely compostable using homogeneous mono-material structures towards a circular economy.

our planet. We must admit that the pandemic has forced mankind to think on a serious note that whether the conventional yardstick to measure the economic performance of an economy by GDP-based growth model is leading to a fast depletion of natural wealth and resources, and present pattern of growth adopted by society is not sustainable.

It is also evident that we are heading towards an ecological credit crunch and humankind is under severe ecological debt as we are over-utilizing natural resources without replenishing and this crisis is far worse than all the financial crises we have ever faced.

This is a good time to think about whether it is wise to invest all of our resources in creating a financial wealth of a nation without creating value chains to save the ecosystem and when nature punishes us after a while, we invest this wealth to save our race.

Further, there have been various government regulations on waste management systems on a fast track.

The industry has also understood that India is one of the youngest nations globally with the Y and Z generations who are going to rule the market till at least 2040 believing in green businesses.

So, heightened consumer awareness and environmental concern are indeed changing consumers’ perception and expectations for quality and safety.

This is linking social good to business good.

It has become important in terms of social, moral and ethical responsibilities to fast track eco-friendly initiatives such as conservation of natural resources like water, use of solar and renewal energy, reduction of carbon footprint in the entire supply chain right from packaging, manufacturing, logistics, housekeeping, construction and settlement of plastic waste generated from packaging material through EPR model to facilitate circular economy.

These initiatives will also help in social and economic transformations.

There is a saying that if we sweat more in peace, we will lose less blood in the war. So, it is high time for all of us to set our house in order so that we and our next generations can see a better, cleaner, safer and healthier tomorrow – it will be one of the best gifts we can pass on to them. z

COVID-19 is a live example that nature punishes humankind excruciatingly when we keep on abusing THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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z Complex Indian manufacturer supply chain

Why digitization is the key to the future of consumerpackaged goods market Senthil Kumar Venkataramanujulu

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he Indian consumer packaged goods (CPG) market, which is also known as the fast-moving consumer goods in the country, is the fourth largest segment. The CPG sector is estimated to have grown to USD 52.75 bn in FY2018, with home and personal care accounting for approximately 50% of the sector, followed by food and beverage (F&B) and healthcare.

Although a close second in market share, the packaged F&B segment holds tremendous growth potential, with the sector expecting to double to US$ 70 billion by 2025. While the sector has progressed aggressively in past years, it has had a gradual increase in the adoption of 21st-century technologies, leaving a major scope of transformation.

As a consequence of the public health crisis and associated regulations, the sub-segments within the F&B sector has had a varied impact, with most subsegments witnessing a major decline in production growth. With F&B segment completely comprising of perishable and non-durable products, the market volatility and uncertainties associated with crises created the need for CPG and especially F&B segment to focus on agility and resiliency, and in the process, invest in 21st-century technologies.

As we all adapt to the ‘new normal,’ the F&B sector has been gradually integrating Industry 4.0 into the

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production processes and across their value chains.

The volatility in the market, combined with new demands quickly to improve agility and resiliency in plants and across supply chains, will serve to accelerate digitization and adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IioT).

In India, manufacturer supply chains are complex, having an intricate network of forward and backward linkages. Fast adaption, flexibility, visibility, and resiliency across these complex systems are key. Product and operational consistency across multiple sites is essential. These complex, interrelated supply chains are accountable to not only meet regulations but also track and trace the products they make. And of course, consumer’s demands and needs are changing, with an increased focus on the health and the sustainability impact of what we eat and drink, as well as increased eCommerce requirements.

Digitization and CPG Digitization makes sense in the current market as it enables manufacturers to adapt quickly, providing flexibility, agility, resiliency, and visibility across supply chains. We’ve seen manufacturers pivot from making beer to hand sanitizer, adapting quickly to meet changing demands. Companies that were fortunate enough to digitize parts of their operations before the crisis hit are in a much better position to adapt quickly through the crisis and beyond. In fact, a recent LNS Research study highlighted that 20% of manufacturers surveyed were speeding up their digitization activities during the crisis to meet the new demands.

Taking steps to optimize digitization doesn’t necessarily mean high capital spend or major infrastructure changes. With the ultimate goal of fast deployment and quick return-on-investment, solutions which can be easily adapted to your current systems, are key. To speed up deployment and make changes or adjustments easy during operation, tight linkage between the control and supervisory functions can save time and money as new lines are designed, deployed and operated.

Looking at specific solutions like those to help with supply chain complexities, recipe and batch management helps safeguard product quality by automating batch processes to deliver consistent quality, to recipe specifications. These systems must work with the numerous plant asset control systems in real-time.

Supervisory systems can help manage batches within a plant to achieve the required product quality and make the best use of assets while recipe management systems ensure consistency both within the plant and across today’s complex supply chains.

Digital recipe management CPG companies are managing more and more product variations and digital recipe management is an important tool in enabling them to manufacture their finished goods with more agility. It allows companies to successfully manage flexible, multistream and multi-product operations. By managing more production and packaging variation more effectively, with reliable quality and consistency, manufacturers can be more responsive to consumers and reduce time to market. This is especially

Packaging Production

CPG companies are managing more and more product variations and digital recipe management is an important tool in enabling them to manufacture their finished goods with more agility

important with the rapidly changing demands of today’s ‘new normal.’

Digital recipe management enables operations to stay competitive by simplifying recipe optimization, deployment, adaption, and execution, managing more production and packaging variations for faster customer response and reduced time to market of new offerings, as well as making the best use of capital assets and resources already in place.

The future of batch management Digital batch management helps ensure that products that are produced at several different facilities all meet the same output requirements. In an ideal world, each facility would operate from a single master recipe assuring customers and regulatory bodies of consistency from site to site. However, the reality is

that there are often multiple plants with no strategy for standardization of processes making it difficult for companies to easily move production across their network of plants. This is especially true today when that network could include more and more outsourced manufacturing. In addition to consistency, this also adds considerable time and cost when new products are brought to market.

A two-level approach is often the best way to meet these challenges. Firstly, a plant recipe management system manages recipes locally and then coordinates with a global recipe management system to ensure consistency across multiple plants. Globally, a single recipe is created for each product type from all the different recipes used. Automatic electronic record-keeping allows users to capture the ideal batch configuration and finetune recipes to reproduce the optimal setup.

Reduced equipment idle time allows an increase

in overall asset utilization, leading to increased operational performance and throughput.

The main benefits include greater operational efficiency by optimizing plant performance, standardized changeover with reduced machine set-up and changeover times, automatic electronic records to store ideal batch settings and finetune recipes for best results and complete genealogy/history for end-to-end traceability and improved regulatory compliance.

Integrated recipe and batch management solutions put digitization to work to improve quality, traceability and regulatory compliance for CPG companies while helping companies face some of the main challenges of the ‘new normal.’ z – The author is vice president, industrial business, Schneider Electric India THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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z The assurance of food safety and greater food security

The pursuit of sustainability – beyond recycling reduce the environmental impact of packaging, recycling alone can’t eliminate this impact. The trend towards 100% recyclable packaging may seem like the answer, but this may not account for the depletion of non-renewable resources. Similarly, while the package itself may be recyclable, what about the emissions from the manufacturing processes? A fossil-fuel based material, while recyclable, would have must higher environmental impact than a paper-based recyclable material.

Jaideep Gokhale

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t’s well known that packaging attracts consumer attention, creates a preference to purchase and can inspire brand loyalty. More importantly, consumers believe that packaged products are associated with food safety. For example, travelers prefer to buy packaged drinking water over water available at restaurants or public water distribution systems, because it removes the risk of water-borne diseases and is convenient when on-the-go.

Consumers buy packaged products because they convey an assurance of hygiene, freshness and noncontamination. This is especially true in a country like India; agricultural hubs are generally located far from markets. Packaging is a solution that extends the lifespan of produce, enables it to survive transportation to consumers, and reduces food loss. Packaging is closely tied to food safety; packaged food checks the boxes on freshness and hygiene, and helps ensure food safety in distribution to the country’s widespread geographies.

Let’s take the example of India’s dairy revolution, that not only made the country self-sufficient in milk and milk products, but also one of the world’s largest milk producers. A highly perishable commodity, milk is a critical source of nutrition. A part of this revolution was the logistics of distribution over long distances, while ensuring freshness. Today milk brands across the nation use packaging to solve this problem, assuring consumers of safe, pure and nutritious products.

Farming co-operatives rely on packaging to reach produce to markets where they get better prices, and vice versa, packaged food is also becoming a preferred choice in rural areas, with changing lifestyles and rising awareness of health. For critical services that work

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Recycling is the go-to solution, but while it can help reduce the environmental impact of packaging, recycling alone can’t eliminate this impact

in remote locations or geographically tough terrain, such as hospitals, the army or railways, packaged food is a lifeline.

In our pursuit of environmental sustainability, are we focusing on the right things?

While packaging is undoubtedly an economic necessity, awareness about climate change, carbon neutrality and environmental consciousness is at its highest. Global food systems account for 26% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while 8% of total emissions are caused by food waste. As sustainability becomes a factor that drives consumer behavior, packaging is a much-debated topic.

Excessive packaging, recyclability, and responsible sourcing are top of mind for consumers and drive changes in packaging trends in the food industry.

Recycling is the go to solution, but while it can help

Sustainability must consider the life-cycle of the product For sustainability to create a lasting positive change for the planet, it is important for consumers and industry collaborators including food and beverage producers, environmental experts, packaging industries and regulators to consider the life cycle impact and create a virtuous cycle, otherwise known as the circular economy.

Considering the life-cycle impact of a product gives a true indication of the industry’s environmental impact.

Packaging is the most noticeable aspect of the F&B industry; it is the tactile, defining product experience for consumers. This is why recycling is an important topic, it resonates with consumers and shapes their decisions.

However, the end of life of a package is only a fraction of the overall climate impact. Even before the packing stage, the industry must take accountability for carbon emissions across the life cycle, including raw material sourcing, production processes and supply chain and logistics systems around the product.

The balance between food safety and sustainable packaging Across the globe, nations are making strong commitments to achieve carbon neutrality, in the interest of

Packaging Production As the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, India also taking steps to encourage sustainability, limit carbon emissions and promote recycling.

The central government has already announced a phasing out of single-use plastics by 2022, while also proposing a framework for Extended Producer Responsibility that mandates collection and recycling of all packaging waste. While this may seem to the right answer, and most certainly a low-hanging fruit, recycling alone cannot be a sustainable solution.

Consumers buy packaged products because they convey an assurance of hygiene, freshness and non-contamination

combating climate change. Regulation is being rolled out to limit carbon emissions, encourage recycling and encourage collaborative efforts towards a circular economy. F&B companies are responding to this challenge and shifting their priorities in packaging from cost to sustainability.

Over 450 companies worldwide have signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration

with the UN Environment Programme that unites businesses, governments, and other organisations to address plastic waste and pollution at its source.

In recent years, research on materials and design for sustainable packaging has pointed out that many packaging products that are promoted as green material are not actually made from natural renewable resources. However, research on plant-based materials for packaging is making progress and is seeing success as a solution.

As an emerging economy, India’s F&B industry serves the critical basic needs of food security and food safety for its citizens, across the vast geographic terrains and long distances that food needs to traverse. For the next few decades, India has the world’s youngest population, who are taking to digital commerce, spending disposable income and looking for products that are healthy yet sustainable.

The need is to balance the benefits of packaging, while making choices that minimize the impact of our decisions on the environment. z

– The author is the sustainability director, Tetra Pak South Asia

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Monocarton

z Russian packaging printer

Industriya Tsveta sets on Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-7+L with advanced Push to Stop solutions

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ussian packaging printer Industriya Tsveta located in St. Petersburg sets on the new Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-7+L printing press. Intended for industrial packaging printing, the Speedmaster XL 106 at Industriya Tsveta has advanced solutions based on the Push to Stop concept. The drupa 2020 press generation was put into operation in June 2021.

Heidelberg says that until today the configuration of the new Speedmaster XL 106-7+L is unique for the Russian market. The system is an all-rounder fully equipped for producing cardboard packaging of any complexity.

Combined printing sections with four intermediate UV dryers, universal DryStar Combination UV system at the delivery make it possible to print at a speed of up to 18,000 sheets per hour using any combination of inks and coatings on any material. Heidelberg adds that this configuration is able to achieve the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of 60%.

Alexander Afremov, CEO and founder of Industriya Tsveta, says that managers and pressroom specialists at Industriya Tsveta are both happy with the new press. Afremov adds, “We got exactly what we needed. The press is ideal for any run and fully automated.” He also praised everything that was related to purchasing and installing the press. “Despite the challenges determined by the pandemic, all went smoothly – from the contract conclusion to delivery and launching the equipment at site. We are grateful for this to the whole Heidelberg-CIS team and service engineers in particular.”

Esa Saarinen, Heidelberg-CIS CEO, says, “Industriya Tsveta relies on the Heidelberg equipment virtually since the company has been founded. Currently, there are three Speedmaster presses operating here in

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Esa Saarinen, CEO of Heidelberg-CIS; and Alexander Afremov, CEO and founder of Industriya Tsveta

the pressroom. We are happy that our solutions help produce high-quality packaging for top companies from all different segments of the market, allowing efficient production of both industrial runs and smaller batches. We know that such flexibility is exactly what almost all printers need today.”

