Packaging firm aims to look good and cut waste
The Germany-based packaging supplier said it will showcase its latest generation of flexible films, repeelable lids and alternatives to glass and aluminium at the Anuga FoodTec in Cologne next month.
Speaking to FoodProductionDaily.com, a spokesperson for Sudpack said that despite the recent reduction in the cost of components for plastic packaging, oil is not an infinite resource and the long term trend is for packaging input prices to shoot up again.
So, she said that manufacturers, aiming to be recession proof, remain on the look out for packaging that is sustainable and resource saving, and as such Sudpack’s environmentally orientated project work is proving a win-win situation for both the company and their customers.
“Through the use of lighter weight packaging, food manufacturers save on transport and disposal costs to a great extent, and at the same time we protect the environment because less energy and raw materials are needed for production and transportation of our films and pouches, meaning less emissions are produced.”
She claims that products such as plastic trays or bowls can be stacked easily and are very light, which means they are easy and cheap to transport. In addition, said the company spokesperson, the reject rate is marginal as plastic is inherently stable and does not break even when the packaging falls or is dropped.
“Particularly interesting, and being used in an ever increasing number of companies, are stand-up pouches for sterilised or pasteurised products. Here, too, aluminium composites can probably be replaced with high barrier solutions made from pure plastic.
“This flexible packaging not only scores because it looks nice on the shelf, but also wins people over with its comparably low material costs.”
The spokesperson said that in the competition to gain the consumer’s attention in the supermarket, looking good is also important, and she claims, for this reason, there is increased interest in the company’s canned preserve replacements ‘barrier lid’ and ecoterm SAV.
“These sterilisable multi-layer films offer many advantages such as the possibility to re-heat them in the microwave, the convenience of a peelable top web and the flexibility they provide in terms of colour and form,” she continued.
Barrier Lid and ecoterm SAV are constructed with polymers, which are extremely heat resistant, and both have a polypropylene (PP) sealing layer, she explained.
“Barrier Lid, which can be used as a covering film for trays, thermoform packaging or as a material for stand up pouches, withstands sterilization up to 121°C. If the material is unprinted, it even withstands temperatures of up to 134° C - the only precondition being that the product is sterilized with counter pressure.
“And ecoterm SAV withstands temperatures of up to 121° C. It is equipped with a double barrier, which inhibits the sterilization shock. Therefore it can be used for extremely sensitive products like pet food or baby food.”
The spokesperson for the packaging supplier also played up the cost effectiveness of its enhanced printing and laminating technologies and their ability to improve a product’s aesthetics:
“Our ten colour flexographic printing is now of such good quality that we are able to produce many pictures using this type of printing for which previously we had to fall back on the more complex intaglio procedure.
“This offers economic advantages particularly for customers whose printed images change frequently as the print preparation costs are much lower for flexographic printing.”
