Film and sheet industry
Flexibility in the industry goes a long way Machinery makers are catering to flexible requirements brought on as a result of the global financial crisis that are forcing producers to rapidly adapt themselves to new market situations, while sustainability is making an impact in the packaging sector. Barrier sheet on the rise in Asia With a growth rate of 5-8%, PP and PS barrier sheet for food packaging is in strong demand in Asia, especially in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, driven by climatic conditions, transport over long distances as well as the products to be packaged, which require packaging for a long shelf life. Shown here are fruit cups made from Kuraray’s EVAL
Fruit packaging of mangoes and pineapples in small quantities are also increasingly found in European and North American supermarkets. While such sheet, and sometimes also the cups made from it, was still exported from Europe until a few years ago, it is now being manufactured in the fruit-producing countries. Here in particular, packaging with barrier layers is advantageous. With its gas barrier function, which prevents oxygen from affecting foodstuff and thus lengthens its shelf life, the package also preserves the fragrance, flavour and taste of its contents and prevents short-term degradation of ingredients such as vitamins. Austrian machine maker Battenfeld-Cincinnati says it is leading in this sector having received the second order this year for a multi-layer thermoforming sheet extrusion line from an Asian packaging manufacturer. This makes it a total of six multi-layer lines in three years the machine manufacturer has supplied. While the first line this year was a nine-layer PP sheet line, the new order is for a seven-layer PP/PS sheet extrusion line. The latter is equipped with five extruders, reaches an output of up to 1,200 kg/hour and is laid out for sheet thicknesses ranging from 350 to 2,500 microns. With this extrusion line, the customer will produce trays, cups and lids for foodstuffs with an extended shelf life, such as sauces, baby foods, soups, convenience foods and dairy products. Food trays that can be sterilised and trays for fruit packaging, as an alternative to cans, will also be manufactured.
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Battenfeld-Cincinatti’s nine-layer sheet extrusion line
A core component of the lines is the single-screw extruders, with a 45 mm high-speed extruder model in addition to the 75 mm screw size, which has already been on the market for several years. In the multi-layer lines, the 75 mm extruders take care of plasticising the main layers with an output between 300 and 1,000 kg/hour, while the 45 mm extruders produce the functional layers such as bonding adhesives and barrier materials, but also surface covers and high-gloss finish. The feedblock-die combination ensures an even distribution of all layers both across the width of the sheet and in the direction of extrusion, which is required for a reliable barrier effect. The feedblock and die also feature an edge-encapsulating system to allow for resource-saving processing of the barrier material as well as all other materials. This includes direct, in-production reclaim of the mono-sheet edge trim thus generated. Finally, the polishing stack, with polishing rolls and post-cooling rolls arranged close to each other, favours optimal sheet properties and transparency. Meeting to need for flexible solutions From Germany, Reifenhäuser Extrusion says it is recording a remarkable increase in incoming orders for thermoforming sheet extrusion lines featuring production capacities between 700 and 1,500 kg/hour. It says that it has sold ten lines, used to produce drinking cups and PP/PS deli containers for the dairy industry, since the K2010 show where the line was exhibited. The company says the interest in these lines is based mainly on the flexibility required by the market due to the soaring raw material costs, smaller orders and a strong pressure on end user prices. This is only possible to a limited extent using high-performance, single-
Film and sheet industry
purpose extruders that are optimised for processing a specific raw material recipe. Product changes require costly and time consuming machine re-settings that can frequently only be realised by installing a new screw. H e n c e , M i c h a e l B e c k h o f f , S a l e s M a n a g e r a t Reifenhäuser Extrusion says, “Single-purpose extruders were discussed as an upcoming trend before the financial crisis. Now it seems that a more differentiated view on this subject is being taken since there is an increased demand for flexible solutions instead of high performance for a single product. Our order books clearly reflect this development because Reifenhäuser lines provide the requested flexibility.”
Shown here are two polishing stacks for Reifenhäuser’s thermoforming sheet lines that are ready to be shipped
The company says its lines are designed for a medium speed range and the processing of a large spectrum of raw materials using the same screw. The modular line can also be tailored to the specific requirements of customers. For the production of finished cups, an automatic in-line vacuum former can be integrated in the system. Catering to film demand in China German rigid film specialist Klöckner Pentaplast is constructing its first manufacturing facility in the Suzhou Industrial Park in China with an investment of US$29.5 million. The first phase of the 12,000 sq m facility, which will include an R&D centre, will focus on producing transverse-direction oriented shrink-label films, increasing its global capacity by 6,000 tonnes. It is targeted for completion by 2013 and is expected to employ 100 people. The firm’s Pentalabel shrink films are for full-body or partial shrink-sleeve labels, roll-sleeve labels, promotion packs/multi-packs, tamper-evident closures, capsules (wine caps) and pressure-sensitive labels. Klöckner has US$1.4 billion in annual sales, with 17 factories in 11 countries. It says it is the only company with shrink-label manufacturing in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
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Sustainability on the rise in packaging Brand owners are rising up to meet the calls for sustainability. One of the latest is Procter & Gamble’s packaging for its Oral-B manual toothbrush that is now made with PET resin and sheet producer Octal Petrochemicals’s proprietary DPET (direct PET) sheet. Previously, it was made of PVC, which is difficult to dispose of, hence the switch to PET that is recyclable. According to Octal, DPET sheet can be processed on thermoforming equipment already being used for PVC, HI P S a n d O P S w i t h o n l y minor modifications of hardware and processing parameters. Octal also says it delivers a high roll-toroll uniformity and a typical caliper variation of around Octal’s DPET sheet is used 1% lower than other PET in the packaging of these toothrbrushes, allowing for sheets, allowing for downa more sustainable solution gauging and less material use according to its maker P&G in thermoforming of trays. Further, it says conventional PET sheet manufacturing depends on five reactors to make the resin and has a separate process for sheet production but Octal uses a 2R (two reactor) system for producing resin and direct-tosheet technology for the sheet, thereby utilising 67% less electricity (verified by third party sources) Octal produces its sheet in Oman. Meanwhile another US brand owner Kraft Foods has introduced a new sustainable flexible pouch for salad dressings, in line with its initiative to eliminate 45,400 tonnes of packaging material from its products worldwide by 2015. Made from a flexible nylon/PE blend of films, the Yes Pack is a stand-up pouch with dual handles and a rigid screw cap closure that replaces the traditional rigid plastic container for salad dressings. The company says the new pouch is more compact than rigid jugs and flattens when empty, thus allowing for easy disposal. Kraft also says it uses about 60% less plastic and requires 70% lower inbound transportation required since it no longer requires trucks to return the empty bottles back. Kraft partnered with Germany-based PE International to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which quantified the environmental benefits of the Yes Pack. The LCA is a standardised method of evaluating environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of a product from raw material production, manufacturing and use, all the way through disposal. ◆ At the moment the Yes Pack is designed only for Kraft’s foodservice salad dressing