Currently, one of the key challenges in the print shop is to exceed the level of 99.5% in delivering

orders on time. It is also important to maintain and further improve service quality for the partners and customers. The implementation of these tasks is greatly facilitated by a well-structured and seamless production process in which the pressroom plays a crucial role. The company plans to further automate processes, develop a set of IT services, and initiate many other projects that will be announced at the turn of the year. z

“We got exactly what we needed. The press is ideal for any run and fully automated” – Alexander Afremov, CEO and founder of Industriya Tsveta

Monocarton

z Pharma packaging company in Sonipat

Sain Packaging installs Bobst Expertfold 1100 A2 folder-gluer

S

onipat-based pharma packaging company, Sain Packaging recently installed a brand new Bobst Expertfold 110 A2 folder-gluer equipped with an HHS gluing gun, and online carton inspection and ejection system. This is the second Bobst folder-gluer installed by the company in the last six years. “As we have been using a Bobst Visionfold folder-gluer for last six years and are extremely happy with its performance. This was one of the reasons why we invested in a Bobst folder-gluer again,” said Sachin Gupta, director of Sain Packaging.

According to Gupta, before installing the new FFG folder-gluer, Sain Packaging used to produce 15 lacs cartons every day on a 10-hour shift. The productivity has gone up to 25 lacs ever since the new folder-gluer was installed. The company supplies its cartons and inserts to pharma companies in Amritsar, Baddi, Paonta and Roorkee. It also has a small corrugation set up for in-house consumption. The company aims to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 crore in FY2020-21.

Sain Packaging started its operation in 2004 from a small plant in Burari in North Delhi with a singlecolor press, and within six months, purchased its next press, a used 2-color Heidelberg. Later the company shifted to a new 65,000 square foot plant in Sonipat where it has three 5-color sheetfed offset presses with coater, one 4-color offset press, and four 2-color presses. On the post-press side, Sain Packaging has two Bobst die-cutters, two Maxima die-cutters, three folder-gluers – including one

The newly installed Bobst Expertfold 110 A2 folder-gluer at Sain Packaging

from Bobst, and nearly seven manual die-cutters.

Last year, the company had installed a brand new Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 5+L press with coater at its Sonipat plant. “There was a strong need for boosting our postpress segment after installing the new Heidelberg press,” said Gupta.

Speaking about the new FFG folder-gluer, Gupta said, “We are impressed with the automatic flipper ejector system which can eject faulty boxes that do not meet

“We are impressed with the automatic flipper ejector system which can eject faulty boxes that do not meet quality control specifications with great accuracy at any speed” – Sachin Gupta, director of Sain Packaging

quality control specifications with great accuracy at any speed. The automatic flipper ejector system was one of the prime reasons why we chose to invest in the Bobst Expertfold 110 A2. The folder-gluer is also equipped with a Collecting Table and is future-ready with inline braille module – Accubraille and inline quality inspection system – Accucheck, making it ideally suited for the pharma packaging. The quality inspection system with barcode reader from HHS can separate different batches and color variated cartons online.”

The Bobst Expertfold 110 A2 has a top speed of 450 meters/min and can produce cartons ranging between 76 mm and 1100 mm. The folder-gluer is also equipped with all the features required to run 3-ply corrugated cartons equipped with a Baumer HHS gluing gun. z – Manash Das THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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z On-shelf differentiation and flexibility

SIG launches family-size packaging combivita

S

IG is launching its new family-size aseptic carton pack, combivita. Tailored to meet the demand of busy consumers and changing needs of the beverage industry, combivita offers onshelf differentiation and flexibility in the filing process.

SIG says that combivita has been developed based on extensive consumer-centric research and provides a competitive edge to beverage manufacturers. Available in three volume sizes (500, 750 and 1,000 ml), combivita has a slanted top and wider opening to ensure smooth and easy pouring with SIG’s new tethered, easy open and resealable closure, truTwist, which is 32.5 mm in its external diameter. combivita’s organic curve on the back not only adds to its elegance, but also makes it easier for consumers of all ages to handle.

Combivita is available in three sizes – 500, 750 and 1,000 ml

For beverage manufacturers, the side corner panels of combivita provide additional on-pack branding opportunities, to help achieve an outstanding shelf presence. The company claims that combivita pack enables 100% pallet utilization and also reduces secondary packaging and logistics costs, compared to existing carton formats.

Ali Kaylan, SVP Innovation at SIG says, “The pandemic has fuelled a paradigm shift in consumer habits, including working from home and buying products in advance. As a result, the demand for convenient family-size products and packaging formats has grown exponentially. Our new combivita carton pack makes

life more simple, convenient, flexible and sustainable for both consumers and our customers.”

The combivita family-size carton packs are the first to be filled on SIG’s next generation filling machine, SIG NEO – a technical masterpiece that’s packaged with technical innovations for manufacturers to meet present and future challenges.

Vandana Tandan, country manager SIG India, says, “This next-generation SIG NEO filling machine combines SIG’s unique proposition of flexibility with

“This next-generation SIG NEO filling machine combines SIG’s unique proposition of flexibility with even higher speed, while minimizing environmental impact. We look forward to introducing it in the Indian market” – Vandana Tandan, country manager SIG India

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even higher speed, while minimizing environmental impact. We look forward to introducing it in the Indian market.”

As the focus on sustainability continues to gain importance, the combivita carton pack has an excellent environmental footprint, with 100% of the paperboard sourced from FSC-certified forests, using 100% renewable energy during the manufacturing process.

In addition, there is also the opportunity for combivita carton packs to be combined with SIG’s Signature packaging material, where the polymers are also linked to forest-based materials. For products sensitive to light and oxygen, an ultra-thin layer of ASI-certified aluminum provides world-class barrier qualities.

Morshed Kamal, senior product manager at SIG, says, “With true innovations such as combivita and our next generation SIG NEO filling machine, we are optimally equipping the food and beverage industry for today’s requirements while also preparing them for the changes, challenges and opportunities ahead.” z

© 2020 Miraclon. Flexcel is a trademark of Miraclon.

The Kodak trademark, logo and trade dress are used under license from Kodak.

Flexo, forwards.

At Miraclon we never stand still. Because flexo doesn’t either. Over 10 years ago our team created the technology behind KODAK FLEXCEL Solutions.

It changed what flexo can do and enabled others to break new ground too. While we carved a reputation for quality without compromise, our customers built a bold new future for flexo.

Today, we’re more focused and agile than ever.

We’re committed to driving flexo even further – towards even better, cleaner, more cost-effective print.

And we’re not alone. We’re proud of this community and the innovations we’re enabling – redefining what packaging print can be. Together.

Because the future isn’t fixed. It’s flexo.

TO FIND OUT MORE VISIT US – WWW.MIRACLON.COM

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Flexibles

z Plans to increase capacity in Q3 2021

Brilliant Polymers emerges more robust in laminating adhesives landscape Gaurav Talwar, managing director of Brilliant Polymers, shares his views about the flexible packaging industry while expecting strong growth, resulting from increased demand in end-use industries, such as food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, and pharmaceutical. He is all set to capture this growth by doubling his plant’s production capacity through planned expansion. Based in Mumbai, India, Brilliant Polymers is a leader in laminating adhesives for flexible packaging.

Mahan Hazarika: What is the impact of the pandemic on the packaging industry?

strategies to drive resilience and emerge from this crisis stronger – from embracing digitization, strengthening our network of stock points to encourage regionalization of supply, thereby mitigating regional risks to maintaining an efficient feedback loop to drive strategic decision-making and quicken response times. We believe that future business success will depend on the ability to adapt and respond to the unexpected or improbable.

Gaurav Talwar: Businesses today are faced with unprecedented challenges as they continue to navigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the packaging industry is no exception. Market conditions have driven up the cost of many raw materials, and manufacturers continue to face cascading supply chain issues that have plagued the industry throughout the pandemic – shortages, bottlenecks, logistical concerns, and escalating oil prices have been pushing up prices of raw materials used in the production of laminating adhesives for flexible packaging.

However, the problem goes beyond that – the industry is dealing with increased energy and packaging materials costs, as well as sharply rising freight rates because of global logistics constraints. There has been an overall impact of over 50% on the cost of production of laminating adhesives. Although selling prices have risen over the past six months, they have a long way to go before reaching sustainable levels.

We see robust demand for flexible packaging in the coming year. However, with the SARS-CoV-2 virus continuing to mutate and variants causing localized

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“With growing awareness, the Gaurav Talwar, managing director of Brilliant Polymers

requirement for eco-friendly and sustainable packaging is steadily on the rise. The country is focusing more on

lockdowns around the globe, we expect logistical challenges and resulting supply chain disruptions to continue for some time.

As the world adjusts to this new normal, Brilliant Polymers has been focused on rethinking

sustainable solutions, which is increasingly becoming a business imperative”

Flexibles Mahan Hazarika: You are planning to increase capacity in Q3 2021. Why do you think it is the right time for investment, considering the current pandemic situation?

ing packed in a flexible packaging material made with our adhesives.

“We expect strong growth in

the

flexible

packaging

industry in the coming years.

Gaurav Talwar: We expect strong growth in the flexible packaging industry in the coming years. Market studies forecast the global flexible plastic packaging market size to grow from USD 160.8 billion in 2020 to USD 200.5 billion by 2025 ( according to market report).

This growth will essentially result from increased demand in end-use industries, such as food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical.

With the planned capacity expansion set to double our output, Brilliant Polymers will be well placed to capture this growth.

Market

Mahan Hazarika: Do you think the Indian market can absorb more capacity, at least in the next two years?

use industries, such as food,

Gaurav Talwar: As the Indian economy rebounds, increased focus on hygiene, growth in modern retailing, higher consumer income levels, changing lifestyles, increased media penetration through the internet and television, and acceleration in e-commerce activities are likely to drive the momentum of the Indian flexible packaging market.

With the planned capacity

Mahan Hazarika: What trends have you noticed in food processing and packaging in India in the last one and a half-year? Do you think these are going to be long-term trends?

studies

forecast

the global flexible plastic packaging market size to grow from USD 160.8 billion in 2020 to USD 200.5 billion by

2025

(

according

to

market report). This growth will essentially result from increased demand in endbeverage, cosmetic, personal care

and

pharmaceutical.

expansion set to double our output, Brilliant Polymers will be well placed to capture this growth”

used must be on the positive list of the relevant food safety standards

Mahan Hazarika: Please comment on the food safety issues in general and particularly concerning packaged foods?

What are your contributions to this?

– Migration Compliance: All our adhesives comply with relevant migration limits; this means that for any component with a specified migration limit (SML) or an overall migration limit (OML) as per the regulations, the value of migration if any, needs to be within the specified limits. In addition, we have a comprehensive testing protocol for testing migration both in-house and in partnership with third-party laboratories.

Gaurav Talwar: We have a comprehensive food safety plan with regard to our laminating adhesives and comply with all Indian, European and US guidelines, to name a few. For the laminating adhesives industry, our food safety commitments come from the following key aspects: – Compositional Compliance: All raw materials

– Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP): All Good Manufacturing Practices are followed at our plant with a special focus on safety, hygiene and traceability. We can trace back all raw materials used in a particular product. Further, the main essence is that nothing in the adhesive should impact the taste or aroma of the food be-

Gaurav Talwar: With growing awareness, the requirement for eco-friendly and sustainable packaging is steadily on the rise. The country is focusing more on sustainable solutions, which is increasingly becoming a business imperative.

Above are the critical aspects of food safety concerning laminating adhesives.

Mahan Hazarika: Please tell us about your latest developments directed towards sustainability.

Gaurav Talwar: At Brilliant Polymers, we believe that we are responsible for delivering business growth while positively impacting people and the planet. We aim to be a business that delivers value to all stakeholders – economically, socially and environmentally. To achieve this, we have formulated the Brilliant Sustainable Growth Plan – this is our bold ambition to decouple our growth from our environmental footprint while increasing our positive social impact.

The use of solvent-free laminating adhesives has seen tremendous growth in recent years. By definition, these adhesives do not contain any solvent and hence have no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that escape into the atmosphere, unchecked in many cases. This makes solvent-free laminating the first step towards sustainability.

Typically, solvent-based adhesives are run at 35% solids, which means 65% of the mixed adhesive is solvent which is evaporated into the atmosphere.

In addition to air pollution, this process of solvent removal also requires heat input which is a further burden on the environment.

Further, with the precise dosing and application technology on today’s modern solvent-free laminators, adhesive deposition can be controlled minutely and maintained over time. This leads to cost, environmental savings and reliability over time. We have several new solvent-free product innovations that can deliver cost savings of over 50% over and above the ecological benefits described.

In addition to our innovations on solvent-free adhesives, we have launched several initiatives in collaboration with local NGOs aimed at reducing our carbon footprint and achieving the objectives outlined in our sustainable growth plan. z

THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Flexibles

z Reveals new products and solutions

UFlex commissions BOPET films plant in Nigeria

U

Flex, India’s largest multinational and a global leader in polymer sciences, has commissioned its BOPET film manufacturing plant in the Ogun State of Nigeria with a production capacity of 45,000 TPA. Spread over 37 acres, the plant houses a first-of-its-kind 10.6-meter wide BOPET film line in Africa and also has two metallizers with a total production of 15000 TPA. The plant that created over 200 direct jobs, is set to cater to the packaging film demand coming from the fast-growing economy of Nigeria, ECOWAS (Western Africa) and the USA. In Q2 2021, UFlex also added a fleet of new valueadded products and solutions to its portfolio.

Flexible Packaging Business High-barrier mono-material recyclable bag for snack packaging for KIMS – UFlex has developed a mono-

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material bag for Danish brand KIMS for its snacks packaging segment for the European market. UFlex claims that the ‘high-barrier packaging’ is made of mono-material under polypropylene extreme and bears recyclable ‘logo 5’ mark enabling easy recycling in the existing polypropylene recycling streams while ensuring that the snack packed remains fresh as ever.

The snack packs are being used by KIMS to pack food products such as chips, wafers etc.

MOPE-based mono-polymer recyclable bag for large quantity rice packaging for EBRO – UFlex has developed a new MOPE/PE recyclable structure with registered matt coating and special PE mono-polymer-based laminate film for EBRO rice brand Peacock. In the company’s view, the newly developed structure possesses similar mechanical and other properties allowing easy recyclability of PE in conventional extruder and easy run on existing packaging line with minor adjustments.

