The Packman | July-August 2021

Volume 4 l Issue 1 l JulY-AuGusT 2021

Rs. 150

Inkmaker rebrands to Im Group

Interview with Ramakrishna Karanth of Siegwerk India

Interview with KS Murthy of Toyo Ink India

Interview with JK Sharma of Yansefu India

Editorial

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s businesses are rapidly adjusting to the Covid-19 pandemic, another crisis has knocked the door. The prices of raw materials have gone up due to many domestic and international factors and are affecting the manufacturers. To help us understand the lingering supply-side concerns and increased raw material cost, we have talked to several different members of key industry organizations about how they are keeping themselves up during their darkest hours. It is refreshing to see that despite being battered from all corners, they are still optimistic about getting back on track soon.

We have interviews aplenty in this issue. Bernhard Vaihinger, product manager for case packers at Syntegon Technology, talks about the challenges of secondary packaging for home products – and how the company is responding to current market trends. Then, in an interview with Ish Dhawan of UFlex, we got some insights about the innovations as well as challenges in the paper-based tube packaging landscape. Meanwhile, Ramakrishna Karanth of Siegwerk India, KS Murthy of Toyo Ink India, and JK Sharma of Yansefu, India, gave us an overview of the impact of the pandemic and increased raw material prices on the ink industry, and how their companies are managing to cope with it. Sharma says that raw material prices will remain a challenge for the ink industry even in the next year.

In our cover story, we have taken a closer look at Inkmaker’s rebranding as IM Group. The comprehensive rebranding comes after years of acquiring several companies combining expertise, information, technology and hardware. The technical article in this edition by Dr. Stephan Brüning presents the most important latest developments in direct laser engraving and how laser technology offers advantages in terms of fine focusability, high processing speed and precise direct digital data transmission.

Sustainability is once again a highlight of this edition. This edition carries several stories on innovations and new developments directed towards sustainability. World over, the drive towards recyclable products is gaining momentum. According to a report by IBM, as consumers increasingly embrace social causes, they seek products and brands that align with their values. Nearly six in 10 consumers surveyed are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact.

Nearly eight in 10 respondents indicate sustainability is important for them. And for those who say it is very/extremely important, over 70% would pay a premium of 35%, on average, for brands that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.

Stay safe in the meantime, and enjoy reading the issue.

– Mahan Hazarika, Editor, editor@thepackman.in

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Contents Design and Marketing

PAGE 6 EDITORIAL

Editorial----------------------------------------------- 3

DESIGN AND MARKETING

Skincare packaging wins BillerudKorsnäs’ design competition PIDA------------------------- 6 Elephant wins the A’ Design Award----------- 8

PREPRESS AND SOFTWARE

Miraclon expands flexo boundaries with PureFlexo Printing--------------------------------10 DuPont installs a Cyrel FAST 2000 TD at Comexi’s Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center------------------------------- 11 Technovaa implements FlexiBiz ERP-------12

AUTOMATION

LABELS

FILLING AND SEALING

Latest developments in direct laser engraving-------------------------------------------26

Libako Packaging invests in Gallus ECS 340-----------------------------------30 Gallus launches Labelfire Diamond Core Series----------------------------32 Astron Packaging in Dubai installs ABG Digicon Series 3---------33

METAL PACKAGING

Bevcraft Group orders first Tonejet Cyclone digital can printer in Europe--------------------------------------------34

CONSUMABLES

FLEXIBLES

An interview with KS Murthy of Toyo Ink India--------------------------------------38

Brilliant Polymers boosts alternatives for sustainable solvent-free adhesives----------22 Fujifilm enters flexible packaging market with new press launch-----------------24 Amcor’s new enhanced heat seal coating----------------------------------24

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Improving throughput in food packaging processes-------------------------------------------44

Sidel installs a complete waterline for Durrat AI Khaleej in Iraq----------------------------------46

Color Label invests in Nilpeter FA-2500----31

Heidelberg’s development study for innovative folding rollers------------------------16

An interview with Ish Dhawan of UFlex-----20

PAGE 30

TECHNICAL ARTICLE

MONOCARTON

S&K Technologies commissions W&H blown film line with stretching unit----18

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Ball Corporation announces new sustainability goals-------------------------------35

Challenges of secondary packaging for home products-------------------------------------14

J U LY - A U G U S T 2 0 2 1

An interview with Ramakrishna Karanth of Siegwerk India----------------------36

An interview with JK Sharma of Yansefu------------------------------------------40 Inkmaker Group rebrands to IM Group------42

SUSTAINABILITY

Tetra Pak partners with The Kabadiwala---48 Huhtamaki invests in new fiber packaging capacity in South Africa-------------------------48 BillerudKorsnäs’ SWAPP to enable transition from plastic to paper----------------50 GSK’s oral care segment to be 100% recyclable by 2025-------------------------------52 Nestlé joins initiative to make food more sustainable-----------------------------------------52

INDUSTRY NEWS

UFlex closes FY 2020-21 on a high note--------------------------------------------54 Toppan’s new packages connect with NFC-enabled smartphones--------------54 Michelman announces leadership transition------------------------------56 Cosmo Films enters FMCG segment with Fabritizer-------------------------56 SMI installs Matho waste management system-----------------------------57 Dabur to invest Rs 550-cr in a new factory in Madhya Pradesh------------57 Next Labelexpo India in November 2022-----------------------------------57

© 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

Award-Winning KODAK FLEXCEL NX Systems and Plates KODAK FLEXCEL SR Plates KODAK DITR film

Design and Marketing

z Unconventional and innovative

Skincare packaging wins BillerudKorsnäs’ design competition PIDA

‘T

he Golden Bee Skincare’ won the first semi-final of BillerudKorsnäs’ design competition PIDA – Packaging Impact Design Award. The winning packaging concept was designed for a skincare product and won the PIDA Gold Award – the finest prize of the competition – and the distinction ‘Highest level of Innovation.’ The team behind the entry was American design students Jennifer Huynh, Meliza Pascual, Joshua Roberts and Samantha Johnson from Clemson University in South Carolina, USA.“We are very thankful for this opportunity to show our work,” says Meliza Pascual.

“We have put a lot of effort into it, and we are very happy for the awards.”

The entry ‘Iwasaki Matcha’ won the Highest Level of Sustainability Award

ability and excellent user-friendliness and functionality.

The entry offers a highly innovative structure that is highly functional and offers novel on-shelf, unboxing, storing, and sharing attributes. The team invested time in design thinking and exploration, marketing strategy, sustainability life-cycle, supply-chain, and materials analyses that helped their entry shine.”

The packaging concept ‘The Golden Bee Skincare’ won both the competition’s finest prize – PIDA Gold Award – and the Highest Level of Innovation Award

The winning packaging project ‘The Golden Bee Skincare’ responds perfectly to this year’s brief – to create a package that speaks to our senses. The motivation of the jury reads: “The Golden Bee Skincare package delivers on innovation being delightfully inventive and original while also achieving high marks for sustain-

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The design students who won the PIDA Gold Award at the first PIDA event of the year automatically qualify for the grand finale. At the final – that takes place at the Luxe Pack trade show in Monaco on 27 September – an international winner will be appointed. It means that the American design students will be up against the winners of the three other semi-finals; students from France, Germany, and Sweden.

More students awarded At the PIDA event, another three prizes were presented.

‘The Golden Bee Skincare’ was awarded once again

The Highest Level of User Friendliness Award went to ‘The Agrumes Florilége’

and received the ‘Highest Level of Innovation Award’ with the motivation: “The package delivers an exciting and innovative structure with original, engaging, and thoughtful function. The entry’s structure is extremely innovative and exceptionally inventive.”

‘The Highest Level of User Friendliness Award’ went to ‘The Agrumes Florilége,’ created by Julia Nathanson, Sophia Thai och Justin Davidovicz from Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA. A packaging concept for a luxury citrus liqeur. The motivation read: “The package gives a witty and exciting approach to userfriendliness, functionality, and the user experience.

The entry features excellent properties designed to awaken the senses.”

‘The Highest Level of Sustainability Award’ was presented to Chi Chung Chan from Ravensbourne University in London, UK, for the entry ‘Iwasaki Matcha,’ designed for a complete Japanese tea concept. “The entry makes excellent use of the physical properties

Design and Marketing of the BK Craft board by featuring the Craft side of the board on the outside of the carton, visually reinforcing the strength and sustainability of the material. Reuse, secondary, and long-term use of this package are artfully incorporated into the design.”

The winners were selected by a jury of prominent industry professionals, who were very impressed by this year’s contestants. “The jurors were so impressed with the thoughtful and exciting concepts presented by the teams in this competition. We discussed and debated the entries at length before determining the winning team in each category. Each participant should

be so very proud of the work accomplished under extraordinary circumstances,” says Joey Schmissrauter, chairman of the PIDA USA/UK jury.

A creative arena for the packaging community BillerudKorsnäs arranges the competition in cooperation with leading universities and design colleges in the USA, the UK, France, Germany, and Sweden. The competition allows the students to work on an actual packaging design project under the same conditions as an authentic assignment. What’s more, it is also

an opportunity for the students to showcase their ideas and creativity to established professionals who attend the events every year to be inspired and meet the packaging designers of tomorrow.

“With PIDA, we want to drive the development of packaging design forward while also establishing a meeting place for the industry and the schools. This year marks the 16th anniversary of the competition, and interest for PIDA grows steadily for every year – at the schools as well as in the packaging business,” says Lena Dahlberg, manager application development paperboard at BillerudKorsnäs. z

z Himalaya Wellness packaging design

Elephant wins the A’ Design Award

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lephant, a leading design agency, has won the coveted A’ Design Award – Silver in the ‘Packaging Design’ category for its packaging for Himalaya Sheet Masks. Himalaya is a leading global herbal health and personal care organization with close to 500 products in over 100 countries. The new product has been launched in markets across the globe, including the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe.

The A’ Design Award and Competition is an international award hosted out of Italy by The International Design Academy. The Award recognizes stellar designers, innovators, and companies from different fields across diverse disciplines in a global setting. The jury comprises influential press members, established designers, leading academics and prominent entrepreneurs worldwide.

Elephant crafted a visual language and system based on ‘Zen Time’, which focused on creating an entire skincare routine that evokes fulfillment, tranquility, and a truly calming experience. The design facilitates Himalaya to carry forward its brand legacy of natural wellness in a contemporary manner. The visual language developed by Elephant strikes a balance between youthful vibrancy and a romanticized world of natural ingredients.

“Sheet Mask is a new and ‘emerging’ category across

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The A’ Design Award and Competition is an international award hosted by The International Design Academy

different countries. For Himalaya’s range of Mask, we wanted a design which would appeal across different age groups and attract Gen Z’s attention. This design has a perfect balance of herbs, fruits and product benefits.” shares Himalaya Asia Pacific team from Singapore.

Ashwini Deshpande, co-founder and director said, “It is wonderful to be recognized on a global platform yet again. Our design collaboration with Himalaya was a great teamwork between our Singapore and

India teams. I am looking forward to this design being a winner with the audiences across the world as well.”

