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Report: Innovative New Materials at PACK EXPO Las Vegas

Ten intrepid Packaging World editors fanned out across PACK EXPO Las Vegas in October in search of packaging innovation. Here's what they found.

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Machinery Controls  Pharma  E-Commerce  Robotics 

MATERIALS INNOVATIONS
Considering how hot the topic of sustainable packaging has become in the last few years, it’s no surprise that some of the most interesting innovations in the packaging materials realm we uncovered at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2019 were aimed at minimizing packaging’s carbon footprint.

We begin with multipack can carriers, like the CanCollar concept (1) WestRock demonstrated. The system uses wet-strength CarrierKote™ paperboard material that Photo 1Photo 1is laminated to reinforce the pack against the moisture and rough handling in beer supply chains and use occasions. The surface can be printed or embellished for merchandising or brand storytelling to elevate the consumer experience. The company says consumers love the stylish design and find it comfortable, easy to use, eco-friendly, and “surprisingly strong,” while brewers love the storage efficiencies and its quick & easy application.

CanCollar is recyclable, but its laminated structure limits this to where facilities exist to recover poly-coated paperboard products. This means that disposal claims such as “recyclable” are highly dependent on local guidance and availability of local infrastructure to collect and process the product. The company cautions breweries using the system to review the relevant local guidance for their markets before determining the appropriate claim.

That said, the system uses 95% less plastic than current polymer can handle options, WestRock says, and 86% of the can handle is purely fiber-based and 15% of that is postconsumer material. Also, recognizing the public concern over the wildlife impact of plastic rings if they inadvertently fall out of the appropriate recovery stream and into an actual stream or other ecosystem, CanCollar requires 30% less force to break the rings than leading alternatives.

The CanCollar includes a semiautomatic can handle application device to apply the six-pack handles. For video showing the system in action, go to pwgo.to/5379.

Elsewhere at PACK EXPO it was Graphic Packaging demonstrating its KeelClip 1600 paperboard can handle application systems (2). Associated application machinery is highly flexible with regard to product orientation and diameter, with core formats ranging from 2x2 to 2x6, and capability to handle 12-oz six packs, 16-oz. four packs, and any other practical configuration. Photo 2Photo 2

The environmentally responsible paperboard packaging solution replaces polymer alternatives that face headwinds in Europe and other regions. It offers the benefit of a spacious billboard area for strong storytelling and in-store merchandising and a comfortable carrying handle alongside the aforementioned orientation flexibility.

The equipment is scalable, from craft brew needs up to high volume production in excess of 400 ppm. For a video demonstrating the system, visit pwgo.to/5380.

That’s not to say that polymer can carriers are about to fade away anytime soon, especially since some of them have their own sustainable packaging bona fides to tout. ProMach’s Roberts PolyPro, for example, offers injection-molded HDPE #2 handles that in addition to being 100% recyclable are also downgauged so that they use up to 30% less plastic than competitive injection-molded handles. Plus they have a striking appearance, superior holding capabilities, a practical tab design, and are available in 32 standard colors and with optional color matching in any PMS color. The open top eliminates moisture from accumulating between the can top and handle.

The tab design allows fast and easy application, either manually or with a semi- or fully automated applicator like the ICHA180 or the higher volume THA240. The ICHA180 (3) inline applicator made its debut at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. It’s an economical, fully automated solution handling speeds to 180 cans/min. Compared to manual and semi-automated applications, it minimizes labor and achieves faster speeds, but isn’t so large and pricey as to be unattainable for craft brewers.

“The growing craft beer and distilled spirits markets are competitive, and our attractive multi-pack handles help products stand out on crowded retail shelves. When Photo 3Photo 3choosing a way to apply them, small producers need a high-quality system that fits their budget. The ICHA180 hits that sweet spot–it’s a fully-automated solution at a great price,” says Roy Tetreault, Vice President and General Manager at Roberts PolyPro. “Craft brewers and distillers are passionate entrepreneurs who want to make beer and spirits, not worry about machinery. The ICHA180’s plug-and-play design makes it a snap to install. It’s simple, easy to use, and gets the job done.”

The ICHA180 is a space-efficient solution with a footprint that’s only 24 in. wide and 60 in. long (61cm wide and 152 cm long). The applicator, installed inline after the can seamer, features a two-lane conveyor that transports cans side by side. As cans enter the ICHA180, a sensor detects the presence of 12 cans and an air-activated flow gate extends across the conveyor. With 12 cans in position, the system applies either two sets of six-pack handles per cycle or three sets of four-pack handles per cycle. Then the flow gate releases the multi-packs, which are discharged to downstream case or tray packing.

To change between four- and six-packs, the ICHA180 requires only a simple adjustment to the handle magazine and swapping out the handles, which can be achieved in less than three minutes without tools or change parts. When changing between 12- and 16-oz cans, no system adjustments are needed since the applicator stroke automatically accommodates either size can. The ICHA180 runs for approximately five minutes at 180 cpm before the handle magazine needs to be refilled.