According to UFlex, the new structure has cleared

all tests related to handling, post filling of the pack content, and has successfully fulfilled required barrier properties throughout the defined shelf life of the packed rice thus positioning itself as a suitable packaging application for large quantities.

50% higher barrier PET film structure for Asal Coin Parota – Frozen and refrigerated food needs a special barrier structure to pack the food content such that it doesn’t lose it integrity even months after opening it. Customizing the requirement for the brand Milky Mist, UFlex says it has developed a three-side sealed pouch packaging structure to pack Asal Coin Parota through use of a special high barrier PET film that increases the barrier properties by 50% under ambient conditions and allowing the parota to stay fresh for a longer duration.

Value added packaging in two sizes for Fidele Pet Food – UFlex has developed two packaging sizes of 3 kg and 12 kg to pack pet food for the

Flexibles brand Fidele. The packaging structure comprises of specialized Matt finished PET polyester and its pocket slider allows reclose-ability thereby adding to consumer’s convenience. The side gusset handle in the 3 kg variant helps easy carrying and pouring whereas the 12 kg variant comes with bottom pinch pasting allowing multi-dimensional display thus helping the brand to leverage as much branding opportunity as it can and make it stand out on the retail shelves.

Transparent high-barrier laminate sachet to pack dairy whitener for Namaste India Foods – To enhance the

ease attached with use of dairy whitener, UFlex has manufactured a transparent high-barrier laminate to pack 26 gms of Gold Standard Dairy Whitener for Namaste India Foods. The packaging structure allows the brand owner to showcase the product through a see-through window and at the same time provide the barrier required for packaged dairy whitener.

Packaging Films Business Flex Films USA launched its patented BOPET high barrier film F-UHB-M, designed to replace aluminum foil in flexible packaging applications. With its new

specially formulated BOPET structure, UFlex claims F-UHB-M comes with superior gas and water barrier while achieving one of the lowest oxygen and moisture barrier values (0.1 cc/ m2-day & 0.1 gm/ m2-day respectively) and industry-leading metal adhesion of 1200 gm/25 mm that aids improvement and extension of product shelf-life. In the company’s view, F-UHB-M helps the converting industry to move from a ‘difficult to recycle 4-ply laminate structure with aluminum foil’ to a ‘much simpler, easily recyclable 3-ply laminate structure comprising of F-UHB-M film’ without compromising on barrier performance. z

z Lists 30 items to be sold without plastic packaging

France to ban plastic packaging fruit and vegetables from January 2022

F

rance will ban plastic packaging for nearly all fruit and vegetables from January 2022 in a bid to reduce plastic waste, the environment ministry said on 11 October 2021.

Implementing a February 2020 law, the government published a list of about 30 fruits and vegetables that will have to be sold without plastic packaging from 1 January 2022. The list includes leeks, aubergines and round tomatoes as well as apples, bananas and oranges.

people do not want their fruit to be touched by other customers,” she said.

“We use an outrageous amount of single-use plastic in our daily lives. The circular economy law aims at cutting back the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging,” the ministry said in a statement.

Plastic packaging will be banned by end June 2023 for cherry tomatoes, green beans and peaches, and by end 2024 for endives, asparagus, mushrooms, some salads and herbs as well as cherries. End June 2026, raspberries, strawberries and other delicate berries must be sold without plastic.

It estimated that 37% of fruit and vegetables are sold with packaging and expects that the measure will prevent more than one billion useless plastic packaging items per year.

From 2022, public spaces must provide water fountains to reduce the use of plastic bottles; press and publicity publications must be shipped without plastic wrapping, while fast-food restaurants can no longer offer free plastic toys. From January 2023, France will also ban throwaway crockery in fast-food restaurant for meals consumed on-site. z

French fruit sellers federation president Francois Roch said switching to cardboard will be difficult in such a short time. “Also, selling loose produce is complicated as many customers touch the fruit and

The packaging ban is part of a multi-year government programme to phase out plastic. From 2021, France banned plastic straws, cups and cutlery, as well as styrofoam takeaway boxes. Cut fruits and a limited number of delicate fruits and vegetables can still be sold with plastic packaging for now but that will be phased out by end June 2026.

The packaging ban is part of a multi-year government programme to phase out plastic

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Flexibles

z Adds brand, IPR and intangible assets

Bobst completes acquisition of Cerutti

B

obst completed on 11 November 2021 the proceedings relating to Bobst Italia’s successful final tender offer for the acquisition of the assets of Officine Meccaniche Giovanni Cerutti and Cerutti Packaging Equipment, including the service company 24/7 Cerutti Service, (Cerutti).

Based in San Giorgio Monferrato, Bobst Italia is Bobst’s worldwide center of excellence for gravure printing, laminating, and coating technologies for the flexible packaging industry. The Cerutti acquisition is in line with Bobst’s strategic goal of further consolidating its technology and market leadership in the global gravure printing market.

Gruppo Cerutti was founded in 1920 in Casale Monferrato, in the northwest of Italy, and grew into a world-renowned manufacturer of rotogravure printing

presses for packaging, publishing, and specialty printing and converting equipment. Through this acquisition, the Bobst Group adds to its assets the Cerutti brand, the Cerutti intellectual property rights and all Cerutti intangible assets. Thirty Cerutti ex-employees will join Bobst Italia’s personnel at the company site in San Giorgio Monferrato.

“We are very pleased that the proceedings have finally come to a completion, ending a period of uncertainty for the Cerutti stakeholders locally and worldwide,” said Davide Garavaglia, general manager and head of product lines gravure, vacuum, coating and laminating at Bobst Italia.

“As a company, Bobst Italia is characterized by financial and social sustainability and, as such, is able to create value in the long term. Following the completion, we will be able to integrate into our

The production plant of Bobst Italia in San Giorgio Monferrato, Italy

organization the Cerutti technology along with its technical experts adding to our existing know-how and capabilities. It also means that we can now provide Bobst’s high level of service and support to Cerutti machines installed worldwide.” z

Flexibles

z European R&D benchmark for flexible packaging

Comexi inaugurates new Technology Center

C

omexi, a specialist in the flexible packaging printing and converting industry, has inaugurated its Technology Center in Girona (CTec Girona). The company, with a presence in more than 100 countries, not only has its own production plants in Girona and Brazil, but also has commercial offices in the United States and Russia.

According to Comexi, it has inaugurated the new CTec Girona within the parameters of sustainability and energy consumption, which have made Comexi distinguishable for a long period of time.

The new Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center, CTec Girona, is integrated into the company’s production center. It has a multipurpose space of 2,500 square meters for not only innovation and development of R&D projects, but also for training, consulting, demonstrations, and an industrial laboratory. CTec Girona will have nine state-of-the-art machines for the flexible packaging sector.

In collaboration with leading sector companies, such as Esko, DuPont and Asahi, for offset plate engraving, the facility will have a pioneering prepress area.

Globally, the company says, the new center will be a benchmark, not only due to its vastness and versatility, but as a result of reflecting corporate sustainability and the industry 4.0 project, which is a primary objective of Comexi.

This inauguration concludes the first phase of development. Within the next two years, CTec Girona will be

According to Comexi, the new CTec Girona is within the parameters of sustainability and energy consumption

complemented with new extensions, thus making it a global packaging sector reference point, at a functional level and for research and development.

In June 2010, Comexi CTec began activities in Girona with an advanced flexo course for customers in the Middle East. The technology center was established with the same objective as that of present day: to impart knowledge to Comexi clients. From inception, Comexi CTec provided a variety of technology advice, as well as personalized training. Furthermore, the center has incorporated customer support for industrial tests, R&D, and innovation.

In collaboration with leading sector companies, such as Esko, DuPont and Asahi, for offset plate engraving, the facility will have a pioneering prepress area.

The new Comexi Technology Center features the most advanced tools regarding the digitization of processes and job workflows for printing and converting. One of these tools is Comexi Cloud, a digital service platform which assists customers with the improvement of their factory performance through the analysis of real-time production data. Consequently, this allows them to build and develop smarter factories. Comexi Cloud, the most comprehensive online platform on the market to visualize, compile, analyze, and store data, has reinvented the manner in which printers and converters manage processes. The CTec Girona team not only manage the execution of various services offered, but develop these new spaces as well.

“Our CTec in Girona is the natural response to longtime latent needs of the market, as well as an example of the importance of innovation in our sector. As a result of the renovated technology centers, we offer our clients the best customized solutions for their businesses, thus responding to the trust they have in us,” says Manel Xifra, the president of Comexi. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Flexibles

z Merger and acquisition

Davis-Standard to be acquired by Gamut Capital Management

N

ew York-based middle-market private equity firm Gamut Capital Management, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Davis-Standard and its affiliates from ONCAP, the middle-market private equity platform of Onex.

Davis-Standard is a supplier of extrusion and converting systems and related aftermarket products and services for the rigid packaging, flexible packaging and infrastructure end-markets with an installed base of approximately US$ 7.5 billion of equipment globally.

“We are excited to partner with the Gamut team during this next phase of Davis-Standard’s long history as a provider of highly engineered solutions to an extensive base of industry-leading customers. The resources Gamut brings to this investment will enable us to not only accelerate growth within our markets but also transform Davis-Standard into a leading, valueadded global process solutions business,” says Jim Murphy, CEO of Davis-Standard. “We achieved great growth and performance under ONCAP’s successful ownership and look forward to leveraging the strong foundation we built as we move into our next phase of growth.”

Jordan Zaken, founding partner of Gamut, says, “We are very excited to continue to grow the company alongside the Davis-Standard management team. As a leading player in extrusion and converting technologies for the packaging and infrastructure sectors, Davis-

Davis-Standard has an installed base of approximately US$ 7.5 billion of equipment globally

Standard offers not only the opportunity to expand with customers in fast-growing end markets, but also to further extend its service offering to support its customers in the aftermarket. Gamut is excited to continue to invest in the business to bolster the comprehensive solutions Davis-Standard provides to

“The resources Gamut brings to this investment will enable us to not only accelerate growth within our markets but also transform DavisStandard into a leading, valueadded global process solutions business” – Jim Murphy, CEO of Davis-Standard

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its customers in the areas of efficiency, sustainability and automation technology.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

BMO Capital Markets and Stifel, Nicolaus and Company served as the financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to Gamut. Jefferies and Robert W Baird served as the financial advisor to Davis-Standard. BMO Capital Markets and Stifel, Nicolaus and Company are providing financing commitments for the transaction, subject to customary terms and conditions. z

ˍEmpowering flexibility

FOLDING CARTON

Accelerating the pace Highly automated production lines which transform folding carton into boxes in no time. Cost-saving, efficient solutions that give you the versatility and productivity you need to be one step ahead.

www.bobst.com

Labels

z Gallus management interview

“We are very happy that we did not sell Gallus” Firstly, in what are unprecedented times, how have the last 18 months been for Gallus?

Ferdinand Rüesch: Yes, the last 18 months have been a very challenging time for everyone. But actually, COVID-19 made us fast-track a few things that we might not have done so quickly, supporting a wider strategy to reposition the business, improve efficiencies and drive profitability via a number of new initiatives and business changes.

Rainer Hundsdörfer: Indeed, the pandemic impacted the whole world and none of us were immune. However, at the same time, the impact of our transformational process for the wider Heidelberg business started to bear fruit, and with increased sales throughout the year, business recovery was much faster than expected, which has obviously helped every business within the group too.

Ferdinand Rüesch: But we still have many pandemic made issues to overcome, such as electronic parts availability, how to socialize with our team and the wider market, restrictions on travel and much more – it’s far from over, but we are very positive with regards our future and the potential of the business.

In terms of Gallus, what specific changes have you made to the business?

Rainer Hundsdörfer: Well, to realize the potential that Ferdinand talks about, we embarked on another transformational program that had begun many months before, which was then expedited once the Benpac acquisition had run its course. To do that, we completely restructured the Gallus business, providing it with the flexibility and autonomy to make its own decisions and be agile and creative once more. Gallus has sole responsibility for business on the label market as a member of the Heidelberg Group. The target focus on an extended customer segment is important to us.

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Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberg and Ferdinand Rüesch, anchor shareholder Heidelberg, and senior vice president global key accounts Gallus

Today, Gallus has separate sales, service and R&D operations and can respond to specific customer requests or wider market trends very quickly. Gallus and its management team report only to me, which makes decision making much quicker. But the Gallus team has also been able to retain the Heidelberg elements that made sense, such as manufacturing its digital elements at our advanced manufacturing facility in Wiesloch, as well as use our in-country market presence for a wider reach. It has the best of both worlds. We’ve also seen the return of several ex-Gallus employees – really talented individuals from all over world who know the business and our customers and are now instrumental in driving the business forward.

Sounds impressive, but I’m glad you mention Benpac – what was the situation there?

Ferdinand Rüesch: Well, when Benpac approached us at the beginning of 2020, Gallus wasn’t actually for sale. But following early discussions with them and our internal review, strategically, the sale made sense for the wider Heidelberg business.

Rainer Hundsdörfer: However, the acquisition process wasn’t typical. It took several turns that through no fault of our own, either completely stalled progress or made us very uncomfortable, with the sale eventually collapsing.

Ferdinand Rüesch: But since then and with a committed team, we haven’t looked back. With all the changes we’ve made – a solid strategy in place, the right people, amazing products and the strength of Heidelberg beside us – we now have all the assets and potential to lead the labels and packaging markets and make a huge contribution to the group.

Does this mean that Heidelberg is no longer seeking a buyer for the business?

Rainer Hundsdörfer: That’s correct; Gallus is definitely not for sale. During the pandemic, we received a very good offer – but now we are very happy that we did not sell Gallus. Gallus helps us in the packaging business, which offers excellent growth potential, and it also perfectly meets our quality requirements.