Founded in 1989, the Pune-based Elephant has given life to many household brands, including Britannia, Tata Salt, Gillette Guard, Asian Paints, MTR Foods, Kurkure, Paper Boat, Symphony, Epigamia and Organic India, among others. z

Prepress and Software

z PureFlexo is available through Kodak Flexcel NX Print Suite

Miraclon expands flexo boundaries with PureFlexo Printing

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iraclon, home of Kodak Flexcel Solutions, has hosted its first Miraclon Innovates virtual event to introduce PureFlexo Printing, enabling Kodak Flexcel NX System users to produce high-quality flexo print within a wider operating window on press by controlling unwanted ink spread in ways never seen before. Explicitly designed for wide web solvent ink on film applications, PureFlexo Printing maximizes press efficiency, repeatability and overall performance while enabling printers and prepress providers to experience cleaner print, stable color and a better bottom line for their business.

Emma Schlotthauer, chief marketing officer at Miraclon, says, “For brands who rely more than ever on the power of packaging to connect with customers, brand consistency and eye-catching flexible packaging is increasingly important. Likewise, printers need solutions that help them meet the ever-expanding demands of graphic reproduction without needing to operate at less than optimum production speeds or risking press downtime from continual adjustments and unscheduled stoppages. A wide print latitude is the key to profitable production. PureFlexo Printing addresses a core technical issue – unwanted ink spread – which helps to widen print latitude and reset the quality-efficiency balance.”

Print latitude, unwanted ink spread and why printers should address it Printers get the best out of their press machinery when they have the flexibility to run uninterrupted. They need wide latitude (also referred to as the operating window) and a robust process to manage production efficiently as a narrow latitude means small changes can push a print run out of acceptable quality or tolerances. PureFlexo Printing gives printers the power to keep the press running with a low risk of getting to unacceptable print by resisting unwanted ink spread.

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John Anderson, director of advanced print applications at Miraclon, explains how unwanted ink spread affects print latitude. “Ink that flows easily is a natural characteristic of printing with solvent flexo inks on film.

However, when that ink flows in unwanted places, it can fill in, cause bridging and build-up, creating ‘dirty print.’ It’s not always easy to manage and is often made worse by practices designed to address other print issues – such as the use of harder tapes, higher ink volumes and over-impression. PureFlexo Printing addresses the issue head-on by using sophisticated plate surface patterning to resist and control ink spread, and sets a new standard for clean, predictable print.”

Schlotthauer adds that PureFlexo Printing and the reduction of unwanted ink spread has major financial benefits for printers and prepress providers. “For example, if an unscheduled press stop to clean plates takes about 10 minutes, and with a typical billable press rate of around US$ 700/hour, you can easily

start doing the math about the financial benefits in eliminating some of these stops. Add in the reduction of waste material and post-print capacity implications, and the need to address unwanted ink spread proves to be a particularly significant one.”

PureFlexo printing – resetting the qualityefficiency balance for flexo printers Built on Miraclon’s expertise in highly controlled ink transfer mechanisms and further unlocking the core capabilities of the Flexcel NX System, PureFlexo Printing gives unprecedented control over unwanted ink spread, increasing print latitude at all quality levels. This extension of Miraclon’s knowledge in Advanced Plate Surface Patterning Technology, which has had over two years of testing in the field on over 20,000 commercial jobs, proves to reduce

Prepress and Software unscheduled press stops due to dirty print, deliver more predictable color, decrease press-to-proof match issues, and lower the impact of the operator and other production changes.

“With lower dot gain and significantly reduced ink build-up during a run, PureFlexo Printing not only brings a more predictable match to a press color profile, it also reduces the need to stop the press to clean plates,” adds Anderson. “This results in much greater production efficiencies while producing a highquality result. In addition, the complete prepress and printing process becomes more efficient.”

Benefits for prepress providers, printers and brands Printers report that greater resistance to common production issues means that challenging work can

now be produced more consistently and with greater uptime. Notably, Flexcel NX Plates with PureFlexo Printing can typically use a softer mounting tape without compromising image reproduction. This helps reduce voids and the need to over-impress – further increasing plate life.

Prepress providers can break the cycle of chasing color, retouching and remaking plates. Trade shops that have tested the technology report a significant reduction in image retouching and file preparation before proof due to a more linear response and a more accurate press-to-proof match – reducing the need for client press approvals.

Continuous innovation PureFlexo Printing, utilizing newly patented Miraclon technology created by the same R&D team responsible for the invention of the original Flexcel NX System

launched in 2008, builds on the innovation Miraclon has brought to the market over the past 13 years.

“The launch of our core Flexcel NX Technology in 2008 helped to elevate flexo printing to compete head-on with other printing processes and addressed the inconsistencies traditionally associated with flexo,” says Schlotthauer. “Since then, we have continued the journey; building our knowledge in mechanisms to control ink transfer with a range of award-winning technology; first with the introduction of Kodak Digicap NX Patterning in 2010, and the subsequent introduction of our Advanced Digicap NX Patterning (commonly referred to as NX Advantage) with Advanced Edge Definition technology in 2016. PureFlexo Printing is the next step in unlocking the full potential of the Flexcel NX System, enabling flexible packaging printers to lead the charge in pushing the boundaries of flexo printing within a controlled, sustainable manufacturing environment.” z

z Enabling flexo turnkey operations at converters

DuPont installs a Cyrel FAST 2000 TD at Comexi’s Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center

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uPont Cyrel Solutions and Comexi cooperate to enable flexo turnkey operations at converters, bringing shortest access times, highest quality and sustainable platemaking closer to the printing press.

DuPont has installed a Cyrel FAST 2000 TD, solvent-free thermal platemaking system at Comexi’s Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center in Girona, Spain. Cyrel FAST is a technology consisting of thermal processors and large variety of photopolymer printing plates for flexible packaging and other applications. According to DuPont, the system offers superior productivity and performance while helping to reduce processing costs, processing time, and environmental impact compared to existing solvent-based platemaking methods.

L to R: Ricard Domingo, DuPont; Brandor Beco, Comexi; and Yago Luling, Comexi

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Prepress and Software The equipment is an achievement of more than 20 years of continuous evolution and investment into this platform, resulting in more than 1500 installations globally.

“We are excited to see that customers are now able to experience how quick and easy platemaking operations can be performed at Comexi’s Technology center and in their own operations. Cyrel FAST enables a workflow from file to print-ready plate in less than an

hour,” said Jan Scharfenberg, business leader DuPont Cyrel Solutions East.

“Following with the turnkey service for the integration of prepress that we offer at Comexi CTec, and taking into account that the option of thermal plates is a very attractive solution for our customers, we are very pleased to announce that within the Comexi-DuPont collaboration framework, we can now have a Cyrel FAST thermal technology processor in our Technologi-

cal Center in Girona, that will help us in the use and visibility of this technology within the environment of Comexi customers,” said Yago Luling, prepress manager and color specialist of Comexi Ctec.

A gentle reminder regarding the Flexo Innovation session promo running on the current Newsletter banner: since the session will be over on 17 June, you can share a new banner to replace the old one. z

z Ahmedabad-based company automates business process

Technovaa implements FlexiBiz ERP

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hmedabad-based Technovaa Plastic Industries recently implemented FlexiBiz ERP software from Kiran Consultants.

Established in 2012, Technovaa is a leading producer and exporter for packaging films – CPP films and stretch films – and paper cores. It is a part of the Kankriya Group in Chennai, which has been dealing in packaging products for over two decades.

“We needed an ERP software with a user-friendly interface for better process control, improve production efficiency, reduce wastage and machine downtime, end-to-end coverage on a single platform, hands-on reporting to make quick decisions. Flexibiz has proven to satisfy the majority of our requirements, and hence we decided to go with the Flexibiz ERP,” says Abhishek Kankariya, director, Technovaa Plastic Industries.

Spread across a sprawling 1.25 lakh square feet shed which houses State of Art European Machineries, Technovaa has a monthly capacity of 1000 MT of CPP films, 600 MT of metalized films,700 tonnes of stretch films, and 400 MT paper core. Technovaa’s films and papers are mainly used by FMCG companies for packaging biscuits, snacks, soap wrappers, tobacco, dairy products, bread and bakery items, hygiene products such as diapers, etc. It sells its products pan-India and exports to the Middle East and EU. Adopting new technology can often be challenging in terms of inadequate vendor support and failure to transition staff to new technology. These challenges are common to most Indian packaging companies.

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Technovaa Plastic Industries’ manufacturing plant

However, FlexiBiz ensured that these challenges were taken care of without any slip-up. “Team Flexibiz provided us excellent support even during the pandemic.

Although we had the option of remote training and on-site, training was initiated later. We are happy with the implementation of the FlexiBiz ERP at our plant,” says Kankariya.

better cost control, keep track of production progress, input costs, resolve complaints from customers in realtime. The solution can handle sales order processing, production planning, job scheduling, stores, purchase, QC, stage-wise production order tracking, dispatch, CAPA, plant maintenance and accounting. Hence it has helped to improve our performance,” says Kankariya.

“As a group, we always focus on getting the best systems in place and upgrade our technologies much ahead of the need to do so, which helps us improve our internal systems and customer service,” says Kankariya.

Kankariya says, the Indian packaging market sees steady growth with massive transformations with recyclability, sustainability, EPR, etc. “We keep doing rapid developments to provide solutions to end users which is in line with the changing trends of the market.

Also, after the Covid 19 pandemic, the world is seeing India as a very reliable supplier and we are ready and fully equipped to match the demand.” z – Anwesh Koley

“The FlexiBiz solution has helped us plan our maintenance schedules in advance, reduce downtime, standardize procedures for various internal processes,

Key Clients

BLA PACKAGING

ENGRAVE

CONVERTING IDEAS INTO REALITY

PACKAGING

And Many More...

ERP & CRM Solution Providers For: Flexible Packaging Films & Paper Alu Alu Foil Induction Wads, Lids Mono-cartons Rigid Packaging Labels Corrugation Roto Gravure Printing Cylinders Chemicals ATS Bouquet, BGF-001, Sector 132, Noida - 201301, UP, India

+91 9871597781 | +91 9958859813 Email: info@flexibizerp.com www.flexibiz-erp.com

Monocarton

z Packaging solutions to meet tomorrow’s transport requirements

Challenges of secondary packaging for home products Bernhard Vaihinger, product manager for case packers at Syntegon Technology, explains which key factors need to be considered in the packaging process – and how the company is responding to current market trends.

Home products come in all shapes and sizes. Do they have a common denominator, especially with regard to secondary packaging?

Bernhard Vaihinger: They do. Whether manufacturers introduce shampoo or adhesive strips to the market, they all want to sell their products.

Packaging takes on a double role: first, it has to ensure that products arrive at supermarkets, drugstores, and shops unharmed and in good shape.

Second, products should also attract consumers’ attention through an appealing look at the point of sale, especially in high-wage countries like Central and Western Europe. Display or tray packaging, in particular, highlight the product brand and encourage consumers to purchase them. At the same time, display packaging provides improved stability on the shelf. Trays can also be set up very quickly, and products are ready for sale immediately after arrival. Transport safety, an attractive presentation, and quick shelf placement are requirements that any packaging for home products should meet.