Recycled content and source reduction
The PACK EXPO Las Vegas news at HLP Klearfold was the introduction of their new KlearfoldR RPET100 clear plastic folding cartons made from 100% post-consumer recycled PET. Until now, 30% RPET had been the limit. This new capability is possible because HLP Klearfold began a vertical integration program in 2009, investing in custom extruders designed to make premium-quality, box-grade plastics exclusively. Having these extruders has enabled the company to produce RPET with 30% PCR that is indistinguishable from virgin PET. Today, thanks to this capability, combined with carefully and locally sourced postconsumer PET waste, HLP Klearfold is able to produce box-grade RPET with 100% PCR, with no meaningful sacrifice in quality or performance, and without compromising the high marketing appeal of Klearfold cartons.

While 100% recycled content is certainly newsworthy, sometimes a strategy based on source reduction is the way to go. One good example of this talked about at the HLP Klearfold booth was a package redesign executed recently for Warren, MI-based McKeon Products Inc. The firm’s LunaGuardTM Nighttime Dental Protector bite guard is now sold in retail channels using HLP Klearfold’s patented KlearfoldR Keeper package (4).Photo 4Photo 4

LunaGuard is a bite guard that provides exceptional protection from bruxism, or grinding of teeth. Selling for about $25, it’s made from a strong thermoplastic that helps to diffuse and absorb grinding forces, and its ultra thin and lightweight design allows for total comfort while sleeping.

When LunaGuard was launched in 2015, a primary packaging goal was to develop a visual package that would display the unique guard prominently, giving consumers the opportunity to clearly see its unique slim shape while providing a premium look on the shelf. The original package accomplished all this, but it used more material than necessary, was expensive, and was a very complicated design that was cumbersome to hand load.

This former package consisted of six components: a .012 printed PVC sleeve that’s offset-printed and side-seam glued to form a sleeve, a PVC thermoformed fold-over tray, and four injection-molded components: two end caps, a shelf, and a clip to position the bite guard. In addition, a plastic hang tag was adhered to the top end cap, and clear plastic tape-like “wafer seals” were added at top and bottom to secure the end caps to the sleeve. Assembling these components and filling the package was complicated and inefficient.

For the redesign, McKeon chose the patented Klearfold Keeper package from HLP Klearfold. The Keeper is a unique visual package system that combines just two components. The outer component is a .014 PET sleeve printed on a flexo-combination printing press and creased using Klearfold’s proprietary RF scoring technology before being die-cut and glued to form a sleeve. The inner component is a locking tray thermoformed from .020 PET. The end result is a secure and premium-quality package with great shelf presence.

Klearfold Keeper offers significantly more efficient hand-filling than the original package. Instead of assembling six packaging components, the bite guard and the protective case are loaded into the Klearfold Keeper inner tray, the tray is folded over and sonically sealed, then this sub-assembly slides into the clear plastic sleeve. In-folded tabs on the sleeve engage a specially designed flange on the inner thermoformed tray, locking the two components securely together without the need for wafer seals. The inner tray has an integrated hang tab, so no separate hang tab need be applied. And thumb-notch perforation in a corner of the clear plastic sleeve provides a unique, easy-opening feature. Removing the thumb-notch also removes the lock, allowing the tray to be easily disengaged from the clear sleeve. In addition to simplifying the loading, the Klearfold Keeper package brought a 29% source reduction by weight.

Devin Benner, CEO of McKeon Products, was pleased at how the redesign panned out. “Our goal was to reduce the amount of plastic by at least 25%, and we surpassed that by 4%. One of the main challenges was keeping the overall brand impression of the original packaging while reducing the 6 parts down to 2. The other challenge was retaining the clear product display area that so nicely staged the product to the consumer. Both had to be accomplished in a way that did not compromise durability. There was even a cost savings for the packaging itself.”

Kashi collaboration
It’s widely accepted that, compared to rigid packaging, flexible packaging comes with certain built-in sustainability benefits related to source reduction: less material going into landfills, fewer trucks on the road to transport packaging to the manufacturer who fills it, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

But creating a consumer-friendly circular path with recyclability as part of the process has been an obstacle to flexible packaging largely because it is frequently multi-layered. That has led most people to throw stand-up pouches in the trash, since the multilayer material is verboten in curbside recycling.

Now that’s starting to change thanks to the emergence of an alternative to traditional curbside recycling: front-of-store drop-off by consumers who bring their multilayer flexible packaging for recycling along with their T-shirt-style plastic grocery bags. Dow’s RecycleReady Technology is at the center of this initiative. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) plays a role, too. Dow and SPC are promoting this new front-of-store option for recycling of PE-based multilayer pouches. Even more significant, Kellogg-owned Kashi of Solana Beach, CA, has successfully launched Bear Naked Granola in a standup pouch (see lead photo)  that demonstrates how this circular-economy packaging concept works. The pouch was one of five developments to win a PMMI Technical Excellence Award at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2019.

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