We are giving Gallus all the freedom it requires to grow and further develop the highly specialized label business, and we will offer our synergies wherever

Labels this makes economic sense. On this basis, we are expecting Gallus to make a valuable contribution to the Heidelberg Group result in the future.

Ferdinand Rüesch: I would like to emphasize once again, we are 100% committed to the business and our people. Moreover, we’re excited to bring further innovation to the labels and packaging markets, crucial in enabling customers to not only improve their operations, but to leverage new profitable applications too.

For Gallus, what has been the result of these changes so far?

Ferdinand Rüesch: The attitude of our people has changed dramatically. We now have a dedicated team with the thinking and flexibility of a start-up business, where creativity is encouraged and nothing is impossible. Where we were firefighting issues before, we’re fixing them now.

Another big change has been in our ability to honor customer commitments. Our independence has enabled this to happen, and it has already seen customer relationships blossom once more. In addition, with Gallus R&D now back to full speed, we’re increasing cost efficiencies and overall product quality within the supply chain which is having a big impact on revenue – in fact, by the end of 2021, we are on target to be profitable for the first time in many years.

Have you made any changes to the existing Gallus portfolio?

Ferdinand Rüesch:Yes, we have been doing a lot.

I can’t discuss too much, but I can mention that we will shortly be conducting field trials of a new Gallus Labelmaster 570, which promises to deliver many new customer benefits, we started selling the Gallus Labelfire with Low Migration capability, and from end of 2021 the world’s first ‘flexible UV Inkjet Ink’ for 1200 dpi will be available on the Gallus Labelfire for digital folding carton production. With this ink you will be able to die cut and crease Folding Carton without cracking or splinting, and we will extend this innovation to other applications e.g. tube laminate

oped upgrades for those presses that are at the end of their ‘electronic’ life but would otherwise go on for many years. Gallus Classics provides control system upgrades for Gallus EM Lines, first generation Gallus RCS R1 version and Gallus TCS 250.

Besides we have a focus on highly customized solutions which are developed together with our customers on project base, thus are not intended for the serial market. That’s something we have a very strong foundation for with our extensive R&D experience and in depth application understanding.

Finally, we are going to launch a new production system at the very top end of our product range, it is too early to announce details, but it will be exciting.

Can you tell us more about the benefits of the ‘Low Migration’ capability of the Gallus Labelfire’?

Ferdinand Rüesch: Labelfire is a hybrid, up to 7-color plus white and 1200 dpi, digital inline label press combining the benefits of digital and conventional printing with further processing technology in one system. But for customers that specialize more in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics we needed to provide further assurance insofar as ink migration.

So, we were delighted to pass all the necessary industry certifications for that, and more recently, our UV low migration inks meet the requirements of Swiss Ordinance and Nestlé Guidance – a huge milestone for Gallus and our customers. With this now all in place, we believe that Labelfire offers the highest quality UV inkjet solution on the market, with the ability to integrate into any label workflow without limitations.

Our total cost of ownership calculation shows lowest cost per print over all run lengths. And now, the press opens up the food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sector with low migration.

Is the new low migration capability for the Gallus Labelfire commercially available today?

Ferdinand Rüesch: Yes, it is.

We have also ramped-up our secondhand press business, renamed ‘Gallus Classics’, where we buy, refurbish and sell warranted pre-owned Gallus presses.

We also provide a ‘matching’ service, putting buyers and sellers of secondhand Gallus presses together.

And because there was large demand from customers looking for parts for older machines, we have devel-

Switching to Heidelberg, what did you do to enable the business turnaround?

Rainer Hundsdörfer: Too much to summarize succinctly, but we have been making fundamental changes to how the Heidelberg business thinks

and behaves. We are learning to be humble, and that impacts every element of the business from equipment and product life cycle to customers and addressing their needs. After 200 years of working in a single industry and serving it in our way, old habits die hard. Internal culture change has been one of the biggest barriers to moving us to where we need to be, but with some truly inspiring leaders, we’ve made amazing progress – and success breeds confidence and further success.

Given that we are, hopefully, turning a corner with the pandemic, what are both your thoughts as to the immediate future of the industry?

Rainer Hundsdörfer: Interestingly, in terms of Heidelberg, business performance in June 2021 represented our best month for 10 years. Some of this was due to a pandemic bounce-back, but our transformation process and new business lines were also a huge contributor to this turnaround, and we see this trend continuing.

Ferdinand Rüesch: We are also very optimistic.

Not only are we making great progress, but we are seeing sales increase across the portfolio, especially for Labelfire and its ability to meet the new demand for ‘profitable’ digital label jobs and a post-Corona consumer boom.

Finally for Gallus, where do you see the business in 5-10 years’ time?

Ferdinand Rüesch: Well, we obviously have a longrange business plan that we’re mapping progress against, but firstly, we need to continue the transformation process. What’s more, and like any manufacturing business right now, we have the impact of the pandemic to navigate – and as previously mentioned – the most immediate issue involves sourcing parts, specifically electronic parts for our presses.

From a product perspective, we will have a portfolio that caters for every labels and packaging customer requirement and budget. We are pretty close already, but within the next five years we will close all the gaps with new, innovative products. In addition, we will continue to evolve our presses to drive the innovation and efficiencies that our customers need, and that means continuing to develop our digital offering. If continue as we’ve started, we expect to be a strong growing and profitable business in the coming months and years. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Labels

z Uncoated papers made from 100% recycled fibers

Avery Dennison introduces three sustainable papers

A

very Dennison has introduced three white, uncoated papers made from 100% recycled fibers. This expands the company’s portfolio of post-consumer recycled materials to offer premium solutions for wine, spirits, food, and beverage.

For an attainable approach to sustainable packaging, brands and converters need access to a diverse range of label solutions that align with the application needs of different products, such as high volume printing and premium textures. Avery Dennison has invested in recycled materials with a broad range of structure, thickness, and pattern complexity to ensure companies can find a sustainable label solution that fits their product positioning.

Three new white papers made with 100% recycled fibers Avery Dennison is expanding its sustainable label port-

folio with the launch of three papers made with 100% recycled fibers. These white, uncoated wood-free papers offer a similar look, feel, and performance as conventional alternatives and all feature wet strength treatment.

These new papers are especially suited for wine, spirits, craft beer, premium food and beverage, and cosmetics.

– rNaturel Touch Craft – Thick paper with a cottonlike texture for a craft, traditional look – rNoble Blanc – Matt paper with a felt marked finish that’s excellent for high volume printing – rSable Blanc – Smooth, matt paper that’s excellent for high volume printing Improved sustainability across the full label solution Combining the new recycled fiber papers with other sustainable solutions from Avery Dennison can further improve a product’s eco-credentials. Semi-gloss rMC paper is an efficient option for back labels and is made from 100% recycled fibers. Labels that require a strong

ice bucket performance can use rPLUS underlaminate, made with 70% post-consumer recyclate, to make complex construction as sustainable as possible.

Liner waste can be reduced by using rPET liners, made from 30% recycled materials, and by taking part in Avery Dennison’s label-liner recycling program, AD Circular. z

z Designed to promote and support innovation

All4Labels opens Center of Excellence in Salerno, Italy

A

ll4Labels has opened its Center of Excellence (CoE) in Salerno, Italy. The new Center of Excellence aims to undertake new R&D investments over the next 5 years, totaling approximately 3 million euros each year. The new hub will be an open ecosystem, designed to promote

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and support innovation both inside and outside of All4Labels.

AI, IoT and biomimetics will steer co-development for new interactive and functional packaging solutions.

The aim is also to achieve a higher level of digitiza-

tion, leading to the creation of new business models.

Reflecting the culture and values of All4Labels, the CoE will focus on personal development and growth – empowering the talents of its employees. It is intended that the new physical space will be managed

Labels by a high-level scientific and technical team, which will develop patents and ensure the protection of intellectual property.

“At All4Labels, mentoring and developing talents is and has always been one of our primary goals, enabling people to make a difference and be part of our DNA for success. With the CoE we want to equip and stimulate specialists to conceptualize, create and prototype the best and most sustainable packaging solutions, keeping in mind the needs of the consumer of the future,” said Günther Weymans, COO of All4Labels, during the inauguration event. “We pursue excellence in everything we do, and the CoE is further evidence for that. All4Labels wants to succeed in being a pioneer in the industry, helping to boost innovation within Industry 4.0.”

Consistent with the All4Labels philosophy, every single action at CoE will also be guided by respect for sustainability principles. All4Labels rethinks labeling

CoE will focus on personal development and growth – empowering the talents of its employees

and packaging and innovates with a view to the circular economy. This includes considering different regional

regulations on recycling, promoting dialogue, and sharing ideas with the entire value chain. z

z Planning for third Nilpeter FA-Line

L.comFine installs second Nilpeter FA-Line

L

.comFine, formerly known as Finewebtech, has installed its second Nilpeter FA-17, this time loaded with even more embellishment features and expanded to run more complex combination jobs. L.comFine is one of the top converters located in Hwa Seong Industrial Zone in the Gyeong-gi province of South Korea. Faced with dynamic and high-quality demands from brand owners in the high-quality segments of fast-moving consumer goods, food & beverage, and cosmetics, L.comFine is now able to provide customers with many applications and embellishments that sets them apart from competition.

considered for this project as we have been extremely impressed with the performance of the FA-Line, as well as Nilpeter’s top of the class technical support team and application experts, that helped see us through new applications, many of which are the first in our industry.”

“We are excited to be able to provide our customers with applications that only L.comFine can provide,” explains Jang Sung Hwan, managing director of L.comFine. “Nilpeter was the only partner that we

According to Nilpeter, the FA-Line is built around the modern printing operator, with an intuitive userinterface and fully mobile print controls, providing a maximum level of stability, register tolerance,

L.comFine is now looking to acquire its third Nilpeter FA-Line, with a wider web width, that will allow them to enter the flexible packaging segment in the near future. The FA-Line is available in 17", 22", and 26" web widths, perfect for printing value-added, short run flexible packaging and labels.

L.comFine is now looking to acquire its third Nilpeter FA-Line, with a wider web width

and printing results on multiple substrates – all normal self-adhesive materials, including flexible packaging films, polymer films, metallic films, and paper. It also features Nilpeter’s lightweight, easy-load sleeves for reduced setup times, easy handling, increased production speeds, higher printing quality, and durability. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Labels

z Regulation for healthier food choices

FSSAI to introduce ‘Front-of-Package label’ in India

F

Manash Das

ood Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to put food safety labels on the front side of packaged food depending on the harm fat, sugar and salt cause to human health. Expressing concern over increasing consumption of junk food leading to obesity in youth and children in India, FSSAI CEO Arun Singhal said that there is a plan to introduce front-of-package (FoP) labeling on packaged foods to help consumers make healthier food choices.

Front of Package labels seek to provide simple nutrition information in a more accessible location instead on the back or side of packages. At a meeting with all stakeholders called by FSSAI in June, the industry said the food safety labeling on salt, sugar and fat should be based on serve-size rather than quantity in the packet basis as this is what the consumer eats.

Asserting that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is capable of introducing this kind of label in India, Singhal said it has become necessary as obesity along with malnutrition is also a big problem in the country especially in youth and children. “There is a rise in demand for packaged food. There is a need to provide information in a simple way about the impact of packaged food on health so that consumers can make choices,” Singhal said. He also mentioned that many countries which used FoP labels saw reduction in consumption of junk food.

Interestingly, FSSAI took close to eight years to reach this stage as industry had been reluctant to have front of package food safety labels, implemented in some other countries such as Brazil and Chile, clearly stating if the product is healthy for people or not. A 2018 study in Brazil and Chile on impacts of food-safety labeling on people has shown that it

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FSSAI has decided to put food safety labels on the front side of packaged food depending on the harm fat, sugar and salt cause to human health

leads to reduction in consumption of ultra-processed food products, which are considered bad for human health. Around half of the processed food sold in the United States is ultra-processed, meaning very less natural products are used.

“There is a need to provide information

in

a

simple

way about the impact of packaged food on health so that consumers can make choices,” Arun Singhal, FSSAI CEO

IIM Ahmedabad has been asked to conduct a survey on the nature of FoP labels in the interest of consumers, he said on the occasion of 15th anniversary of formation of FSSAI here. “We will get a people perception study done by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, on what sort of label would people prefer,” said Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chief executive Arun Singhal. Once that study comes, draft and then final guidelines on front of package label (FOPL) would be issued, he said.

Singhal said that several deliberations have been held with stakeholders. A consensus has been arrived at on most issues after elaborate consultations with the industry and consumers, who had different opinions of this issue initially. “The technical issues have been settled, but only one issue is left, that is, the nature of the FoP label. For this, IIM Ahmedabad has been asked to conduct a survey,” he said. z

Coding and Marking

z Sustainably designed piezo inkjet solution

Domino launches Cx350i piezo inkjet technology

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omino has launched Cx350i, a new sustainably designed piezo inkjet technology for printing on secondary packaging, highlighting its commitment to ‘Do more’ to help manufacturers achieve their sustainability goals.

“We recognize that sustainable production cannot be achieved in isolation,” says David Edwards, product manager – PIJ at Domino. “Product coding and marking is an integral part of all global supply chains – and as such we have an ambition and a responsibility to our customers, and to the world in general, to ensure that our products are consciously designed to minimize their environmental impact.”

“The Cx350i has been designed with these ambitions and responsibilities in mind – it offers our customers a sustainable solution for direct printing on boxes and sets a new standard for product development at Domino” continues Edwards. “The printer is optimized to ensure maximum code quality with minimal ink usage and has been designed to work exclusively with low-impact vegetable-oil-based printing inks – the result is sustainable printing without compromising on quality.”

Improved print quality using less ink The Cx350i has been optimized to achieve a 33% reduction in ink usage for barcodes printed at 200dpi when compared with Domino’s previous generation secondary packaging printers. As barcode quality is a top priority for manufacturers when printing on boxes, Domino has worked to develop a solution that matches the resolution of previous generation coders but delivers a far superior code in terms of print quality.