Talking about requirements, what challenges does this packaging pose for manufacturers?

Bernhard Vaihinger: Since these solutions are intended to serve multiple purposes, manufacturers work with custom designed blanks. Moth traps are a good example: a leading manufacturer relies on packaging that meets both transportation and display

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requirements. A perforated line separates the upper part of this shelf-ready packaging so that the individual packages are visible on the shelf and the products are presented attractively. The challenge with one-piece shelf-ready packaging, however, is the size and length of the perforation. Blanks are often thin and fragile due to the strong perforation. If not processed gently, they will tear during the folding process. This results in unnecessary product waste, which could be avoided by using appropriate technologies.

How can this be avoided? And how can these sophisticated blanks be processed?

Bernhard Vaihinger: Through form-fitting folding movements during the forming process, even at high processing speeds. It is important to have workflows that match the forming specifications of the blanks and prevent tearing or breaking, for example. Machines must be adaptable to be calibrated to the cut and crease lines as well as the perforations of the blank.

With the Elematic 2001 Wrap-Around (WA), Syntegon has developed a fully automated single-level case packer with product infeed and grouping, which enables packaging from simple one-piece wrap-around cases to shelf-ready two-piece cases. With speeds of up to 40 cases per minute and a feeding rate of up to

Monocarton

600 products per minute, it is one of the fastest case packers on the market. Thanks to a special Elematic Click system, the formats of our case packer can be changed quickly and easily.

Speed and gentle handling are important criteria, but not the only ones. What about high flexibility, especially in a market characterized by varying pack styles and sizes?

Bernhard Vaihinger:Frequent changes between different packaging formats are part of the daily routine for many manufacturers. A well-known supplier of wet wipes, for example, sells them in twelve different packaging configurations. It was this variety – vertical and horizontal grouping, single-row or multi-row arrangement within the multipack – that made the manufacturer address the issue of format changeover.

To cover the maximum format range and enable fast changeovers, both the Elematic 2001 and Elematic 3001 were suitable for packaging wet wipes. Since the wet wipes cover a large format range, the Elematic 3001 is ideal as an ergonomic wrap-around case packer for medium to large packaging – and also offers great flexibility in formats and packaging styles.

Secondary packaging holds high innovation potential. What implications does this have for an equipment supplier like Syntegon Technology?

Bernhard Vaihinger: We work closely with our customers and are always up to date with the current market trends. Food retailers have their own requirements for products and packaging. They want to consolidate market growth, a goal we also take into account. In addition to the Elematic Click system, we have developed an approach to produce one-piece display packages on existing Syntegon case packers.

This development was initially driven by the request of a US customer. To ensure attractive display packaging on the shelves with minimum packaging material, Syntegon developed the one-piece display pack style ‘DisplayWrap’ (patent pending), which is becoming increasingly popular in the US. We benefit from the fact that our case packers are flexible and designed for a wide product portfolio in both classic food and non-food applications.

Which market trends are most important and how is Syntegon Technology responding to them?

Bernhard Vaihinger: Independent of the customer, the trend towards sustainable packaging materials is gaining ground. Solutions based on grass, coconut or sugar cane fiber are slowly but surely replacing plastic materials. Paper is also conquering new areas of application beyond secondary packaging, for example in blister packaging. The idea here is for paper to replace plastic. We are modifying our machines accordingly: the Elematic 2001 series can

Syntegon’s ergonomic Elematic 3001 WAH wrap-around case packer is ideal for packaging of large cases and offers great flexibility in formats and pack styles

process solid and corrugated cardboard made from recycled paper and alternative fiber materials, even in a more bent state than usual.

How does that work?

Bernhard Vaihinger: By fixing the blanks with mechanical clamps and transporting them from the magazine to the folding station with full control. This allows the Elematic 2001 to process blanks with a significantly greater bend than the usual 3%. One of our customers confirmed that the machine is even able to work with a 10% bend at full machine speed.

The result is less waste and a more sustainable production. We are also working on packaging that is especially suitable for e-commerce. Packaging is more and more frequently taking the direct route from the manufacturer to the consumer, involving less handling interfaces, like logistic centers. These so-called ‘direct parcels’ need to be more resistant than those that are first palletized in the logistics center and prepared for transport. So we are also designing solutions to meet tomorrow’s transport requirements. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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z IT’S SHOWTIME!

Heidelberg’s development study for innovative folding rollers

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ow precisely a print product is folded and the extent to which a folding machine delivers consistently high folding quality, even at very high speeds, depends to a significant degree on the design of the folding rollers. At its Ludwigsburg site, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) develops and manufactures its highly productive Stahlfolder folding machines. In recent years, the company has invested part of its research resources in the further development of its folding rollers.

Users of Stahlfolder folding technology currently need to choose between folding rollers equipped with rings made from either soft or hard PU (polyurethane).

These are called ‘Extra Grip’ rings on the market. The two materials have very distinct characteristics. The substrates to be processed and their surface structure determine whether the softer and more elastic PU or the harder one is more appropriate, so the customer is faced with a decision.

Heidelberg says that its development engineers, therefore, set themselves the challenge of combining the benefits of soft PU and hard PU rings in a single material. The result is being presented to the public for the first time during ‘IT’S SHOWTIME’ – a digital customer event. According to Heidelberg, its in-depth knowledge of the interactions between different types of paper, various materials, and the geometrical and physical conditions within a folding system has allowed Heidelberg to make great progress in developing new materials.

The function of the new plastic ring is to transfer the power generated by precise folding machine engineering as gently and accurately as possible to any type of paper and to ensure the best possible processing quality – from the first parallel fold in the buckle plate folding unit to the fully folded end product. The newly designed Perfect Grip plastic

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Perfect Grip combines the benefits of soft and hard PU in folding rollers

Stahlfolder folding machine from Heidelberg

now needs to prove its unique characteristics in initial practical tests.

“Our aim in developing Perfect Grip is to combine the best of both worlds,” says Jörg Dähnhardt, head

of product management postpress at Heidelberg. “If we’re successful, it will be another major step forward for folding rollers and will keep our customers happy by further improving the versatility and cost-efficiency of Stahlfolder folding systems.” z

Flexibles

z Varex II with MDO

S&K Technologies commissions W&H blown film line with stretching unit Manash Das

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hmedabad-based S&K Technologies recently installed a W&H Varex II blown film line with stretching unit MDO. Deval Soparkar, director at S&K Technologies, said, “In our market study, we saw that monolayer cast film lines have been dominating the Indian market for many years while global trend is more towards the multilayered blown film line. India is also importing such films in huge quantities. We realized that there is a strong need for quality blown films. With this need identification in mind and with a mission to make the best technology available for the Indian market, we began our journey to search for the best blown film line suppliers in the world.

“Not surprisingly though, with initial research only, we came to realize that W&H is the best and the most trusted name in the blown line industry. With further discussion with the W&H team, we zeroed in on the Varex II with MDO line as it matched all the parameters that the market demands. The machine got fully commissioned in April 2021.”

Stable even with low gsm films

Integrated hygiene solutions under a single roof Soparkar shared that S&K is the first company in India to offer integrated hygiene solutions under a single roof – PE perforated topsheet film, PE backsheet film, wrapping and outer pack films. It is also the first company in India to install brand new European lines for hygiene film production – multilayered blown line from W&H for manufacturing backsheets and wrapping films and cast line from SML for manufacturing perforated PE Films.

“India ranks among the lowest in the world as far as consumption of hygiene products – sanitary pads, baby and adult diapers – is concerned. However, with the rise in disposable income and literacy rate, this sector is expected to have a strong growth momentum for many years to come. With this thought in mind and with our experience spanning over three decades in manufacturing, we decided to venture into hygiene films segment with a mission to provide quality films at an affordable price.” According to Soparkar, S&K Technologies is the first hygiene film company in India established by female entrepreneurs. Being wives, daughters, and mothers themselves, they understood the need for incontinence products much better.”

The new W&H Varex II blown film line at S&K Technologies, Ahmedabad

Indian hygiene market Soparkar added, “The new blown film machine is quite stable even with low gsm films (12 gsm) at high speeds and delivers high product quality with consistency while meeting or exceeding all the desired quality parameters. The machine has a production capacity of 400 tons a month while the SML line (for cast films) can go up to 100 tonnes a month – taking the total capacity of our plant up to 6,000 tonnes a year in phase 1 of our project. As far as expansion of extrusion capability is concerned, we plan to add one more backsheet line and non-woven line as well.”

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Soparkar said that the Indian hygiene market is quite exciting, and it offers good growth potential, considering the current pandemic situation. However, it lacks awareness and insights to get Indian consumers accustomed to safe personal hygiene practices, as is the case with some developed and emerging economies of the world. “Government has taken right steps in this direction through its Swacchha Bharat Abhiyaan and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. We also appreciate the work done by many NGOs and brand owners to cre-

ate awareness, especially in the rural areas of our country,” she said.

Strategic priorities Soparkar said, “Our strategic priority is to get a worldclass infrastructure ready to meet the needs of domestic as well as global leaders in the health and hygiene industry. Our strategy is also to establish and inculcate well-designed processes and systems leveraging the strong technical experience of our team.” z

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

Flexibles

z An interview with Ish Dhawan of UFlex

“UFlex’s Kraftika FLEXITUBES will help brands get closer to their sustainability goals” UFlex has revolutionized tube packaging with its innovative brand FLEXITUBES that overcomes the limitation of the present conventional tube packaging format and creates endless possibilities for the brand. A first-of-its-kind eco-friendly paper-based tubes – Kraftika is the latest entrant from FLEXITUBES which has been designed for a positive impact on the environment as well as consumers by reducing the use of plastic at source. Mahan Hazarika of The Packman takes a look at the latest innovations as well as challenges in the paper-based tube packaging landscape and gets some insights from Ish Dhawan, general manager – sales and product development, FLEXITUBES at UFlex.

Mahan Hazarika: What was the need for launching a paper-based tube (Kraftika FLEXITUBES)?

Ish Dhawan: World over, people are looking for sustainable packaging solutions for different applications. The need to develop a tube that has multiple attributes and doesn’t harm the environment has been long felt now. We are all aware of the kind of pollution that wrongful disposal of plastics has caused. Various efforts are being taken, such as bans, higher charges for using plastic, but we felt that there was a need to create something that will limit the use of plastics to a bare minimum, thereby reducing the problem at the core. This is where the idea of creating an eco-friendly tube range called ECOFLEX was born.

The first in the series, Kraftika has been developed with the basic approach to reduce the use of plastic in a tube and replace it with sustainable material with the same attributes yet not compromising on its functionality. In the case of FLEXITUBES, apart from providing barrier application and sealing properties, the plastic also provides weight and body to the tube. With the replacement of plastic with paper, while the use of plastic provides the required barrier and sealing, the paper used delivers the majority weight to the tube body.

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Ish Dhawan, general manager – sales and product development, FLEXITUBES at UFlex

Flexibles Mahan Hazarika: Kraftika tube uses moisture-resistant Kraft paper sandwiched between layers of plastic – how recyclable is Kraftika looking at its paper-plastic combination?

