Sustainability drives trends at interpack

NOT even Düsseldorf’s unpredictable showers could take away the exuberance at interpack 2014 which took place from 8-14 May at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre in Germany. The largest event for packaging and related process industries ‘welcomed home’ 2,700 exhibitors in 19 halls, and 175,000 trade professionals – a size that it has relatively maintained in recent years. More than 66% were foreign delegates from 120 countries, a new record for this year’s event.

For the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, exhibitors of packaging and processing equipment came to impress with technology to meet efficiency, creativity and cost savings. A number of companies said they have stepped up innovation to help their customers attain sustainability goals through better performing machinery and materials.

In the packaging sector, bioplastics was the dominant trend for edibles and perishables. They are widely offered for pharmeceuticals cosmetics, electronics and other consumer products.

Barrier packaging

According to The BKV Platform for Plastics and Recovery, modern plastic packaging not only keeps products in pristine condition, but they are user-friendly as well. Plastics will continue to play a significant role in smart packaging such as absorbers. These materials, considered the future of food packaging, soak up oxygen from the containers in order to extend shelf life.

ITENE introduced an active packaging prototype which prolongs the shelf life of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish by several days. The Spain-based research centre has also developed plastic packaging whose label uses colour-changing ink that indicates product freshness, according to project manager, Jose Bermudez.  

Mr. Jose Bermudez, Project Manager, ITENE

The latest from French company, Bolloré are the brands Bolfresh films for food and Bolphane ultrathin films for a wide range of applications. The company uses polyolefin shrink film ranging from 9-25 microns.

A collaborative effort between Innovia Films and Bio4Pack yielded an innovative bio-based packaging for organic products.  Designed for their client, DO-IT (Dutch Organic International Trade), the packaging has a laminate structure that uses Innovia’s compostable cellulose NatureFlex? film to provide barrier.  It is suitable for dry and moist applications such as pasta, cereals, cheese and meat.

“This development is the first of many using Innovia Films’ NatureFlex,” said Patrick Gerritsen from Bio4Pack. “We liked recommending and using NatureFlex in this application because it fits perfectly not only with the ethos of DO-IT, but also because of the barrier properties it can bring to a laminate pack structure.”

Innovia compostable films

Dik Goorhuis, chief commercial officer of DO-IT added, “As a company working only in the organic products’ arena, the fact that NatureFlex is compostable, from renewable resources and can open up many packaging possibilities to us, such as extending shelf-life is very exciting indeed.”

BASF showcased a broad range of innovative packaging solutions, including compostable packaging materials for an injection-moulded cup made from ecovio^? IS. This cup showed which BASF products, from plastic via Masterbarch and pigments to adhesion promoters, are suitable for compostable packaging.

The French company, Limagtain Cérealés Ingredients (LCI) launched the Biolice.bags, a new-generation of compostable resins specifically designed for thin bags for fresh fruit and vegetables, to shopping bags that require precise cutting and printing.  They can also be used as waste bags since they convert biowaste into energy and fertiliser.

“The new biolice.bags resin, which is still made from maize flour, allows the making of all bags to be more rigid, more resistant, give better printing quality, and still be 100% compostable,” said Dr Walter Lopez of LCI. “Moreover, biolice.bags fully meet the requirements of film extruders by allowing the total substitution of other compostable resins.”

Alternative to metal cans

An alternative to aluminium cans from Kortec, Inc. uses a new multi-layer co-injection technology that allows the production of clear PP plastic cans for food packaging.  ‘Klear Can’ multi-layer plastic cans provide an attractive alternative to metal cans by providing brand owners with clear, see-through PP in a container that features extended shelf life of up to five years.

Kortec offers an alternative to aluminium cans

Suitable for retort up to 130°C (265°F), these clear plastic cans have been tested and approved for both retortability and the integrity of the double seam, which was designed to allow the plastic can’s flange to accept traditional (easy open and non-easy open) metal can ends.  The cans may be used for most types of foods including fruits, vegetables, soups, and meats.

BERICAP presented its DIN closure SK 42/21 SFB in two variants. The SK 42/21 SFB is a supplement to the product range of BERICAP DIN closures. This closure is equipped with a new-type, slitted strip and is available in two versions. The SK 42/21 SFB Mk has a bore-seal-system and is suitable for light canisters and containers without UN-hazardous good approval. The SK 42/21 SFB MDS is equipped with a foamed PE-seal – for containers with the relevant UN-approval. 

The SK 42/21 SFB is used mainly for containers in the automotive field, for windscreen cleaners / frost protection, for professional cleaning agents, in the field of health and in the food industry.  It is a special advantage, that the TE-strip, which remains on the canister after turning off of the cap, cannot e.g. drop into the engine compartment while filling the container of the windscreen washer. 

A global leader in flexible packaging, Constantia Flexibles International was amongst packaging exhibitors. Marketing and Innovation manager Pharma said, “This is our second appearance at interpack in Düsseldorf, this time with a much larger exhibition area. Our company has grown over the last three years, and that’s something we wanted to show at the trade fair. The trade fair is an important meeting point for Constantia, a place to present our innovations to a high-value international  audience.  We’re very satisfied with our results! The trade fair fulfilled all our hopes!” 

Dow’s marketing director, Marc van den Biggelaar, said “This is our first year exhibiting at interpack, and we’re excited about the  opportunity to demonstrate  how  different  materials match up with certain packaging properties. To do so, we’ve conducted both lab tests and field experiments, and we’re presenting the results at interpack..”

Mr. Eric Pavone, Business Director, BOBST

“We were able to finalise projects, kick-off new ones, foster existing relationships and make new contacts with professionals of the industry,” said Eric Pavone, BOBST Business Unit Web-fed Business Director, as he sums up the company’s participation in the exhibition. He also explains the reasons for the great interest in BOBST products: “Not only are we continuously improving the performance of our high-end solutions for mature markets, we are also extending our product offer for emerging markets. Last but not least, our customers appreciate our service capacities that have been expanded significantly over the last twelve months.