“While resolution relates only to the number of ink dots per inch, overall print quality is also determined by ink drop size, drop placement, and the ink itself,” says Edwards. “With the Cx350i we worked to optimize all

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the factors which influence print quality – improved drop size and ink placement – and new and improved inks have allowed us to reduce the overall quantity of ink needed to produce high-quality codes time after time.”

In addition, the Cx350i requires far less frequent purging than previous piezo inkjet printers, which further reduces ink waste. The printer also offers flexibility with respect to printer settings, with options to further reduce ink usage dependent on specific customer requirements. Customers can choose from a large range of text fonts and sizes and have the freedom to manually reduce ink drop size.

Sustainable vegetable-oilbased printing inks The Cx350i utilizes exclusively sustainable vegetableoil-based printing inks, specifically developed to aid in the safe recycling of cardboard packaging. With global demand for recycled cardboard increasing year on year, it is imperative that the industry move away from the use of mineral-oil-based solutions, which contribute to a rise in harmful mineral-oil concentration in recycled pulp products.

Domino supports a move away from mineral-oil-based inks and as such, is investing in sustainable alternatives to mineral oils, including vegetable-oil-based solutions, for all current and future product development.

The new vegetable-oil-based printing inks for the Cx350i comply with current proposals for mineral oil regulations outlined by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Domino’s new Cx350i runs vegetable oil-based inks for more sustainable coding and marking of secondary packaging

Vegetable-oil-based printing inks are also less polluting than mineral oils – with a reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) content. VOCs are polluting gases that can affect indoor air quality, and also contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and methane. With less than 10% VOC content Domino’s new inks are considered low-VOC and represent a 70% reduction in VOC content compared with previous mineral-oilbased solutions.

“You might think that sustainability would come as a compromise to performance – however, this is not the case,” says Edwards. “Our new ink offers premium results in terms of contrast and adherence and has been through extensive field testing to ensure optimal longevity so manufacturers can be sure of a high-quality code which will stand the test of time.”

“As a coding and marking supplier, we have a key role to play in promoting sustainable consumption and production processes and recognize that our customers can only achieve their sustainability goals with our collaboration and support,” says Edwards. “That’s why, as a company, we are committed to creating reliable solutions – like the Cx350i – that have a minimal impact on the environment and are designed to drive out waste, reduce errors, and promote efficiency.” z

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Inks and Consumables

An interview with Vinay Bhardwaj of Siegwerk India In an interview with The Packman, Vinay Bhardwaj, vice president – flexible packaging and tobacco, Siegwerk, India shares about Siegwerk’s stand on food safety and sustainability compliance as well as the company’s continuous move towards a toluene-free work environment and products. Here is an excerpt from the interview.

Mahan Hazarika: How do you see the growth of the flexible packaging market in India and what are the trends driving the growth?

Vinay Bhardwaj: The flexible packaging market in India has seen robust growth and will continue to grow at 11% CAGR in the 2021-2025 period, as forecast. The growing retail sector and investments in food processing sectors are considered the major growth drivers for this segment in India. At Siegwerk, we believe that inks and coatings can function as key enablers in the path towards creating new, efficient and environmentally friendly designs in flexible packaging. We believe that new functionalities and enhanced efficiencies driven by innovation in inks will be essential contributors to the growth of the flexible packaging segment.

Mahan Hazarika: Siegwerk’s stand on food safety compliance…

Vinay Bhardwaj: Food safety has been a topic of discussion among the packaging industry stakeholders for a while now, with everyone from the regulatory agencies to the ink and substrate manufacturers and the converters waking up not just to the importance of safe packaging for food items, but also the legal implications of it. Siegwerk has been at the forefront of food safety in India, and has proactively banned the use of toluene for solvent-based inks at its Bhiwadibased manufacturing facility, over two years ago, much before the regulatory ban on toluene in India was implemented.

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implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), to supply the safest inks to its consumers. Most importantly, Siegwerk is the only ink manufacturer that completely operates in a toluene-free facility, thereby protecting its workers as well as consumers.

Mahan Hazarika: Siegwerk’s stand on sustainability compliance…

Vinay Bhardwaj, vice president – flexible packaging and tobacco, Siegwerk India

Siegwerk has established itself as a market leader for packaging inks, and also in the field of sensitive applications including food, pharma, hygiene and cosmetics. Packaging inks are usually formulated with different chemicals to meet the packaging demands, ranging from resistance against diverse foodstuffs over mechanical and temperature stability, and from deep freeze to retort applications to facilitate the runnability of the printed material in the industrial packaging machines. These chemicals can have toxic and carcinogenic effects if they are not properly chosen or carefully formulated as suitable food contact material (FCM) inks. Siegwerk has built systematic processes that allow the selection of suitable raw materials and

Vinay Bhardwaj: We believe in leading sustainability initiatives and providing safer, worry-free packaging solutions to the nutrition, pharma and hygiene (NPH ) packaging segments. Our consistent efforts have made the ink industry completely toluene-free today, much before the stringent FSSAI regulations and brand owner specifications came into place. Even today, Siegwerk is the only ink manufacturer that offers exclusively toluene-free ink solutions. We have gained expertise in converting many small and large converters from toluene-based to toluene-free inks. We guide all our customers who switch to toluene-free solutions, to do so efficiently and effectively.

We have taken a strategic decision to build and strengthen the circular economy in the packaging industry. Our target is to become a circular and digital packaging solutions company as part of our strategy for 2025 – the New Horizons 2025.

Towards that, we have embarked upon several initiatives at all our global businesses, revolving around the concepts of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

We are partnering with our converter customers and others in the packaging value chain – from film producers to brand owners – to come up with

Inks and Consumables innovative ways of promoting sustainability in the world of flexible packaging.

Mahan Hazarika: What are your expectation as an ink manufacturer from the supply chain especially brand owners and converters?

Vinay Bhardwaj: At Siegwerk, we believe that transformational change in functionality, efficiency and sustainability can only be brought in through collaboration among multiple partners in the value chain. We offer not only high-quality toluene-free inks and coatings that meet or exceed current packaging requirements but also guide and support customers in designing and choosing appropriate solutions. We also provide print support services, through which we aim to leverage our global expertise to support our printing customers’ needs in India. We have built a track record of successful partnerships with brand owners, to effectively contribute towards advancing their global and local design efficiency and sustainability targets.

With our capabilities, we expect our customers and brand owners to engage with us in the early stages of their projects, so that all perspectives can be effectively considered from the start and can be efficiently implemented within the stipulated timeframes. We have developed certain innovative technologies such as special effect coatings, functional lacquers, etc. which can be considered towards designing a sustainable, cost-effective packaging solution for many products.

Mahan Hazarika: Your assurance to brand owners and converters…

Vinay Bhardwaj: Siegwerk has always assured high-quality products and responsive support services to all its customers. We leverage our global expertise through case studies and technology exchanges and bring in our rich experience through state-of-the-art solutions to our customers. Siegwerk always strives to be at the forefront of evolving global regulatory requirements and brand owner specifications. We also guarantee transparency in the regulatory compliance of components used in our products by providing a detailed Statement

of Composition for all our products. Siegwerk has a strong commitment to product safety and transparency in the supply chain.

Mahan Hazarika: Your products that are best in the market…

Vinay Bhardwaj: Siegwerk provides best-in-class inks and OPVs used in Flexo printing processes in all packaging segments, especially in Nutrition, Pharma & Hygiene (NPH) packaging segments. Our flexo printing ink solutions minimize costs by decreasing downtime and set-up time and also maximize performance attributes such as chemical resistance, scuff resistance and bond strengths.

Our toluene-free printing solutions for gravure applications are well established in the industry and are known to provide excellent efficiencies, printability, and trouble-free and consistent performance. Our printing experts have guided many customers in the NPH segment, to switch smoothly from toluene-based to toluene-free solutions thereby complying with the changed Indian regulations. z

z Solvent-based ink and coating range

Flint Group Packaging Inks launches ONECode Universal Bases

F

lint Group Packaging Inks has launched a new innovative concentrate technology designed to solve many of the efficiency challenges faced by today’s flexible packaging converter.

Part of the company’s recently announced ONECode solvent-based ink and coating range in Europe, Flint Group’s Universal Bases are designed to be utilized for surface, medium, and high-performance lamination flexible packaging printing, including sterilization work.

Stephen Butler, product manager packaging inks Europe, explains, “ONECode Universal Bases enable printers to simplify their ink room processes, further deliver lean production principles, and drive continuous improvement across their print operations. Importantly, having only one base technology that can work with multiple ink systems facilitates improvements in overall equipment efficiency, as well as cost savings via the reduction of ink inventories and process waste.

According to the company, Universal Bases offer compatibility with a wide range of main and co-binder resins used in multiple ink formulations, including Nitrocellulose (NC), Polyurethane (PU) and other key chemistries. The company adds that Universal Bases has the ability to blend a PU-based system for high-end lamination, pouches and retort.

“What we’re endeavoring to do is simplify the ink management process to create quality and consistency while enabling cost reduction for our customers.

These universal bases allow converters to blend PU inks and NC inks from the same range of concentrates without duplication of products across their inventory.”

These new innovative bases are offered for Flint Group’s MatrixCode UNV (mono-solvent EtAC for simplified solvent recovery for gravure print processes) and HelixCode UNV (pluri-solvent for flexographic and/or gravure printing) flexible packaging products. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Inks and Consumables

z Partnership for advanced engineering solutions

IEC+ aims to double its size by year-end, joins IM Group

I

Mahan Hazarika

EC+, a mechanical engineering specialist well known for its design and manufacturing of dispersing, grinding and mixing equipment as well as complete engineering studies and turnkey solutions, has joined global technology leader IM Group.

The much-awaited announcement – filmed on location at IEC+’s headquarters in Travesetolo in Parma, Italy as well as at Inkmaker in Shanghai, China and at IEC Plant Engineering’s HQ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – was premiered on Youtube recently, to mark the Group’s closing quarter of 2021. This significant chapter, in IM Group’s evolution, rounds off a series of events and activities for the group (previously Inkmaker Group), making it its most eventful year to date.

Two-pronged strategy The decision to announce the joining of IEC+, six months after IM Group’s launch, was based on a two-pronged strategy. Christophe Rizzo, CEO of EMEA/ Americas, IM Group explained, “The initial phase was to lay the foundations of IM Group by structuring our brands to focus on their individual specialties, yet

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for them to come together to offer total processengineering solutions, under a single group, when required. The second phase was to evolve this to an advanced stage. Today, we are adding a significant boost to our portfolio with the addition of a company that will act as a central catalyst to unite and spearhead each of our other brands into advanced engineering solutions.”

IEC+ has been partnering with IM Group for several years. By offering dispersing, grinding and mixing equipment, IEC+ effectively becomes IM Group’s crowning stroke as it is set to elevate the group to a higher playing field.

Roberto Guerra, CEO Asia Pacific, IM Group said, “We are ready with our industry-4.0-equipped factories to offer our clients this next phase. Other than just expanding our premises, we have been busy, paving the way by strengthening our bond with Malaysianbased IEC Plant Engineering, a specialist in this industry since 1992. They have an extensive sales and service network throughout South-East Asia; especially in Malaysia, India and Vietnam. Additionally their CEO, PM Ravi, an existing shareholder of IEC+, has been fine-tuning an excellent inter-brand relationship with us, which is a bonus.”

The announcement was premiered on Youtube recently

Addition of IEC+ is a bonus Valentina Cigna, global director of HR and president of IM Group explained that now that IEC+ has joined IM Group, many resources will be shared throughout all the group’s brands, thus reducing waste, and that IM Group will be consolidating their forces to include IEC+ into their overall circular-economy plan.

Plans are also being made to create additional jobs for the region of Parma, Italy. “We plan to increase IEC+’s workforce, by around 15-20% within the next 5 years, and invest in human capital initiatives such as advanced IoT training, to improve industry 4.0 experience and skills,” explained Cigna.

Lau Kar Seng, general manager of Inkmaker Shanghai and member of the board, explained that in China too, since IM Group’s launch in April, preparations were being finalized in two main areas. Firstly, by expanding to larger premises to align with IEC+’s specifications; to manufacture and customize large heavy-duty equipment for

Inks and Consumables dispersing, grinding and mixing and secondly to form a joint-venture company with Zhuhai Longtec called Inkmaker Intelligent Systems in anticipation of offering IEC+’s service, expertise, and machinery. “Longtec, is a large cooperation, listed on the Shenzhen New Third Board, and will significantly boost our market reach throughout China,” explained Seng. “The addition of IEC+ is a bonus that many competitors will be unable to match in China, especially with IEC Plant Engineering (in Asia) as our partners.”

Unique opportunity for evolution The entrance of IEC+ into the group presents a unique opportunity for the evolution of both – the group, as

well as for IEC+. “IEC+ is an extraordinary company with a technical know-how gained from over 20 years’ experience of its team. It can offer, ‘advanced engineering’ – by this we mean that the design, projection, and management services are extended to all the production processes, site management and software interface. This starts from preliminary engineering studies through to the complete project implementation and delivery – as such this will use the specializations from all our brands,” explained Gianluca Incerti, global commercial director, IM Group.

“Each brand will continue to be differentiated through their expertise, and compete in their individual market sectors, and when required, they will come together on large projects for IM Group.”

IEC+ share holder and long-term partner of Inkmaker,

PM Ravi, CEO of IEC Plant Engineering said, “I am happy with this outcome. It is an ideal collaboration for all – IM Group, IEC+ and IEC Plant Engineering, too.” With over 30 years’ experience in the region, IEC Plant Engineering’s stronghold of Southeast Asia boasts an extensive network of branches, factories and after-sales service facilities backed by a workforce of skilled engineers.