Ish Dhawan: The development of first-of-its-kind eco-friendly paper-based tube– Kraftika from FLEXITUBES has been primarily done with the concept of REDUCE. The FSC certified kraft paper is sandwiched between layers of plastic. The individual layers cannot be separated post-production; hence it does not qualify into the recyclable stream. However, further R&D is being done to increase the non-plastic percentage and bring it closer to the 50% mark of the total tube weight to qualify directly into the recyclable stream.

Mahan Hazarika: The plastic and Kraft paper used in the tube are developed inhouse or sourced from the market?

Ish Dhawan:The plastic layer is developed inhouse, whereas the FSC certified virgin kraft paper has been specifically developed as per our requirement through our partners.

Mahan Hazarika: How far can paper replace plastics?

Ish Dhawan: In a typical tube, three major components constitute the tube weight – tube body, also known as sleeve, shoulder and cap. We have been able to reduce the plastic component in the tube body by almost 60% by weight. Further developments are being done to reduce the plastic component in caps and shoulders.

On another note, paper cannot replace plastic completely. While companies such as ours are working towards introducing and creating more sustainable packaging, there is a long way to go to ensure that paper packaging has the same efficiency and functionality of plastic packaging. By reducing the percentage of plastic used in packaging, we are a step closer to achieving the goals of more sustainable packaging Mahan Hazarika: What challenges can the physical and chemical properties of a paper present? At what level have you been successful in overcoming those?

Ish Dhawan: Since paper does not offer the same barrier properties, the paper we use in the tube is sandwiched between two layers of plastic; hence there is no direct contact of content packed inside or ingredients with paper. The inside layer of plastic has

got barrier properties; this will ensure absolutely no or minimal impact of paper onto the products being packed and vice versa.

Mahan Hazarika: How promising is the market for paper-based tubes?

Ish Dhawan: A few studies have established that there is a growing consciousness among Indian consumers about sustainable packaging, which also alters their buying patterns. What has also been researched and reported is that the packaging consumption in India increased by 200% from the previous year, and it has risen from 4.3 kg per person per annum (pppa) to 8.6 kg pppa. In fact, a research by global market research firm Mintel states that 44% of Indians would like to see more brands implementing sustainability practices, so there is definitely a lot of scope for producing paper-based tubes.

With the growing demand for environmentally friendly packaging, the demand for Kraftika tubes will definitely grow and will be a significant contributor to our range of sustainable tube packaging – ECOFLEX. I am confident that it will prove to be a game-changer to address the issue of rising plastic waste around us and help many brands get closer to their sustainability goals. z

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Flexibles

z Innovations in the time of increased price pressures

Brilliant Polymers boosts alternatives for sustainable solvent-free adhesives

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arket conditions are driving up the cost of many raw materials, and manufacturers continue to face cascading supply chain challenges 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.

Laminating adhesives are based on polyester and polyurethane technology and require a range of raw materials from acids, glycols and solvents to make polyesters and isocyanates like TDI and MDI to make polyurethanes. Unfortunately, in the last three quarters, the prices of all of these raw materials have risen to unprecedented levels.

While most of these raw materials are from the petrochemical chain, and their price is affected by undercurrents in global oil prices, the overarching factor remains the demand-supply equation for these materials. Brilliant Polymers managing director Gaurav Talwar says, “The problem isn’t just base material.”

Talwar cites increased energy and packaging materials costs and sharply rising freight rates because of global logistics constraints. “We are currently in an unprecedented situation where due to several global factors, the prices of all these raw materials are hitting record levels at the same time.”

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Gaurav Talwar, managing director of Brilliant Polymers

Four trends affecting raw material prices

containers has led to a sharp rise in transport costs.

Third, oil prices have risen sharply, pushing prices up. Last, strong global market demand, significantly China’s V shape economic recovery, has led to shortages of many raw materials.

Talwar highlights four significant trends affecting raw material prices. First, global steel prices have hit new records, and this has led to an increase of over 50% in the cost of mild steel drums, the packing material of choice for the laminating adhesives industry. Second, logistics costs have surged both within India as well as in export markets – the global shortage of shipping

As a result, there has been an overall impact of over 50% on the cost of production of laminating adhesives.

Talwar says, “Despite internal innovations and cost reductions, the magnitude of these rising costs is no longer sustainable. To continue producing world-class products, it is necessary for us to pass along some of these increased costs. Over the last six months, we

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have seen the prices of laminating adhesives rise, but we are nowhere near the levels necessary. We expect these levels to be achieved in the coming quarter as the industry stabilizes to a new normal.”

Brilliant’s alternative solutions To mitigate the effect of the upward pressure on prices, Brilliant Polymers is focused on providing alternative solutions to maximize value for customers. The use of solvent-free laminating adhesives has seen tremendous growth in recent years. By definition, these

Flexibles

Brilliant S631 and S621, along with their hardeners, are unique products that combine various functionalities in one product.

They offer excellent optics even in metalized film laminations at high speeds and ensure negligible impact on COF after lamination in thin PE films. They can be used for medium to high-performance applications like bigger bags (5 and 10 kg), aggressive fillings goods, including alcohol

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 lamination 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 savings and reliability over time.

The primary solvent used in the laminating adhesives industry is ethyl acetate; the cost of this material has more than doubled in the last two quarters. Today, savings of over 50% can be achieved by moving applications from solvent-based to solvent-free technology.

Brilliant S641/S400 is Brilliant Polymers’ latest innovation and is a two-component solventfree adhesive that offers faster PAA decay times than standard products. This state-of-the-art product has several unique properties such as exceptionally fast physical cure and bond development, fast chemical cure and migration compliance for food safety. It can be used for high-performance applications including hot filling and can deliver savings of 50% or more in comparison to high-performance solvent-based adhesives

The

use

laminating

of

solvent-free

adhesives

has

seen tremendous growth in recent years. By definition, these

adhesives

do

not

contain any solvent and hence don’t have any volatile organic compounds

(VOCs)

that

escape into the atmosphere, unchecked in many cases.

This

makes

lamination

the

solvent-free first

towards sustainability.

step

Brilliant S745 and S715 are single component solvent-free adhesives for flexible packaging and carton applications. They can be used to laminate substrates to paper or board or even for film-to-film lamination and deliver savings when used to replace solvent-based adhesives

Brilliant Polymers has been at the forefront of solventfree adhesive technology and is the market leader in India and several global markets. “We are encouraging our customers to move increasing numbers of their applications to solvent-free technology,” says Talwar.

Brilliant Polymers has several innovative solvent-free adhesives, and a majority of its revenue comes from solvent-free adhesives.

Increase in solvent-free adhesives manufacturing capacity in Q3 2021 Looking ahead, Talwar says, “We see increasing demand for laminating adhesives for flexible packaging and are investing to double our manufacturing capacity. We expect our increased capacity to go online by the third quarter of 2021. Our increased capacity along with our strong relations with suppliers, customers and partners will ensure market-leading growth in the coming years. As always, all products from Brilliant come with our Promise of Technology, Quality and Service!”. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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Flexibles

z New digital inkjet water-based Jet Press FP790

Fujifilm enters flexible packaging market with new press launch

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ujifilm has announced its entry into the flexible packaging segment with the new Jet Press FP 790 water-based inkjet digital press. The plan is to launch the new Jet Press product into the North American market in fall 2021, and thereafter will gradually expand it to Europe and other parts of the world. In addition, Fujifilm will continue to leverage its successful Jet Press brand into its line of digital presses.

The maximum substrate width is 31 inches (790 mm) with a printing speed of 164 ft/min (50 m/min).

Changeover can be implemented within a ‘matter of minutes,’ contributing to the overall improvement of

production efficiency by using the FP790 in combination with existing analog assets.

Using 1200 X 1200 DPI resolutions with CMYK colored inks, the FP790 is said to achieve more than 90% of the Pantone color gamut while also using two white inkjet channels for delivering high white opacity.

In 2011, Fujifilm began offering the Jet Press series of inkjet digital production presses to the global commercial printing market ahead of other companies. To date, it has installed more than 250 Jet Press machines. Furthermore, in 2017, Fujifilm began sales of the Jet Press 540WV, a UV inkjet

digital press for flexible packaging applications in Japan. With these experiences, Fujifilm is moving faster and wider into full production digital printing for flexible packaging. z

z Healthcare packaging solution

Amcor’s new enhanced heat seal coating

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mcor has introduced ACT2100 heat seal coating for medical-grade DuPont Tyvek 2 and paper packaging applications. The company says that this coating technology delivers enhanced performance features for healthcare applications and will be produced in multiple locations worldwide to offer customers increased flexibility to be supplied from the most suitable location for the manufacturing and packaging of their devices.

Amcor also says that customers choosing ACT2100 will benefit from the solution’s broader seal range in combination with numerous materials, allowing for a wider operating window in their manufacturing operations, as well as enhanced seal strength for

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more robust package integrity through distribution.

Speedier ethylene oxide sterilization cycles will also reportedly be possible due to the material’s improved porosity, a fiber-free peel, and a bright, white adhesive that does not yellow. In addition, documentation and data will be available to support healthcare packaging regulatory requirements in all regulated markets.

The ACT2100 heat seal adhesive will be added to Amcor’s existing portfolio of Tyvek adhesives, including CR27 and SBP2000 heat seal coatings. This allows its customers to choose to leverage traditional validations with legacy products or use ACT2100 for newer requirements. z

Technical Article

z The Digilas from Schepers

Latest developments in direct laser engraving

The Digilas from Schepers for direct engraving of gravure and embossing cylinders. Photo: Schepers

Dr. Stephan Brüning

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or the production of cylinders for gravure printing and embossing, large surfaces are structured with high resolution. Fast process cycles require highly efficient structuring processes of several square meters in micrometer-precision within the shortest time. In this context, laser technology offers advantages in terms of fine focusability, high processing

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speed and precise direct digital data transmission. Further beneficial characteristics of laser engraving technology include high flexibility and increased productivity.

Depending on the specific application – whether the focus is on productivity or very high resolution – different laser beam sources and engraving

strategies can be used. In the last few years, Schepers has continued to develop the Digilas system to meet the ever-increasing market demands. Furthermore, thanks to the knowledge gained from research projects and new laser beam sources, entirely new fields of applications can be opened up. This article presents the most important latest developments.

Technical Article gravure cylinder preparation. The application range of existing production lines can be expanded by integrating a laser engraving system. Due to the smaller laser spot diameter, cylinders can be structured with higher resolutions. Furthermore, gradual three-dimensional shapes can be implemented directly from a digital data set in layer-by-layer material ablation. Owing to the latest laser technology, it is also no longer necessary to develop special materials suitable for laser processing. Due to the multiplicity of laser beam sources with their specific characteristics and not least thanks to the ultrashort pulse laser technique, all metals with almost identical qualities can be processed. Material properties such as hardness, reflectivity, or absorption behavior are of minor importance. In addition, the availability of (Source: ultrashort pulsed lasers also facilitates the engraving of Schepers) materials like transparent plastics, which so far could not be processed. This opens up new perspectives for the use of plastic surfaces for roll-to-roll (R2R) applications.