Antonio Riggio, operations manager of Tecnopails, who has also been appointed as general manager of IEC+, outlined that the strategy for IEC+, for the immediate future, will be based on three pillars – to reinforce the system-engineering capacity; to increase the production capacity; and to enhance the service.

He concluded that IEC+ is aiming to double the size of its facilities by year-end. z

z Developed by local H.B. Fuller scientists

H.B. Fuller India introduces adhesive for paper straws

H

.B. Fuller India has introduced a new food-safe adhesive under its leading Swifttak brand to meet the increasing paper straws demand. The company says the latest launch offers differentiated advantages in terms of sustainability, safety, and manufacturing efficiency.

Developed by local H.B. Fuller scientists, the new water-based technology reportedly enables improved food-safe solutions that maintain straw integrity while the consumer is enjoying a beverage, and create durable paper straws that withstand three-hour resistance in a wide range of liquids, including water, juices, soft drinks, and milk. Straws made with Swifttak adhesives meet FDA 176.170 regulatory.

“No matter if you are starting your paper straw business, expanding your portfolio from plastic to paper, or simply upgrading your technology to be high waterresistant, choosing the right adhesive is key to creating a safe, long-lasting paper straw that maintains its integrity during use and that help reduce environmental footprint,” says Harsh Gupta, IMEA managing director.

“Our new Swifttak PS5600-I is really at the forefront of

innovation while being plasticizer-free, and by offering more than three-hour liquid resistance and greater operational efficiencies.”

The company claims that it has advanced the adhesives grade for very fast-moving paper straw machines, taking manufacturing to a new level of efficiency and product quality. The company further says, Swifttak supports fast-setting products that are easier and cleaner to work with and cause less wear and tear on machinery allowing manufacturers to focus more on product quality and output and less on operational concerns. Additionally, as beverage brands, restaurants, and corporations make the transition from plastic to paper straws, it is important that they offer liquid-resistant, compliant, and food-safe straws made for a more sustainable future.

By leveraging its laboratory in Shirwal, near Pune, the H.B. Fuller R&D team worked closely with specialized paper and machine manufacturers to customize the formulation for high-speed paper straw production and address specific applications and equipment.

Having this capability and technical knowledge based

in India, allows the global company to test adhesives with manufacturers’ paper samples prior to running the adhesive on their paper straw lines, providing confidence in product performance before halting regular production to trial new material.

“The industry is steadily moving towards more ecofriendly processes and components. Adhesives, a small, yet central, actor in the change towards circularity and sustainability, are now helping manufacturers address major concerns with plastic and tackling the paper straw market needs to continue to grow in popularity and usage,” concludes Gupta. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Paper Packaging

z Repel Pure – non-Fluro chemical grease-resistant paper

BillerudKorsnäs’ sustainable and safe packaging solutions for Indian sweets and snacks industry In an interview with The Packman, Jens Bauer – global sales director – specialties segment, business area sack and Kraft paper, BillerudKorsnäs, provides insights about his company’s business operation in India as well as how it is adopting sustainability for a better future globally. BillerudKorsnäs recently launched a non-fluro chemical grease repellant paper for fast food, snacks and sweets packaging, and are in the process of upgrading it with higher grease resistance in the coming future. Here is an excerpt from the interview.

Mahan Hazarika: Has the pandemic accelerated or slowed the sustainability drive in packaging?

Jens Bauer: The increased need for safe food and e-Commerce activities has definitely accelerated the business. We see strong development in BillerudKorsnäs in liquid packaging board, containerboard, and sack and kraft papers. Increased private and public spending on innovations has triggered very high needs in paper-based building materials like cement sacks and insulation panels. Our medical paper units have been of course under high pressure to satisfy the exploding market need during the pandemic for syringes, needles and other medical devices.

Mahan Hazarika: With sustainability being a new driving force in the industry, how is the industry expanding the possibilities and accelerating the adoption of advanced packaging applications such as molded fiber, plant-based packaging, etc.?

Jens Bauer: BillerudKorsnäs, producing virgin-fiberbased packaging materials, is always working on sustainable packaging solutions. Our mission “We challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future” is in the DNA of all our employees and we source our wood from sustainable, mainly certified

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ing on bio-based and compostable barriers, improved medical papers and new products to replace applications that today are typically covered by plastic film. We have launched Repel Pure (non-fluro chemical grease repellant papers) for fast food, snacks and sweets packaging, and we are in the process of launching a Repel Pure version with higher grease resistance in the coming future.

Jens Bauer – global sales director – specialties segment, business area sack and Kraft paper, BillerudKorsnäs

northern forests. We support our customers in reducing food waste but also work hard to reduce the impact of our production units on the environment. We are already 97% fossil-free and can be proud of a low carbon footprint.

Mahan Hazarika: What are some of BillerudKorsnäs’ new products in the pipeline and how much does your R&D and its principles enhance the road ahead?

Jens Bauer: We push multiple activities around new and optimized packaging materials, intensively work-

Mahan Hazarika: Can you provide some broad strokes on how BillerudKorsnäs is leveraging its packaging materials for key industries in India?

Jens Bauer: We are providing sustainable paper packaging solutions to replace plastics and other non-sustainable packaging solutions which not only reduces carbon footprint but is also beneficial to the nature, is easily recyclable and most importantly is healthy and safe for consumers. The packaging solutions that we provide do not only protect the contents but in fact protect the brand and elevates the appearance and shelf appeal as well. We have undertaken a major project to provide sustainable, environmentally friendly, healthy and safe packaging solutions for the Indian sweets and snacks industry through our Repel Pure range, a non-fluro chemical grease-resistant paper.

Paper Packaging Mahan Hazarika: How are you leveraging the food and beverage startups in India?

Jens Bauer: Our local presence in India has helped us to connect and remain in touch with the key stakeholders in the Indian market including the food and beverage startups. We continue to engage with them through a series of webinars, discovery meetings, innovations seminars, mailers and most importantly through packaging media like The Packman. We undertake aggressive marketing initiatives and campaigns targeted towards B2B

industry in the packaging, food and beverage landscape in India. Zaheer Abbas, who has been with us for more than six years, is spearheading our efforts in South Asia in the flexible packaging and fast food packaging segments in business development, sales and marketing management.

Mahan Hazarika: What do you reckon are some of the leading sustainability trends in the food and beverage industry?

areas where good recycling infrastructure is in place, compostable materials where this is not available to mitigate the stress on the environment.

Material reduction through high-strength papers and reusable packaging, like very strong and stable carrier bags. Paper and mono-materials replacing packaging materials, consisting of several different components. A very distinct, impactful, and highly visible initiative by the key players to replace and remove single-use plastics in applications such as straws, bags, lids, and many more. z

Jens Bauer: Circular economy in geographical

z Fit-for-purpose reusable shopping bag

Mondi & Taurus Packaging collaborate to create wet strength paper shopping bag

M

ondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, and Taurus Packaging have developed a fit-for-purpose reusable shopping bag that can carry groceries and meet the needs of the demanding Southern African retail marketplace. Mondi’s Advantage Kraft Plus with wet strength makes this paper bag a great alternative in a market where plastic bags have traditionally been used.

Mondi’s kraft paper for shopping bags is strong enough for South Africa’s demanding weather conditions, including humidity. Its wet strength meets the 16 kg standard requirement of the South African market and resists tearing even when cold products and liquids condense quickly. It also withstands longer customer journeys on public transport.

Collaborating with Taurus Packaging, two million paper shopping bags will be produced per month using Mondi’s paper, providing a recyclable, renewable, and PEFC certified, sustainably sourced alternative to plastic.

This new solution has found a home with two customers, SPAR South Africa and Food Lover’s Market, both national chains committed to finding more sustainable

solutions for their customers. Food Lover’s Market have banned plastic bags from their stores, and the new paper shopping bags have already been well received by customers as a more sustainable alternative.

“These paper bags are a part of our commitment to embrace our responsibility to the environment and climate change. As such, it was a natural step to replace plastic with paper bags. The response from consumers has been overwhelmingly positive as the paper bag itself is very strong and on average can be used seven times and carrying a weight of about 10kg,” says Angela van der Merwe, packaging coordinator at the Food Lover’s Market Group.

“These robust shopping bags make it possible for us to provide a sustainable yet practical alternative for our customers. Where paper bags used to tear easily, this paper repels water so makes it possible for us to provide a practical, reusable and recyclable alternative that reduces the use of plastic bags,” says Devin Galtrey, Spar South Africa.

“Applying our customer-centric EcoSolutions approach, we were able to support Taurus in their search for a sustainable paper bag alternative. With our kraft paper expertise, we have made it possible to still

Acording to Mondi, the packaging solution can prevent up to 2 million plastic bags from entering the waste stream in South Africa every month

use and reuse these paper bags under demanding handling conditions,” says Conny Josefsson, sales director Sack Kraft Paper, Mondi. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Automation

z Interview with Dinesh Mungi of B&R Industrial Automation

“Automation in India is now a necessity for every industry” Mahan Hazarika speaks to Dinesh Mungi, lead packaging solutions, B&R Industrial Automation, to discuss about the automation industry in India, major challenges and B&R’s new products in the pipeline. Here is an excerpt from the interview.

Mahan Hazarika: How has the current pandemic impacted your business operations, sales, and profitability?

Dinesh Mungi: Honestly, we all know that the current situation has affected globally to various sectors. On a broader picture, despite the downfall of certain sectors, multiple sectors have grown doubly, even in this hard-hit market. B&R being a global business partner to various head honchos of the industry has its spectrum spread to different market tiers.

At B&R, we believe in proper planning and providing the correct information to our customers. We call ourselves business partners of our customers.

Profitable sales and maintaining business operations running does not happen in a day. It needs collaborative commitments – it is over the years what you give is what you achieve.

Mahan Hazarika: How interested are the OEMs and end-users in automation in India?

Dinesh Mungi: Automation in India is now a necessity for every industry. It has gained remarkable momentum in driving the digital-enabled and sensor-activated factories. From the shop floor to the warehouse to corporate offices, everyone is using automation. If we mainly talk about the manufacturing industry, the organizations seek special solace to ramp up their business. A lot of our customers are tech-savvy; every day, they look out for technological advancements

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logical innovations. These Innovations are a boon to industries in decreasing downtime error, reducing unplanned breakdown, easy analysis of data, etc.

It helped to increase productivity, revenue gain, and minor wear and tear of the machine. Being a technology hub, B&R has introduced advanced solutions like mechatronic systems; ACOPOStrak, SuperTrak, and ACOPOS 6D and an Integrated vision system with unique camera features. This has helped B&R to expand its unique market position in the packaging industry.

Dinesh Mungi, lead packaging solutions, B&R Industrial Automation

processes and invest a large chunk of the amount in R&D to make their product superior and more user-friendly.

The market is ramping up every year with techno-

In new India, the new generation industrial revolution has brought industries ramping up their business and marking itself on the global map. You see, now the factories in India are more automated and continuously looking for technology advancement tools. Indian manufacturing industry today moves hand in hand to bring out the best of productivity through modern technologies.

“In new India, the new generation industrial revolution has brought industries ramping up their business and marking itself on the global map. You see, now the factories in India are more automated and continuously looking for technology advancement tools. Indian manufacturing industry today moves hand in hand to bring out the best of productivity through modern technologies”

Automation different designs and dimensions. Our packaging partners have already started implementing our new technologies into their factories.

Mahan Hazarika: What are some big challenges in India in the productive use of automation in packaging?

Mahan Hazarika: What are some new products in the pipeline and how much does your R&D and its principles enhance the road ahead?

Dinesh Mungi: At B&R, we have complete hardware and software solutions, comprehensive service and hard-earned expertise in the automation and digitalization of machinery and equipment. Our unique combination of features gives our customers a clear competitive edge. Apart from mechatronic systems and vision systems, our new product line includes Machine Centric Robotic system.

B&R, a unit of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business, announced to further augment its portfolio by integrating ABB Robots. The integration of ABB robots into its automation portfolio. With the ability to offer unprecedented levels of machine flexibility and precision, merging robotics with machine control into one unified architecture will enable manufacturers to embrace the trend of mass customization and optimize their lot size one processes. Fully integrating ABB’s robots into its automation systems means that B&R can supply OEMs with machine automation and robotics from a single source. They need only one controller and one engineering system for development, diagnostics, and maintenance. This lowers the threshold for those looking to implement robotics.

ABB robots are programmed in B&R’s universal engineering environment, just like all other automation components. The robotics controller is an integral part of the machine control application. This merging of the two systems allows movements to be synchronized with microsecond precision. With these, our recent launch of ACOPOS 6D, B&R triumphs a new era of manufacturing. Magnetic levitating shuttles move individual products freely through the machine.

The extinction of conventional packaging lines in manufacturing consumed a lot of time with less productivity. ACOPOS 6D is ideal for small-batch production with frequent changeover between products of

Dinesh Mungi: For many Indian organizations, the Industry 4.0 concept has been a buzz topic. Broadly, this terminology can be understood as modernized methods of production in which machines, products, and workers are digitally networked together. Incorporating various concepts that are parts of Industry 4.0, such as the Industrial IoT, Advanced Automation, Cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, changes brownfield or traditional factories or plants into smart factories. However, how to most efficiently adapt these concepts into the packaging industry remains a challenge.

B&R offers solutions for all types of packaging machinery: from primary and secondary packaging to end-of-line solutions. We address our customers’ challenges and unique requirements and help them set new standards in flexible, productive, efficient packaging technology. We help them create adaptive machines that bring real competitive advantages.

Mahan Hazarika: What are the main things you need to consider while creating automation for the Indian packaging industry?

Dinesh Mungi: The automation solution has long been a way to enhance productivity and lower operational costs. Automation solution helps in replacing redundant operations, reducing the costs and increasing the speed of the production while improving the operator’s safety. Advancements in automation make it

possible to automate tasks that were, until recently, too complex to automate. However, while automating the packaging line, Indian organization is expected to understand the process and the goals so that they can automate the operations that are worth automating and get the quick RoI. z

Advancements in automation make it possible to automate tasks that were, until recently, too complex to automate. However, while automating the packaging line, Indian organization is expected to understand the process and the goals so that they can automate the operations that are worth automating and get the quick RoI.