„Grav area

Microscope picture, screen frequency: 80 l/cm, depth: 35μm, wall (above): 10μm, wall (below): 40μm (Source: Schepers)

High resolutions

„Gravure“ area

(Source: Schepers)

Multibeam for higher productivity In general, cylinders for gravure printing and embossing are required in diameters from 50 – 1500 mm and in lengths of 100 – 9700 mm. Therefore, cylinder surfaces of up to 42 m² must be imaged with microstructures. For larger embossing cylinders with structural depths of up to 2 mm and the respective high ablation volume, the processing with one single beam is very time-consuming and expensive, particularly if very high product quality is demanded.

For this reason, such embossing rollers are often still produced by using the laser/etching process. However, due to the large process chains, this is very costly in terms of labor and time consumption. Therefore, the challenge is to engrave these large cylinders in eco-

nomically justifiable times. Instead of using only one laser for surface structuring, the Multibeam solution

by Schepers divides the laser energy into a multitude of equally strong beams. In this way, the partial beams can be switched individually by a suitable optical system and their power can be modulated individually according to the engraving data. Furthermore, as many ‘tools’ work on the surface simultaneously, the process is often faster than the conventional laser engraving process. As a result, also larger components can be processed under economic conditions.

A non-material depending laser process Due to the widely used copper/chrome electroplating and also the electro-mechanical engraving, the microstructuring of copper surfaces is of primary interest for

For the Imagesetter process used in the Digilas system, the image is built up in a pixel-resolved file. The intensity – and with it the depth of each area – is determined by the pixel’s grey value. The achievable quality of direct engraving depends not only on the image data, but also on the laser power applied. The lower the laser power per pass and thus also the layer thickness ablated, the higher the quality and thus the depth resolution.

Up to now, in gravure cylinder preparation, structures with high resolution, e. g., for fonts, were produced using etching techniques. In this context, resolutions of 5080 dpi are standard. For example, fine line elements with widths in the range of the laser spot can be engraved. Typical applications include the combination of electro-mechanically engraved cylinders and auto typically produced cylinders. In recent years, the etching techniques have been increasingly replaced by direct laser engraved cylinders.

Besides the standard gravure printing process, alternative roll-to-roll (R2R) processes are increasingly used. The so-called R2R UV Nanoimprint technique offers possibilities to transfer structure sizes up to the nanometre range from the cylinder onto the substrate.

Films printed in this way can be used, for example, as light-spreading media to increase the efficiency of solar cells. Antibacterial and hydrophobic structures can be used, for instance, in the food industry for yogurt lids and yogurt packaging. On the other hand, biomedical structures are used in the field of ‘human tissue engineering’ for a targeted growth of cells, e. g. line structures with widths of 4 µm and depths of 10 µm.

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Technical Article Variable depths

3D elements without steps

– Structure depth < 2 mm The direct engraving of plastics or rubber materials like EPDM, enables the creation of 3D structures with depths of some 100 µm in one step (one layer). Due to the low optical penetration depth of laser radiation into metals, the ablation depth per layer is up to 35 µm (layer rate), even in case of a multiple pulse overlap of some micron. A depth of several 100 µm, as necessary for embossing elements, can therefore only be achieved by multiple engravings. The gradation of the layers is defined by the adjusted ablation/layer, which is a compromise between quality and ablation speed. The number of layers can then be calculated as a function of total engraving depth and the layer rate.

The engraving software divides the engraving image analogously into the number of layers necessary to achieve the total depth. In the engraving process, the focus offset is repositioned after each layer to ensure constant ablation quality.

Comparable with a topographic map, direct laser engraved embossing structures show level lines.

In this context, the ablation per layer behaves in inverse proportion to the achievable depth resolution and depends on the metal to be structured and the required quality. For a two-dimensional layer ablation of 30 µm, the typical steps with a gradation equal the layer thickness. The resulting depth resolution can be reduced by an additional modulation of the laser power so that also the ablation depth can be varied within one layer. In this way, the gradation within one layer can be minimized but not eliminated.

– Structure depth < 35 µm (within one layer) In the direct laser engraving of metals, depths of approx. 35 µm can be ablated with one layer or one spot.

This process can be monitored within one layer by adjusting or modulating the laser power. For example, besides the opening of semi-autotypical cells by the pixel matrix, the depth can also vary. A pixel matrix, also called master screen, is extended in such a way that a halftone value is assigned to each pixel. Through this grey value, the depth is defined as the grey value controls the applied laser power, which is proportional to the ablated depth.

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Due to the laser processing and the associated heat input into the surface, the cylinder may expand during the process. The risk that this effect has an impact on the engraving process is particularly given in case of high laser powers and increasing face length. For example, if the cylinder expands by e. g. 5 µm during the processing of a layer, the following layers will be engraved in an axially shifted way. In many cases, the expansion effects are tolerable. However, if high resolutions with small spot diameters are required, his may cause some problems.

On the one hand, this is related to metals’ very high ablation threshold, which results in a minimum ablation per layer of approx.

4 µm. On the other hand, it is related to the melting edge formation along the level line.

Due to the adhesion of melted mass, the individual layers will always remain visible.

This effect can be minimized by a stochastic variation of the level lines.

For the Digilas system the EQIm module has been developed. It works completely on the fly and can be freely adjusted in its intensity and in its mode hardness. With EQIm an increased quality for standard engravings can be achieved while maintaining the lateral resolution. Therefore, higher ablation rates per engraving layer can be used by maintaining the standard quality. Thus, for some images, the same results could be achieved

(Source: Schepers)

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with just one laser processing step (ablation per layer of 56 µm), which previously required several process steps (ablation per layer of up to 16 µm).

Beam Microscope picture, screen frequency: 80 l/cm, depth: 35μm, wall (above): 10μm, wall (below): 40μm (Source: Schepers)

Technical Article Multiscan The new Multiscan technology has been developed to minimize such problems. It considerably reduces external influences, such as high temperatures, particularly at multi-layer engraving. Furthermore, when using this technology, the imaging of a cylinder can be finished with only one pass. This enables the realization of a consistent engraved image also for large cylinder lengths.

The Multiscan technology is based on the fact that the spot can be axially positioned on the cylinder within a predefined range. Currently, up to eight layers can be ablated in one pass by means of a continuous spiral feed. Further on, Schepers is planning the extension to 16 spots to enable the engraving of 16 layers in one pass. An existing 4-beam system, which for example, ablates approx. 40 µm in one pass can be expanded to an engraving depth of 80 µm or, in the future, to an engraving depth of 160 µm.

the circumferential line).

However, this results in an engraving time higher a factor of 2,5. Therefore, this alternative will not enable any successful cylinder production.

Another possibility is to manipulate the process flow in such a way that the spiral shift does not run like in an axial line but is distributed around the circumference. However, this workaround is not sufficient for all applications, e. g. for screen rollers or embossing structures.

(Source: Schepers)

Conclusion (Source: Schepers)

Line assistant To achieve an economic laser structuring process of cylinder surfaces, the laser head and the emitting laser beams continuously move along the rotating cylinder.

As a result of this, each laser spot moves like a spiral on the cylinder with a gradient equal to the axial feed.

If there are any image data beyond the starting point, the spiral will become visible as a shift at the zero points. The seam created can be eliminated by separating engraving and feed (feed only after engraving

The Line Assistant offers a further possibility to equalize the spiral shift. By means of this system, the spot can be moved against the spiral feed. Due to this function, the laser spot does not run like a spiral on the cylinder but like one circumferential line for each feed. Thus, there is no shift of the start and endpoint of an engraved circumferential line, and therefore no seam, as it would occur with a spiral-shaped feed.

In recent years, Schepers has made great efforts to adapt the Digilas laser system even better to the requirements for the engraving of gravure printing and embossing cylinders. In close cooperation with its users, the direct engraving system has been continuously further developed. As a result, Schepers developed innovative engraving functions that offer some advantages, particularly for engraving gravure printing and embossing cylinders. This not only led to encouraging results never achieved before but also shows that direct laser engraving still offers a great potential. However, the Digilas system will be further developed, e. g. for the direct laser engraving of functional surfaces for the embossing of optical, antibacterial, and biomedical structures. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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Labels

z New high-configuration label press in Kolkata

Libako Packaging invests in Gallus ECS 340 Manash Das

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ibako Packaging, a print and packaging specialist, boosted its production efficiencies by installing Gallus ECS 340, a flexographic press with UV application, in-line foiling, lamination, and die-cutting. “We prefer to invest in proven technology along with innovation, brand value, versatility. We examined all the presses and their configuration, where Gallus flexo press stood out as the leader for us. We were awestruck by the print quality, registration with minimal wastage, and the support from Heidelberg India’s service team.” said Balai Adhikary, director at Libako Packaging. Flexibility and ease of use were among the other highlights of Gallus ECS 340, which helped to seal the decision, according to Adhikary.

“Along with the Gallus ECS 340, we have added a high-speed slitter and inspection, offline hot foiling, and flatbed die punching machine with a conveyor.

We also have offline screen-printing machine and coaters,” added Adhikary.

The decision-making journey When Adhikary visited drupa in 2012, he had a keen interest in labels and convertible packaging solutions.

Later, when he and his team visited drupa 2016, he realized the immense potential that flexo printing and labeling could offer. Finally, the company had decided on the flexographic press during the pandemic of 2020 and signed for the Gallus ECS 340, flexo press. The press was installed and inaugurated at the plant in the presence of family members and well-wishers.

“We are delighted with the full journey of Gallus ECS 340 discussion, along with the service provided by Heidelberg India. Amid the pandemic and lockdown,

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Balai Adhikary, director of Libako Packaging with the Gallus ECS 340 Flexo press

they did a fantastic job of installing the new press in a record time of just six days after the machine arrived at our site. The whole Gallus and Heidelberg team were very cooperative and supportive. We are impressed with the excellent print quality, which was as per our expectations, and it has set benchmark during ongoing print trials,” said Adhikary.

“The Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) of the press is defined by various factors, including available time, quality, machine production speed, as it is the mantra towards the success of label converter. The equipment automation in Gallus ECS 340 ensures the highest level of OEE to us. The dedicated service and print application support from Heidelberg and Gallus team helped us reduce material waste and time loss in production and job changeovers, resulting in high productivity. These are some of the driving factors to be with Heidelberg and Gallus family,” said Adhikary.

The journey Libako Packaging was established in 1981 with a vision to provide quality print solutions. The company saw a great opportunity and potential in the print and packaging industry with printing labels for footwear and cotton garment manufacturers in Kolkata, by using screen-printing. Within few years, the company diversified its portfolio to include offset, commercial printing, packaging, POS, wood, metal, and plastic fabrication.

The company has two plants – one in Matheswartala road, spread across 45,000 sq. ft, dedicated to offset, digital, and large format printing, pre-press, and post-press, along with other fabrication machinery.

The second plant is a newly constructed 9,000 sq. ft eco-space, one-stop solution provider for premium quality products output located at Jalpath, Kolkata.

Labels Ankan Adhikary, the next-gen entrepreneur who joined his father’s business, is involved in day-today operations. He added, “We want to diversify into a complete packaging solution provider with comprehensive service offerings. We are concerned about the environment, and hence, we have set up our new factory adhering to all eco-friendly norms at Jalpath. We want to grow as an environmentally responsible company with versatility, quality, and innovation.”

Gallus ECS 340 Narendra Kulkarni, regional product manager, Asia – Gallus and sales responsible for India, added, “We are pleased to be part of Libako’s success story of Gallus ECS 340, and we welcome the whole Libako team at the and Gallus family.”

The Gallus ECS 340 press comes with a technical core granite base which eliminates the vibration

during printing operation. The modular design and low carbon footprint ensure minimal space requirement. The shortest web path reduces the production waste. The quick process change over on the primary level of the press provides maximum available time in production and OEE levels. The automation feature includes easy job setup, preregister job data storage and recall, format length correction, easy and special design of chamber doctor blades, and changeover. The large diameter of the chill impression cylinder keeps the material physical properties constant through the print process for accurate print reproduction, even on repeat job orders. Integrated direct servo drive shaftless and gearless press ensures high substrate flexibility with Gallus ECS 340.

Process flexibility and modular structure are key drivers in today’s world, and Gallus ECS 340 can be extended with add-on processes as required at any point in time. The Gallus 340 comes with specially designed

Gallus ECS 340 label press

lightweight aluminum printing cylinder sleeves that ensure high printing quality, consistent reproducibility, and maximum aging stability throughout their entire service life. z

z Pre-Owned Program to create sustainable initiatives

Color Label invests in Nilpeter FA-2500

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anish Color Label, owners of no less than 10 Nilpeter presses, has made another sustainable press investment by acquiring a fully refurbished, pre-owned Nilpeter FA-2500. Nilpeter’s Pre-Owned Program is a part of a strategic objective to create sustainable initiatives.

Pre-owned printing presses are often traded in as part of a new purchasing decision. The presses are then fully refurbished to improve the condition and lifetime, providing many years of stable press performance to a new owner.

The newly refurbished 8-color UV FA-2500 installed at Color Label is the second of its kind to land on the production floor in Aarhus, Denmark. The press software has been upgraded considerably and all vital mechanical parts and electrical components controlled and/or changed. Cosmetically, all panels and covers have been treated and received a powder coating to factory standards.

“With the purchase of our second newly refurbished

“This is the second press in which we have performed a nut and bolt rebuild for Color Label. It has been a pleasure working with Erik Grønning and Lonnie Melskens, as we have the same expectations when it comes to quality and standards,” says Nick Hughes of Nilpeter.

Nilpeter’s Pre-Owned Program is a part of a strategic objective to create sustainable initiatives

FA-2500, we now have a total of ten Nilpeter presses on the factory floor, ranging from 10 to 16 inches. And this one looks and feels brand new. They’ve done an outstanding job on the refurbishment,” said Erik Grønning, CEO and owner of Color Label.

“The newly refurbished FA-2500 fits right in. We know it’s reliable, and it’s a sustainable choice that allows us to reuse existing tooling and continue producing green and cost-effective linerless labels.

All jobs can be run on all machines, enabling us to always deliver on time, which is in our DNA,” Grønning concludes.

Established in 1980, Color Label is one of the leading Danish suppliers of self-adhesive labels to the food industry, the chemical industry, and for retail trade. Color Label is a service-oriented and innovative company that strives to solve any label challenge regardless of the printing and delivery requirements. z

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Labels

z Digital printing on industrial scale

Gallus launches Labelfire Diamond Core Series

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allus has introduced Labelfire Diamond Core Series, a range of four new digital presses defined and tailored to the different market requirements with optional high-opacity digital white available for all models.

The heart of each Gallus Labelfire is the digital print unit, the so-called ‘diamond core’ enabling highquality 1200 x 1200 dpi UV inkjet printing with Samba printheads by Fujifilm. According to Gallus, printing results with pinning modules are specially adapted for the inks and printheads and the simulation of the Pantone Plus color scale. In addition, all models of the Labelfire Diamond Core series come with speeds up to 70 m/min and the ability to print a variety of substrates.

The models D1 and D2 are the working horses of this series. With or without digital white, they are suitable for all printing companies, which do not need inline finishing.

The Labelfire D1 is the 4-color entry-level machine system into the 1200 dpi digital printing and suited for commodity labels with changing small run lengths.

The Labelfire D2 is the alternative with 7 colors CMYK plus gamut extension green, orange and violet for highly challenging designs, e.g. cosmetic and body care products or whenever perfect color matching is key. In addition, the D2 enables up to 94% of the simulated Pantone Plus color scale with the 7 colors.

Whether 4-color or 7-color, with or without digital white – the hybrid technology offers expanded flexibility due to integrated inline finishing- and embellishing modules. The Labelfire D3, the UV inkjet press with 4 colors (CMYK) and the Labelfire D4 with 7 colors (CMYK GOV) are equipped with a flexo and a die-cutting unit for easy single-pass printing.

“With the Gallus Labelfire Diamond Core Series, we offer a suitable range for all types of printers,

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Gallus has introduced Labelfire Diamond Core Series, a range of four new digital presses. Photo: Gallus

The heart of each Gallus Labelfire is the digital print unit, the so-called ‘diamond core’ enabling highquality 1200 x 1200 dpi UV inkjet printing with Samba printheads by Fujifilm. According to Gallus, printing results with pinning modules are specially adapted for the inks and printheads and the simulation of the Pantone Plus color scale.

regardless of their level of experience and scope of requirements,” says Thomas Schweizer, head of business management at Gallus. “In addition, we offer a fully comprehensive service. With buying this machine, all maintenance work is included

in the price for the first year of operation, and thereafter our customers can choose from three service basic packages with the option of flexible expansion, from the low-cost, basic rate to the all-round carefree package.” z

Labels

z Digital finishing equipment for labels

Astron Packaging in Dubai installs ABG Digicon Series 3

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insak has announced the installation of a new ABG Digicon Series 3 at Astron Packaging Industry in Dubai. Some of the features the company has opted for in the new digital finishing equipment are two complete semi-rotary flexo units with GEW UV system, spot varnishing feature, cold foil/lamination, super-gloss unit, matrix rewind, slitting unit, and dual re-winder.

With a max speed of 150 meters per minute and the capability to work in line with the world’s fastest digital print engines, Digicon Series 3 comes in a modular design that allows customization to meet individual needs and create a clear competitive advantage for any print business.

Astron began its operations in the UAE in 2019 with the installation of a Lombardi Synchroline press and, after

adding a digital system, immediately felt the need to add a finishing line. Based on their positive experience of installing multiple ABG lines in their India plant, Astron decided to install the latest, state-of-the-art Digicon Series 3 for its UAE facility.

Speaking about the installation, Ross Hollaway, sales manager at AB Graphics, said, “We are delighted that Astron Packaging has reinforced their relationship with ABG with this new kit. Along with Mr. Malkhan Ram of Vinsak, the sale has re-inforced our teamwork in opening up a new series of equipment that label printers in the region would find very useful in expanding their product offerings.”

AB Graphics has been manufacturing innovative print finishing equipment for over 60 years. According to the company, it has a global installation base of 11,000

L to R: Niraj Darji, president, Astron Packaging; and Nitin Thakur of Vinsak with the newly installed ABG Digicon Series 3

machines and over more than 2,500 customers.

In India, the install base is around 150 machines, including the flagship Digicon Series 2 and 3 digital finishing, turrets, booklet makers, slitter re-winders, camera systems, and turret re-winders. z

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Metal Packaging

z Sustainable alternative for decorating small cans

Bevcraft Group orders first Tonejet Cyclone digital can printer in Europe

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ational Enterprise Award winner and provider of packaging solutions for the craft beverage industry, Bevcraft Group, has ordered the UK’s first Tonejet Cyclone direct-to-can digital printer. Able to produce short runs of premium quality 330 ml cans while eliminating waste, shortening supply chains, and reducing production costs, the new digital can printing system is expected to provide Bevcraft with a completely new revenue stream.

According to Tonejet, the introduction of Cyclone to its portfolio will provide Bevcraft with a flexible short-run option for decorating beverage cans, complementing its existing can decoration processes. Bevcraft’s new digital capability will give craft brand owners the ability to develop a market presence without the minimum order constraints of traditionally printed cans.

Darren Fenton, COO at Bevcraft, says, “Given the current climate, it might be considered a brave time to invest in new technology, but our objective is to support our partners as they work to return to normal trading conditions during the pandemic. In achieving that, the Cyclone will provide them with the flexibility of production to cost-effectively get back-up and running, with smaller batches.

“As such, we believe that this is the right investment at the right time. Indeed, everything about Tonejet’s approach, from the ink specification through to the logical integration of quality controls, has demonstrated to us that this was the solution we wanted for digital can printing,” adds Ciarán Gorman, CFO at Bevcraft. “The Cyclone end-to-end system is a total game-changer in terms of can decoration for the craft market. It will provide us with a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable alternative for decorating small can batches from 1 to 50,000 units – still small quantities for the can industry.”

Due to its commitment to customer service and contin-

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Tonejet Cylone direct-to-can digital printer

ued innovation, Bevcraft has been investigating digital can decoration for some years. Imperative to Bevcraft was a partner focused on a purpose-built solution with sustainability, food safety and reliability at the core of its offering. The Tonejet Cyclone can printing system comprises all the equipment required to decorate necked beverage cans, including a depalletizer, a can inspection system, can cleaning and printing units, an over-varnish bake oven, a repalletizer and all associated can transports and conveyers. Blank cans can be decorated in any combination effortlessly before they are palletized for filling or shipping.

According to Rob Day, Tonejet’s CEO, the UK’s first Cyclone installation at Bevcraft is another milestone for Tonejet. “BevCraft’s Cyclone installation will open up a whole new packaging supply option for European craft brewers. Crucially, it allows craft beverage producers, many of whom strive to be carbon-neutral, to cost-effectively can small batches without the use of plastic labels or sleeves which can be problematic to recycle.” z

According to Tonejet, the introduction of Cyclone to its portfolio will provide Bevcraft with a flexible short-run option for decorating beverage cans, complementing its existing can

decoration

Bevcraft’s capability

processes.

new will

give

digital craft

brand owners the ability to develop a market presence without the minimum order constraints of traditionally printed cans.

Metal Packaging

z Circular economy for aluminum beverage packaging

Ball Corporation announces new sustainability goals

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all Corporation, one of the world’s leading suppliers of sustainable aluminum packaging and aerospace technologies, has announced 2030 sustainability goals focused on enhancing product stewardship and social impact to create value for stakeholders, together with a vision for how industry partners can collaborate to achieve a fully circular aluminum beverage packaging system.

Ball’s new global sustainability goals, which will drive performance across the life cycle of its products, include a commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions before 2050 and transitioning to 100% renewable electricity by 2030. The goals also include ensuring all aluminum is purchased from certified sustainable sources and converting 80% of Ball’s global beverage can volumes to its lightweight STARcan designs.