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Filling and Sealing

z Future-proof line conversion

Bad Meinberger mineral water bottling plant invests in KHS technology

B

Convincing KHS service and line performance

everage bottles made of glass have again become increasingly popular in the last few years. Lots of consumers and beverage brands are now consciously opting for this type of packaging. A good number of bottlers are thus adding glass containers to their portfolio or expanding their production capacities. They are often then faced with the question of whether to invest in a new system or convert an existing one. Mineral water bottling plant Bad Meinberger was no exception here. They modified the plant’s existing returnable PET line so that it can process glass bottles just as efficiently – and in doing so optimized its consumption values to boot.

At the same time the beverage producer invested in the powerful Innofill DRS filler.

In Germany’s Westphalia, the Bad Meinberger brand is drunk at the dinner table, after sport and during work breaks. Besides the popular regional brand for North Rhine-Westphalia, the traditional family-owned company also markets calcium-rich FORSTETAL600 Calciumquelle mineral water, particularly in the north and east of Germany.

Speaking about the bottling plant’s philosophy on quality, managing director Volker Schlingmann says, “Our mineral water is a natural product that we make high-quality demands of. The packaging has to meet these, too.”

What Schlingmann finds particularly important is the concept of environmental protection and the circular economy. The mineral water bottling plant, therefore, pursues an ambitious sustainability strategy that incorporates every single aspect of the company – such as the choice of packaging and the machine technology.

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Until recently, Bad Meinberger filled its products on two lines – a returnable PET and a glass bottle line.

However, the increased demand for mineral water and soft drinks in glass bottles called for a radical restructuring. “We’ve been seeing massive growth in this segment since 2013. In the long term, we saw no alternative but to increase our glass capacities,” says Schlingmann.

The question was whether the plant needed to invest in a new line or whether one of its existing lines could be revamped so that it could cope with the higher

In 2019 Bad Meinberger invested in a KHS combined line on which the traditional company can process both glass and PET bottles. The resource-conserving Innofill Glass DRS forms the heart of the new system

For this reason, Bad Meinberger only uses returnable bottles that are ecologically advantageous. Since May 2021 both the company and all Bad Meinberger products have been climate neutral throughout the entire product life cycle. For its outstanding commitment to sustainability, in 2019 the mineral water bottling plant was heralded as a pacesetter at the KlimaEXPO. NRW exhibition.

What

Schlingmann

finds

particularly important is the concept

of

environmental

protection and the circular economy. The mineral water bottling

plant,

therefore,

pursues

an

ambitious

sustainability strategy that incorporates

every

single

aspect of the company – such as the choice of packaging and the machine technology.

Filling and Sealing The

modernized

system

went into production in the middle of March 2021. The line fills and processes up to 30,000 returnable 1.0-liter PET bottles or a maximum of For conversion of the bottle washer the KHS experts developed a special procedure that makes the recooling and heating process during container changeover more efficient and sustainable. They also engineered a system for label discharge

demand. Bad Meinberger then approached KHS in this matter. Bad Meinberger decided to turn its existing returnable PET line into a combined system that can process both PET and glass bottles.

The good condition of the machine park had a considerable impact on the nature of the decision reached, with some of the KHS machines in use for over 15 years. The fact that Bad Meinberger also attaches great importance to having trained expert personnel regularly service and clean its plant engineering also paid off in this respect. In 2019 the project then entered the concrete planning and offer phase, for the strategy adopted by the Dortmund systems provider had proved convincing.

33,000 0.75-liter glass bottles per hour.

a special procedure that makes the recooling and heating process during container changeover more efficient and sustainable. This greatly improves the consumption values on the bottle washer. Secondly, the KHS team also engineered a system for label discharge. Thirdly, the spray pumps were optimized.

They now only run at full power when there are bottles in the machine. During downtime or breaks the spray pump pressure levels are automatically lowered. This helps Bad Meinberger to save on water and electricity.

In addition to the bottle washer, the plant’s packers and unpackers in the Innopack PPZ series were also adapted to the new setup. The KHS experts fitted the packaging machines with new format sets and packing heads so that they can now cater for the different bottle and crate formats for PET and glass.

Increased efficiency and improved hygiene

Challenging conversion Bad Meinberger invested in KHS’ Innofill DRS filling The conversion focused on the KHS Innoclean EM bottle washer that has been in successful operation for 17 years at Bad Meinberger. The KHS team changed the machine so that it can now sanitize both PET and glass bottles.

This was a very challenging undertaking, Dünnhaupt claims. “The cleaning processes for the two containers differ greatly. There’s a difference in temperature for a start, as glass bottles are washed at considerably higher temperatures. Furthermore, with PET bottles the label has to be cut off before rinsing; with glass bottles, the machine washes the label off.”

KHS duly mastered both challenges through smart optimization of the Innoclean EM. Firstly, it developed

system. “Converting the machine over to a combined system meant that this new investment was unavoidable,” Dünnhaupt says. “As glass bottles don’t have a cap ring-like PET containers, the filler can’t grip them by the bottleneck. This means they have to be conveyed by the base, a feature the old machine didn’t have.”

The former model was outdated compared to the DRS when it comes to the efficient use of resources. The filler’s high level of hygiene was another key factor that triggered the decision to opt for this particular system.

This is facilitated by the machine’s rotary design and installation of the motors in the frame. The automatic CIP caps also play a role here.

The modernized system went into production in the middle of March 2021. The line fills and processes up to 30,000 returnable 1.0-liter PET bottles or a maximum of 33,000 0.75-liter glass bottles per hour.

Schlingmann didn’t take it for granted that the conversion would run so smoothly and without any delays.

He believes that his company is now perfectly set up for the future with its sophisticated conversions and new investment. The mineral water bottling plant not only profits from more flexibility that allows it to react quickly to changing market demands; its improved line and resource efficiency also helps it to achieve its ambitious sustainability targets. z

Bad Meinberger only uses returnable bottles that are ecologically Since

May

advantageous.

2021

both

the company and all Bad Meinberger

products

have been climate neutral throughout the entire product life cycle. For its outstanding commitment to sustainability, in 2019 the mineral water Bad Meinberger produces and markets the brands Bad Meinberger Die Quelle seit 1767, Forstetal600 Calciumquelle and Externstein Quelle

bottling plant was heralded as

a

pacesetter

at

the

KlimaExpo. NRW exhibition.

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51

Filling and Sealing

z 45,000 bottles per hour

Sidel Super Combi Compact line for Zulal Water Factory in Sharjah

S

idel’s Super Combi Compact complete water line has opened the door for more business opportunities for Zulal Water Factory, in Sharjah, UAE (Zulal). Running at up to 45,000 bottles per hour (bph), the line not only delivers increased productivity by 280%, but also helps the company save 56% on energy costs, when compared with their existing PET line. In addition, with the new, lighter PET bottle and optimization of utilities, there has been a considerable reduction in the overall carbon footprint.

Zulal was established by HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, supreme court member, and ruler of Sharjah, which is part of SEWA (Sharjah Electricity and Water and Gas Authority) in the UAE. The company’s vision is to provide clean, pure drinking water for all people in the region. In 1995, Zulal was the first government organization to address this requirement. It is the only water enterprise that provides 100% pure groundwater directly from the Hamdah wells in Sharjah. The water is certified by international standards and packed according to the highest international standards for packaging drinking water.

The connection between Zulal and Sidel can be dated back to the late 1990s, when Zulal first installed a Sidel blower. In 2019, the company reached out to Sidel again for a new high-speed line to meet market demand. As a complete line solution provider, Sidel consulted the customer on packaging design and line capacity, as well as line design and layout to enhance the overall performance.

The layout was a key element of the line design for this project, because the line had to be installed in the existing location

Productivity opens the door for more business opportunities After 18 months of discussion, Sidel provided Zulal the Super Combi Compact water line, running at up to 45,000 bph. The layout was a key element of the line design for this project, because the line had to be installed in the existing location. Sidel experts managed to accommodate the configuration of the Super Combi Compact and conveyors, as well as two packers, into that space, thereby achieving approximately a 25% overall space saving due to the redesigned Accumulation, Combiner and Labeller.

The new line provided Zulal with greater line efficiency and productivity enabling further business opportuni-

By redesigning the PET bottles, and reducing the weight, the new bottle for 330 ml and 500 ml formats now weigh just 9.75 grams and 12.5 grams, which saved up to 0.65 gram and 1 gram respectively per bottle.

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ties. “After installing Sidel’s complete water line, we now have the capacity to supply our products to major airlines, hotels, schools and offices. We are really pleased with the enhanced performance,” said Ali Ahmed Ali Al Kindi, manager of Zulal Department at SEWA. As Sidel’s motto goes ‘Performance through understanding,’ continuous communication with clear information played a key role in this cooperation to better understand consumer’s needs and achieve goals.

New bottle design and production line aligning with sustainability goals In line with SEWA’s sustainability policy, Zulal wanted to optimize its carbon footprint. By redesigning the PET bottles, and reducing the weight, the new bottle for 330 ml and 500 ml formats now weigh just 9.75 grams and 12.5 grams, which saved up to 0.65 gram and 1 gram respectively per bottle. It also contributes to reducing Zulal’s carbon footprint with considerable PET savings, namely an estimation of saving 215 kg for 330 ml and 331 kg for 500 ml per shift production run. Additionaly, thanks to Sidel’s complete line solution, Zulal pays 56% less for energy, while increasing the productivity by 280% compared to their existing line. z

Filling and Sealing

z High-precision weighing and filling for dairy products

Molkerei Biedermann installs Ishida multihead weigher

S

wiss dairy company Molkerei Biedermann, a member of the Emmi Group, has installed an Ishida multihead weigher for handling nuts and cereals, which are packed as separate portions to accompany yoghurts and desserts. The dairy is currently using the Ishida multihead to handle five different products at target weights from 14 gram to 25 gram and with pinpoint accuracy: the standard deviation for a 25 gram weight, for example, is just 0.165 gram.

Molkerei Biedermann, based in Bischofszell in the canton of Thurgau, is one of Switzerland’s most innovative dairies, operating processing lines for milk and cream and for making yoghurt, quark cheese and butter. Growing demand had led the company to urgently seek an automated and more accurate weighing and filling solution for its most popular product lines.

Some of these products are yoghurts and desserts with separate portions of additional ingredients such as cereals or nuts. To keep these ingredients crunchy and fresh until they are added to milk or yoghurt, they need to be packed separately. Molkerei Biedermann’s solution is a double-compartment arrangement involving two pots stacked on top of each other, with the smaller pot also acting as a lid.

Molkerei

Biedermann

is

one of Switzerland’s most innovative dairies, operating processing lines for milk and cream and for making yoghurt, quark cheese and To make sure that the company could weigh its highvalue nuts and cereals with much greater accuracy, Molkerei Biedermann decided to invest in a multihead weigher. Itech, Ishida’s representative in Switzerland, installed an Ishida CCW-SE 10-head weigher, an entrylevel solution for multihead weighing needs. According to Ishida, the SE-range offers significant advances in speeds and accuracy compared with dosing machines, linear weighers or static weighing solutions.

The new weighing and filling solution has reportedly reduced product breakages significantly as the system is able to transfer the product more gently into the pots. The new weighing and packing solution offers a range of other benefits. While the old filling system led to many line stoppages, the Ishida multihead weigher has not caused a single fault. “What used

butter

to happen was that the different product mixtures would get blocked in the funnel during dosing, which interrupted the filling process,” says Dux. Molkerei Biedermann makes its double-compartment products in relatively small batches. To keep the product fresh for longer, the company aims to weigh and pack the product just before it is due for delivery to customers, meaning that product changeovers are frequent.With the Ishida weigher, changing products by calling up pre-sets at the touch of a button on the touch screen display has proved to be a valuable time-saver.To minimize downtime for cleaning, all contact parts can be removed and replaced without the use of tools. z

These double-compartment packs have proved extremely popular. However, the company found that its existing volumetric dosing system for the cereal and nut mixtures was no longer able to keep up with the throughput necessary to meet rising demand.

In particular, volumetric dosing resulted in very high product giveaway due to overfilling.

“We were experiencing overfilling of up to 30%. We could cope with that when quantities were small, but our production volumes are getting bigger all the time,” explains Mario Dux, operations manager, Molkerei Biedermann.

Molkerei Biedermann makes its double-compartment products in relatively small batches

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Industry News

New organics recycling program allows Cortec to use its own compostable bags

C

ortec Corporation has launched its new organics recycling program at Cortec global headquarters near Saint Paul, Minnesota. The program will collect food and paper waste that is usually thrown into the facility’s garbage and turn it into compost instead.

An especially exciting feature of this new program is the opportunity to make use of Eco Film commercially compostable bags manufactured at Cortec’s own film extrusion plant in Cambridge, Minnesota.

Cortec launched its organics recycling this year after being awarded a grant from Ramsey County to help with initial setup. This involved installing a new dumpster mezzanine area, purchasing new composting bins, training employees, and paying for disposal

hauling services and compostable products (e.g., cups, plates, utensils, etc.) for the first six months.

The organic waste will be collected in Eco Film Bags lining bins throughout Cortec’s facility and then sent to an industrial composting site in Rosemount, Minnesota, to be converted into soil amendments for local communities.

Corey Cremers, senior environmental specialist at Cortec Corporation, said, “Participating in the organics recycling program is an important step in reducing our environmental impact here at Cortec. . . . Instead of sending waste materials to landfills we can migrate the waste to a beneficial resource like compost which can be used by the

Eco Film Bags

local community. It is cool to see all facets of employees from the office to the production floor participating in the program and adding value to our environmental management system.” z

IPAMA announces team for 2021-23, new dates for Printpack

T

he 120th Meeting of the governing council of IPAMA was held on 22 October 2021 in which the the council unanimously elected its new president Rakesh K Sodhi for the term 2021-23 together with new team members.