Complementing the longstanding ESG programs, Ball is expanding its disclosure of existing D&I and social programs with specific 2025 goals for every region and business. For example, Ball Beverage Packaging South America has committed to increasing the proportion of non-white employees in new hires from 31% to 47%, and Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA plans to increase the representation of women in manufacturing roles by achieving a 25% recruitment rate of women for these positions.

In addition to its sustainability goals, Ball also shared ‘Toward A Perfect Circle,’ an industry vision which sets out how, by working together, beverage brands, retailers, and aluminum beverage packaging manufacturers and their suppliers could make aluminum cans, bottles and cups – the world’s most recycled beverage containers –surpass a 90% recycling rate from today’s rate of 69% and increase the global average recycled content rate to as much as 85%.

Today, recycled aluminum uses only 5% of the energy compared to using virgin material, and recycled cans

have the potential to be back on the shelf in as little as 60 days.

According to Ball, it will drive multi-stakeholder action to achieve this vision, including developing a low-carbon roadmap for the aluminum beverage packaging sector. The company will also advocate for investment in infrastructure and technology to support a more effective and efficient recycling system in the regions where it operates. Ball will work with partners to publish this multi-region recycling roadmap and carbon pathway plan within the next year.

“As a world-leading manufacturer of aluminum beverage packaging, Ball has a responsibility to our stakeholders and the planet to improve the environmental performance, social impact and economic returns of our business and take a leading role in

Ball’s new global sustainability goals, which will drive performance across the life cycle of its products, include a commitment to achieving netzero carbon emissions before 2050 and transitioning to 100% renewable electricity by 2030. The goals also include ensuring all aluminum is purchased from certified sustainable sources and converting 80% of Ball’s global beverage can volumes to its lightweight STARcan designs.

driving industry-wide solutions to the climate crisis,” said John A Hayes, chairman and CEO of Ball. “Our customers are seeking low-carbon and truly circular packaging options as they work to fulfill net-zero targets and meet growing consumer demand for sustainable products. Infinitely recyclable aluminum cans, cups and bottles are the solutions. We look forward to further enhancing our products and

developing an industry-wide circularity roadmap in collaboration with our partners.”

Ball will be engaging with key stakeholders across the aluminum beverage packaging sector to develop and promote the best methods, policies and actions to achieve a fully circular aluminum beverage packaging system. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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Consumables

“An immediate challenge is to manage the supply chain continuity to ensure the availability of inks” – Ramakrishna Karanth of Siegwerk India During a recent interaction with The Packman, Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO, Siegwerk India, said that Siegwerk had seen significant growth in its business in India during the past five years, in addition to the growth in its export business. However, he cautioned that the continued peak in RM prices would adversely hamper the industry, and an immediate challenge is to manage the supply chain continuity to ensure the availability of inks to customers and remain healthy in these difficult times.

Mahan Hazarika: What is the impact of the pandemic on the ink industry? How have you coped with it?

customers. In addition, steep deterioration in demand for certain segments like ice cream and white goods have been adequately made up by the surge in export orders, and this has helped us to maintain our business in a healthy situation.

Ramakrishna Karanth: With lockdowns across the states and people compelled to stay indoors for a prolonged period, it is but obvious that the FMCG industry has taken a hit since the second wave of the pandemic. As per the available information, the FMCG market shrank for two consecutive months in April and May, and consumer sentiment has seen a deterioration, which in turn has impacted the packaging industry and ink industry.

However, to a large extent, we have been insulated from the adverse impacts primarily due to the continued good operations of most of our customers and their needs for the product lines that we offer, including many of the special value-added products. This has allowed us to maintain our share of business with our

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Mahan Hazarika: What does the next year look like?

Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO, Siegwerk India

Ramakrishna Karanth: Over the last six months, we have been seeing a major crisis, possibly the worst in the last decade for the inks industry, on raw material pricing and availability front. The price of most of the inputs of inks and coatings are at all-time high levels, which has adversely impacted the profitability of the ink industry. Despite remaining high for a prolonged period, the prices do not seem to see any softening yet. Such continued peak in RM prices is definitely going to hamper the industry adversely. An immediate challenge is to

Consumables Mahan Hazarika: What are some of the latest product developments at Siegwerk?

Ramakrishna Karanth: We have been operating in the toluene-free segment of inks by choice, well before the toluene ban was being contemplated in India. Today, our toluene-free inks for the flexible packaging segment are a force to reckon with, and we have seen steep growth in this segment. The recent launch of mineral oil-free ink systems in the sheetfed inks segment and LED inks for narrow web flexo printing and sheetfed offset printing are also generating keen interest in these segments. We have been setting up ‘My Digital Ink Room’ at customer premises which significantly reduces the involvement of specialized people at customer premises for handling the inks stocks and color matching and eliminates manual intervention in stocks keeping, monitoring and inventory control.

Our recent launch of ‘Customer Portal’ and ‘Track and Trace’ systems have improved transparency, reduced the uncertainty in the supply chain and logistics, and has resulted in improved information flow.

The formula ‘Ink, Heart & Soul’ describes Siegwerk’s everyday work

manage the supply chain continuity to ensure the availability of inks to our customers, protect our top and bottom lines, and remain healthy in these difficult times.

On the other hand, with less than average per capita consumption of packaging material even in comparison with the world average, and with a significant gap in comparison with developed countries, the Indian packaging industry is expected to see substantial growth during the next few years, which will help us in our growth plans for the years ahead. In addition, with the regulatory norms related to food packaging getting more stringent, during the year ahead, we see significant traction to the growth of our inks and coatings portfolio, which are fully compliant and are food and pharma safe.

Mahan Hazarika: What are your future plans in India?

Ramakrishna Karanth: We have seen significant growth in our business in India during the past five years, in addition to the growth in our export business. Successful commissioning of our new blending center in Bangladesh earlier this year has released an additional capacity of 1,800 tonnes per year at our Bhiwadi operations,

which we have already effectively filled in with our domestic and export orders. Further to this, our new capacity expansion project at Bhiwadi will be operational this year and add another 13,000 TPA to our production capacity. With our focus on safe inks system, circular economy and sustainability, and with the continuous introduction of new portfolio of inks and coatings to support this vision, we aim to consolidate our position as a provider of technologically superior and product safety compliant ink systems of choice to our discerning customers and brand owners.

Mahan Hazarika: What are the kinds of inks and coatings that Siegwerk has the most success in?

Ramakrishna Karanth: Our product range comprises safe ink systems that effectively serve the needs of our customers, brand owners and the end consumers while making no compromise on the safety and compliance aspects. We operate across all the packaging segments, like flexible printing (for both gravure and flexo printing application), sheetfed offset printing, narrow web flexo printing for labels and sleeves, water-based inks and coatings for liquid food packaging segment, food services and corrugated industry.

Mahan Hazarika: How has the printing/ packaging ink market evolved in the last five years in India?

Ramakrishna Karanth:The printing and packaging segment, and in turn the inks segment for packaging, has been on the growth path in India for more than 30 years now. Inks and coatings have been seeing a transformation over the last five years, with an increased focus on sustainability and product compliance aspects. A large number of medium and small-sized players, mainly domestic family-run businesses, have a major presence in the packaging manufacturing industry in India.

With hardly any entry barrier to the business of packaging, today, every packaging player – whether small or big - wants to create a differentiated presence and hence are looking for technologically superior products in addition to the everyday needs of quality, consistent supplies, and economic viability, which in turn has driven the evolution of inks industry. This has also helped us to grow with our technology-led approach with a necessary support system like process management support, application technology, and ink rooms at customer premises. Our ‘Digitalization’ drive has helped in improved transparency and offers the customers a reliable flow of information.

Further, a strong focus on circular economy and sustainability will likely re-define the inks business over the next decade. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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“Printing and allied industry will be able to achieve preCOVID level only by the last quarter of 2021” – KS Murthy of Toyo Ink India In this interview with The Packman, KS Murthy, deputy managing director of Toyo Ink India, talks about the de-growth during the pandemic and how cost pressures due to the supply-demand gap have been a significant challenge.

Mahan Hazarika: What is the impact of the pandemic on the ink industry? How have you coped with it?

KS Murthy: To be precise, overall business in the first quarter of 2021-22 was disappointing. During the first wave of COVID-19, we saw the commercial sector being down completely, but the packaging sector has been steadily growing. However, during the second wave, the commercial sector business was down by 40 – 50%, even the packaging sector saw disappointing figures. On the other hand, the publication sector continued to be worst affected as most of the studies became online and the requirement of the textbooks dropped drastically. It was not anticipated that the overall business would see approx.

25% de-growth compared to the pre-COVID scenario.

With COVID infection slowing down and all eyes on industry revival, we are up now against one more challenge of rising input cost, freight, etc. Most of the manufacturers are forced to improve their finished product costs to keep the overall operation afloat.

Moreover, the supply-demand gaps due to delays in the shipment, force majeure declared amidst the second wave have acted as spoiling spots in the revival process altogether.

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KS Murthy, deputy managing director of Toyo Ink India

Consumables These are challenging times for us all, and our foremost priority is to keep the ball rolling till we see normalcy in the overall supply chain in turn easing down the overall cost structure. Thanks to the proactive and comprehensive team efforts, Toyo has managed to salvage the situation and has been stable post the twin-impact of the pandemic.

Mahan Hazarika: What does the next year look like?

KS Murthy: As we mentioned above, there has been notable de-growth for the overall industry with the twin impact of the COVID situation, and still, the third wave is expected. Over and above, the cost pressure due to the supply-demand gap has been a major challenge to cope up with.

On a positive note, we foresee that the vaccination drive will be having a major impact on our growth. If the vaccination drive is going in full swing, we expect the lockdown affected areas will open up, opening the business/economy in totality. We, therefore, presume that in probability, printing and allied industry will be able to achieve pre-COVID level only by the last quarter of 2021 and improve thereafter.

Mahan Hazarika: What are your future plans in India?

KS Murthy: We have been actively pursuing our objective toward becoming a sustainable solution provider. We had slight slowdowns when the pandemic started, but we have been actively following our plan like; for example, we completed Solar Panel installation last year in a bid to pursue green production initiatives.

On the business side, Toyo has been at the prime spot in the commercial segment in India, and the major emphasis now is to reach a similar milestone in the packaging segment. We are gradually increasing our presence in the packaging sector in the form of a one-stop solution provider to them. Unlike others, we are not just ink and allied products manufacturer.

We have other products, such as masterbatches, pressure-sensitive adhesive, that are already being catered to Indian customers, and many other products are in line to debut in India.

Mahan Hazarika: What are the kinds of inks and coatings that Toyo has the most success in?

KS Murthy: As you know, packaging demand is

Offset ink cans from Toyo

on the rise as consumers are looking for effective packaging to ensure hygiene standards are maintained and food remains fresh. Thus, shipments of rigid packaging inks have been robust, shipments of gravure inks are also booming due to the increased demand for packaging in line with the rising demand for ready-made meals.

We have a wide range of inks and coatings for rigid and flexible packaging as well as labels – conventional oil-based, UV, water-based coatings, gravure/flexo inks, and water-based flexo. Toyo will continue to play a crucial part in the packaging and label printing supply chain. We are beyond inks, and our wide portfolio has enabled us to serve various segments and be an integral part of people’s everyday life.