Meanwhile, the Governing Council of IPAMA also announced new dates for 15th Printpack India to be held at India Expo Center, Greater Noida. The event

will now take place between 11-15 March 2022 The newly elected members of the governing council of IPAMA are Abhay Datta, Adithya Gupta, Alpesh Thakar, DK Garg, Gagan Singh, Gurpratap Singh, Harish Bansal, Jaiveer Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Kartar Singh, Ketan K Shah, Kuljeet Singh Maan, Paramjit Singh, R Suresh Kumar, Rakesh K Sodhi, Ravinder Singh, Shiv Kumar Sharma, and Vinay Kumar Gupta.

The governing council of IPAMA unanimously elected the following office bearers – Rakesh K Sodhi, president; Jaiveer Singh, vice president – North; Harish Bansal, vice president – South; Iqbal Singh, vice president – West; Vinay Kumar Gupta, general secretary; Ravinder Singh, joint secretary – West; DK Garg, joint secretary – East; Gagan Singh, joint secretary – South; R Suresh Kumar – treasurer. The posts of vice president – East and joint secretary – North are yet to be filled. z

The 120th Meeting of the governing council of IPAMA was held on 22 October 2021

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Industry News

Cosmo Films elevates Pankaj Poddar as the Group CEO

C

osmo Films has announced the appointment of Pankaj Poddar as the Group CEO to head the newly launched and fast growing consumer business ZIGLY alongside trade verticals including films, labeling and packaging, specialty chemicals, ferrites, masterbatches and textile chemicals. The development came into effect immediately and in recognition of the growth the company witnessed under Poddar’s leadership as CEO of the business.

With a career spanning over 26 years, Poddar has held key leadership positions in the company across

business units and verticals. As the chief financial officer at Cosmo Films in 2011, Pankaj was responsible for managing the financial operations in India as well as overseas. Since his appointment as the CEO in the year 2013, all verticals of Cosmo has witnessed year-on-year growth.

Ashok Jaipuria, chairman and managing director, Cosmo Films, said, “Pankaj’s contribution is immense for the success of Cosmo as is visible in the last few years.

Pankaj has played a key role in ensuring diversification from the Films business into ferrites, speciality chemicals

and Zigly. All of these will make a significant addition to all the parameters of the company – topline, bottomline and market valuations. He is a great asset to Cosmo with his focus, drive and implementation bringing in benefits to the company and its stakeholders.”

Pankaj Poddar said, “At this point of time, Cosmo Films is at the pivotal state of its growth with diversification into different sectors. Being a global leader in the films and packaging sector, we aim to be the preferred brand for specialty chemicals, ferrites, polymers and pet care.” z

Mitsubishi HiTec Paper adds Jetscript GS 1062

G

erman speciality paper manufacturer Mitsubishi HiTec Paper has developed Jetscript GS 1062, a coated premium inkjet paper available as a facestock material for sophisticated, personalised label applications.

The 95g/sqm paper has a homogeneous semi-glossy surface and achieves high visual gloss. The special coated ink receiving layer not only enables ‘excellent’ colour reproduction as well as very good colour brilliance, a high colour density is achievable, even with dark shades. Printouts in photorealistic print quality

are possible with Jetscript GS 1062, according to Mitsubishi HiTec Paper.

Jetscript GS 1062 can be printed with all common dye and pigment inks and is suitable for HP Indigo, and is suitable for self-adhesive labelling applications. This brand-new inkjet paper is available certified according to FSC Mix or PEFC. Noted applications for Jetscript GS 1062 include logistics, packaging, food and non-food, beverages, and promotion. z

Jetscript GS 1062 can be printed with all common dye and pigment inks and is suitable for selfadhesive labelling applications

Archroma introduces online regulatory and compliance platform

A

rchroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, has launched The Safe Edge, an online platform for instant access to product related regulatory and

compliance certificates and information. According to the company, The Safe Edge platform allows brands, retailers and manufacturers of textile, fashion, packaging, paper, paints, to verify with

just a few clicks the regulatory and compliance status of Archroma products, including regulations, ecotoxicological information and certifications, and brand requirements.

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55

Industry News The Safe Edge covers standards, regulations and information such as air emission factors, animal origin, halal, kosher, plant origin, food contact, Blue Angel, bluesign, Cradle-to-Cradle, chemical inventories, Composability EN 13432, conflict minerals, EU Flower/Ecolabel, GOTS, CONEG, ISEGA, Nordic Swan, Oekotex Standard 100, California Prop 65, REACH, RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substance), Screened Chemistry, SDS, SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern), VOC (US), ZDHC (Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals), and brand standards (like Coats A&F MRSL, Decathlon RSL 2020, Jack Wolfskin RSL and The List IV by Inditex.

The Safe Edge is already accessible for manufacturers, brands and retailers in Europe and Asia, and will be launched in North America in September 2021, and in Latin America by the end of the year.

“We wanted to offer a step change improvement in our service to all our customers and partners comments Carole Mislin, global head of product stewardship at Archroma, who is at the initiative of the project.

“Time is of the essence, and The Safe Edge offers them instant online access to up-to-date regulatory and ecotoxicological information and certificates.

Because it’s our nature.” z

The Safe Edge is already accessible for manufacturers, brands and retailers in Europe and Asia

UPM launches renewable product to reduce CO2 footprint of rubber and plastics applications

U

PM BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF) represent UPM’s latest development in sustainable solutions. The company says, the solution addresses the urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions of rubber and plastics products by offering a sustainable alternative to fossil-based carbon black and precipitated silica, the dominating functional fillers used in rubber and plastic products today.

“The RFF portfolio will be produced from sustainably sourced hardwood at our first-of-its-kind biorefinery in Leuna, Germany. The launch of this new product range emphasizes UPM’s promise to create a future beyond fossils and marks another step in the company’s transformation. With the building of the biorefinery in Leuna progressing, we now start taking visible steps in commercializing our portfolio of innovative renewable chemicals. This is a clear signal to the market that we are going to be a credible and competent partner in transforming our customers’ businesses to become more sustainable,” says Juuso Konttinen, vice president UPM Biochemicals.

“UPM BioMotion are suitable for use in a broad range of elastomers, thermoplastic compounds, and thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) in numerous industries such as automotive, flooring or footwear. Mass pro-

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duction of RFF in Leuna will ramp up during 2023.

We started product testing and development as well as compounding services in a modern Application Development Centre on site in Leuna, which will officially open later this year,” adds Konttinen.

“Launching RFF marks the culmination point of a 10-year research and development phase. It’s a whole new generation in the rubber industry and a future-fit alternative to fossil-based materials. We are confident that RFF will meet the required technical standards and performance criteria. With the UPM BioMotion RFF range, our partners will be able to take a stepchange in transforming their products to become truly sustainable,” says Christian Hübsch, director Lignin and RFF Business, UPM Biochemicals. “We are now working with our partners in the rubber and plastics value chains to develop materials and customized solutions to inspire a new generation of sustainable consumer products and thereby help brands innovate to become more sustainable.”

commercial teams are continuously extending their network with partners in the relevant value chains. UPM is finalizing a state-of-the-art test and development facility in Leuna, supporting product development and testing.

UPM is currently using test batches of RFF to work with the leading companies in the rubber-processing industry globally on the development, qualification, and pre-industrial production of final products for various industries. UPM's Research and Development and

The UPM biorefinery will produce renewable monoethylene glycol (bMEG), renewable monopropylene glycol (bMPG) and Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF) from sustainably sourced, certified hardwood with an annual capacity of 220.000 tons. z

Industry News

New leadership team at LMAI

D

uring a virtual Board meeting held on 9 August 2021, the board of directors of Label Manufacturers Association of India (LMAI) appointed Rajesh Nema, director of Pragati Graphics and Packaging, as the new president of LMAI. Nema takes over the position from Kuldip Goel, managing director of Any Graphics, Noida, who was the president for a term of two years.

Nema’s appointment was confirmed by the members in the virtual meeting on 18 September 2021. The new president has announced the names of his new team – vice president: Dinesh Mahajan of Prakash Labels, Noida; hon. secretary: Jaideep Singh of Zodiac Printers, Hyderabad; hon. treasurer: Sandeep Zaveri of Total Print Solutions, Mumbai; hon. joint secretary:

Anurag Mohan of Interact, Kolkata. The term of the new team will be two years from 2021 to 2023.

The outgoing president Kuldip Goel said, “LMAI has kept the label industry bonded during the last two years despite the challenges we faced due to COVID. My best wishes to the new team to work for the benefit of the label industry. I assure my full support to the new team.”

Rajesh Nema said, “I will endeavor to create an atmosphere of camaraderie amongst our members.

Provide opportunity to members around the country, a sense of participation. Sustainability and environment protection are prominent issues that I intend to pay attention to.” z

Rajesh Nema, the new president of LMAI

Mondi and Vafo Group unleash recyclable dog food packaging

M

ondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, is supplying a range of recyclable mono-material pet food packaging for Hau-Hau Champion, one of Finland’s most recognized brands in the premium dog food segment. The new packaging reportedly fulfills the pet food producer’s objective to launch a reclosable and recyclable packaging solution that does not compromise on performance and retains strong brand recognition in stores. It also addresses sustainability concerns of end consumers that are playing more of a role in the purchasing of pet food and products.

Recyclable for bags up to 15 kg. FlexiBag Recyclable is a mono-material polyethylene (PE) pre-made bag developed specifically for recycling, which means it can be deposited directly into Finnish plastic recycling streams.

According to Mondi, its customer-centric approach EcoSolutions helped Hau-Hau Champion find a highbarrier solution that can be reclosed, keeps food fresh and confines any smells. The previously unrecyclable multi-layer packaging contained a metalized layer which was replaced by Mondi’s recyclable monomaterial packaging – a reel material for form-filland-seal (FFS) 1.5 kg bags and pre-made FlexiBag

Thomas Kahl, EcoSolutions project manager at Mondi says, “Through our EcoSolutions approach, we help customers find environmentally responsible alternatives without compromising on performance, ease of use, or aesthetics. For Hau-Hau Champion, this involved asking many questions to gain deeper insight into the needs of the brand and its end users, as well as collaborating closely throughout the process to

The new packaging responds to consumer feedback asking for stronger carrying handles and a userfriendly reclosure to prevent kibble from going stale and thereby avoiding waste. It also features an anti-slip matt lacquer exterior and is fitted with a valve that allows air to escape for optimal palletization. test and evaluate all solutions. The new packaging also supports Mondi’s MAP2030 sustainability goal to make 100% of its products reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.”

Hau-Hau Champion is a brand produced by Prima Pet Premium, which belongs to Czech VAFO Group, a European leader in premium pet food. z THE PACKMAN | NOV-DEC 2021

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Services

Events Calendar Dates Event Name

Place

26 to 28 November 2019

CPhI India (P’Mec)

Greater Noida, India

3 to 6 December 2019

Paperex

Delhi, India

6 to 8 December 2019

Print & Packtech

Bangalore, India

12 to 14 December 2019

Pacprocess Food Pex

Delhi, India

6 to 9 January 2020

Pamex 2020

Mumbai, India

16 to 20 January 2020

Plastivision 2020

Mumbai, India

28 Feb to 1 March 2020

PacProTech

Kathmandu

19 to 21 March 2020

Asia Packaging & Printing Industry Expo

Shenzhen, China

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20 to 22 March 2020

PackPlus South 2020

Hyderabad, India

21 to 23 April 2020

Label & Flexible Packaging & Film Expo 2020

Shanghai, China

24 to 26 April 2020

Food Pack India Expo

Chennai, India

5 to 9 May 2020

Metpack 2020

Messe Essen, German

7 to 13 May 2020

interpack 2020

Dusseldorf, Germany

3 to 4 June 2020

Innopack Pharma Confex

Mumbai, India

16 to 26 June 2020

drupa 2020

Dusseldorf, Germany

19 to 22 June 2020

Plastasia 2020

Bangalore, India

6 to 9 August 2020

PackPlus Delhi

Delhi, India

17 to 19 September 2020

Pharma Pro&Pack 2020

Hyderabad, India

30 September to 2 October 2020

IndiaCorr Expo

Mumbai, India

8 to 10 October 2020

ProPak India

Delhi, India

25 to 27 November 2020

CPhI & P-MEC India

Greater Noida, India

29 October to 1 November 2020

Labelexpo India 2020

Greater Noida, India

29 October to 1 November 2020

Brand Print India 2020

Greater Noida, India

9 to 11 December 2020

pacprocess India

Mumbai, India

3 to 8 February 2021

Printpack India 2021

Greater Noida, India

4 to 8 February 2021

PlastIndia 2021

Delhi, India

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RNI UPENG/2018/76741 Editor Mahan Jyoti Hazarika editor@thepackman.in Cell: +91 9910189285 Senior Desk Editor Sunil Jain Senior Associate Editor Dev Kumar Dutta Associate Editors Pranay Mathur Manash Das Guest Editor Anwesh Koley Design and Production Biswajeet Chaliha Sales and Marketing Mahan Jyoti Hazarika Subscription Address C8, 1303, Eco Village 2, Greater Noida West, Gautam Buddha Nagar 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India Issue Published on 8 November 2021 Printed at JK Offset Graphics Pvt. Ltd. Printed, Published and Owned by Mahan Jyoti Hazarika, and Printed at JK offset Graphics Pvt. Ltd., B278 Okhla Phase I, New Delhi 110 020, India and Published From C8, 1303, Eco Village 2, Greater Noida West, Gautam Buddha Nagar 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India Editor: Mahan Jyoti Hazarika

Industry News

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