Mahan Hazarika: What are some of the latest product developments at Toyo?

KS Murthy: At Toyo, we never stop innovation, and we are continuously revamping our products and introducing new products in alignment with market trends and growing business needs of our consumers. Our prime motto is to add value to our customers and communities through our products and services.

One product which we would like to highlight here is the next generation MULTISTAR. It is a next-generation non-toluene, non-ketone ink series suitable for all three lamination processes viz. solvent-based, solvent-free, and PE extrusion lamination with necessary regulatory compliances, including Nestle.

Mahan Hazarika: How has the printing/ packaging ink market evolved in the last five years?

KS Murthy:The printing ink sector in India is estimated at 3,60,000 tonnes for 2019-20, valued at around INR 55 billion; the market witnessed a growth of around 7.5% per annum during the last ten years, and the market is projected to achieve a CAGR of 5% during the next five years.

Backed by strong demand from key end-user segments such as packaging printing, newsprint, commercial and digital printing, the overall printing ink market in the country has grown tremendously and is expected to maintain its current healthy trend for several years to come. z

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Consumables

“Raw material prices will remain a challenge for the ink industry even in the next year” – JK Sharma of Yansefu In an interaction with The Packman, JK Sharma, CEO of Yansefu, India, talks about the impact of the pandemic on India’s packaging and printing ink industry and provides insights about the latest product developments and alternative technologies at Yansefu – a leading manufacturer of high-performance printing inks, coatings, polyurethanes and adhesives for gravure and flexo applications, based in Haryana, India.

Mahan Hazarika: What is the impact of the pandemic on the ink industry? How have you coped with it?

JK Sharma: Interestingly, the overall growth of flexible packaging has seen a positive trend during the pandemic so far – particularly in the rural areas of India, as people there started realizing the importance of packaged foods in terms of safety and hygiene requirements. In addition, in the urban areas, due to increased demand for the door-to-door delivery and online marketing of grocery products, the packaging sector witnessed a significant rise in demand for packaging materials. In addition, the pharma packaging sector so far observed a substantial upsurge in packaging volume due to Covid-19.

However, it has been a big challenge for the printing ink industry to cope with this growth and sustain the supply chain so that the converters should not suffer. This was due to lockdowns, unavailability of an adequate workforce at manufacturing plant and raw material crisis, and sudden rise of raw material prices.

We at Yansefu focused more on indigenous in-house

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JK Sharma, CEO, Yansefu, India

technology to produce the ink binders and additives.

Since our resin and adhesive manufacturing plant is fully automatic, this helped us somehow to run the show. But the increased price of solvents, pigments and monomers is still a bottleneck. But when you have

a dedicated R&D and production team to provide their wholehearted support to develop innovative technologies and processes, life is always less miserable. I am entirely optimistic that this team will bring us alternative technologies soon to tackle this challenge.

Consumables Mahan Hazarika: What does the next year look like?

The state-of-the-art analytical laboratory at Yansefu with all necessary analytical instruments and equipment including Pyrolyzer – GC-MS, GC, GPC, FTIR and Centrifuge.

Photo: The Packman

JK Sharma: We are optimistic. Based on our experience of the last two years, I can say the overall packaging industry will grow significantly in the upcoming years. But the raw material prices will remain a considerable challenge for the financial stability of the ink industry even in the next year. Further, the workforce-related challenges can only be eliminated once the vaccination drive is implemented across the supply chain.

Mahan Hazarika: What are your future plans in India?

JK Sharma: We have a very robust plan to further enhance our in-house production of critical raw materials with the support of our R&D team. This will enrich our self-dependency on raw material sourcing. In addition, our purchase and sourcing team is continuously engaged in finding out and collaborating with local Indian manufacturers for the development of alternatives. This will help us in improving the sustainability drive and being ‘Atmanirvar.’

Mahan Hazarika: What is unique about Yansefu? Which products are your bestselling products?

JK Sharma: In line with our company philosophy, we do not just sell products but rather sell solutions.

Due to its wide range of product portfolio and applications, Yansefu is a one-point solution providing organization in the true sense. Our product range includes raw materials for printing inks and coatings such as ink binders, color concentrates and innovative coating additives, which we produce in our reactors. We really feel privileged to have other ink manufacturers as our clients opting for these products. In addition, we manufacture and sell polyester polyols used in adhesive and PU applications. We have solvent-based, water-based inks, lamination adhesives, various gloss and heat-seal lacquers, coatings and primers such as 2K coatings, effect coatings, extrusion primers for converting uses. We also offer a few products for other specialized applications such as textile, offset, etc. Additionally, we also support our customers in providing ink management options such as ink-kitchen, printing-ink plant set-up, conversion from one technology to another at customer place, and providing guidance and support towards the latest development on product safety and regulations. Our primary focus is to provide

compliance products as per local regulations such as IS15495:2020 as well as global regulations such as Swiss Ordinance etc.

Mahan Hazarika: What are the latest product developments at Yansefu?

JK Sharma: Most of the local and global brand owners are working with sustainable packaging. Also, the Indian government is emphasizing environmentally friendly activities. There are so many concepts associated with it. Recyclability, biodegradability, compostable, monolayer packaging, same family polymer packaging are few phenomena associated with them. The printing inks and coatings should be compatible with such packaging. We are actively working in such areas.

Although solvent-based inks are easier to print on the gravure machine, a few hazards are associated with it, such as fire, primarily due to static charges.

In addition, if you look into the current scenario, RM prices, in particular the solvent prices, have gone up.

Also, in the absence of solvent recovery systems, VOC emissions of solvent-based inks are much higher.

Water-based inks are generally considered to be safe and ink reducer price is much lower. The challenge lies with the drying and printability, and the choice of resin system is the critical innovation area in this regard. Our water-based products have already started addressing such challenges.

Further, nitrosamine-free inks are now becoming a necessity, particularly for pharma packaging; this is due to USFDA restriction and its carcinogenic effect.

In ink, it is formed when the nitro group of the nitrocellulose moiety reacts with the amines present in the ink matrix. So if the ink will be free from nitrocellulose,

then there will be limited chances of nitrosamine generation. We have filed one patent on the same concept, and our product has already been validated at the customers’ place.

An important area of sustainable activity is energy consumption. That is why LED curing, which consumes energy much lower than that of UV curing technology, is gaining lots of importance. In addition to low energy consumption, other advantages are higher lamp lifetime, no ozone production, etc. Our LED coatings have set a benchmark in the flexible packaging market, and we are continuously investing our effort to develop such products.

In addition, our cutting-edge lamination adhesive and various specialty products such as release primers and heat-seal-lacquers are gaining market focus.

Mahan Hazarika: How has the printing/ packaging ink market evolved in the last five years?

JK Sharma: As mentioned above, brand owners are continuously demanding regulatory compliance products in the flexible packaging domain due to various product safety-related concerns in the last years. The government is focusing hard on resolving plastic pollution challenges as well as tackling sustainability issues. Increasing solvent prices, VOC, and fire hazards are constantly promoting the development of contemporary water-based and radiation-curing products over conventional solvent-based technologies. Another aspect that has been impacting the market growth in the last few years is the press speed.

Accordingly, ink technologies and the market has been going through a dynamic change. z

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Consumables

Inkmaker Group rebrands to IM Group

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nkmaker Group has rebranded as IM Group with its own distinct identity to better compete in the marketplace as a ‘Total Solutions Provider.’ The comprehensive rebranding comes after years of acquiring several companies combining expertise, intel, technology and hardware.

Inkmaker’s strategy is to consolidate all its brands under a single holding group brand, known initially as Inkmaker Group.

“The decision to rebrand Inkmaker Group as IM Group stems from the group’s vision, which is to evolve Inkmaker Group as our technology to expand in our fields and adapt, the advantages of our products, to new markets. Since October 2019, Inkmaker has made considerable investments in the acquisitions of Rexson and Valtech in the UK; Tecnopails in Italy; and most recently Swesa, in Germany. The driving strategy behind these acquisitions was to create a reliable, complete supply chain – serving predominantly, but not only the ink, paint, and coatings industry – to sustain our core businesses,” explains Silvio Cimenti, global director of branding, marketing and communications, IM Group.

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“This meant restructuring our brands into various specialties, yet to still be one strong force, hence the need to rebrand the existing Inkmaker Group brand, to have an identity of its own, as an autonomous holding brand¬ – this is the evolution of Inkmaker Group, which is essentially that of Inkmaker,” adds Cimenti.

With the restructuring of the brands, Inkmaker will focus on ink dispensing and software design; Rexson will be predominantly for paint as well as liquid ink; Vale-Tech will focus on narrow-web and pasteink dispensing – so UV flexo ink and offset inks; Swesa mainly for food, pharmaceutical, corrugated packaging, cosmetics and more. Teko will remain in POS Tinting and R&D training while Tecnopails for filling solutions.

Inkmaker grew by 25% globally due to its acquisitions.

“Considering the current challenges the pandemic has caused, this is still on track with our vision. Now having the holding brand, IM Group – to steer all our specialty brands – we foresee all our brands to grow exponentially,” says Christophe Rizzo, CEO EMEA/ Americas, IM Group.

Acquisitions make IM a total solutions provider “Being a ‘Total Solutions Provider’ is our mission, and this is precisely the reason why we acquired the brands. Our strategy is to create ‘areas of excellence,’ dedicating each of our brands to specific expertise that can come together – like our logo – to form a strong force. Each brand can still work individually with its existing clients in its respective markets and, when required, share their expertise – offering total solutions – for example, on large turn-key plant engineering projects. This guarantees resource optimization and high flexibility to manage projects of all sizes. This was one of the key reasons for forming the holding brand, IM Group, in the first place,” explains Gianluca Incerti, global commercial director, IM Group.

“For example, Rexson and Vale-tech had their respective unique technology. Now that we are one large team, we are consolidating each brand’s strength and combining resources, technology and software, and we can take a tremendous advantage in the integration with Inkmaker to offer state of the art solutions,” says Incerti.

Asia Pacific operations see a positive impact The group has expanded its Malaysia premises to house its tinting and engineering brand, Teko – together with Inkmaker. In Thailand, this year, it just opened a sales and service office. Its market share in the Philippines is growing. The big one, of course, is China – due to its larger premises, it can now double the number of standard machines shipped monthly, from an average of 5 or 6 units to 10 to 12 ink and paint dispensing systems.

Top management of IM Group

“In Shanghai, we have already brought forward our IM Group expansion plans. In April 2020, we expanded our facilities to double the size of our previous production area. At the time, it was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but we had to do it to meet the escalation in demand. The move has resulted in being hugely beneficial to us. Bigger premises means we can manufacture more machines and can now offer a greater variety. We are already offering customers the entire portfolio of our brands. So, the new IM Group brand will undoubtedly impact the business positively in China,” says Lau Kar Seng, general manager, Inkmaker Shanghai and board member of IM Group.

Big investment in software and automation division Another advantage, which has played a significant role since the acquisitions, is Inkmaker’s legendary software. “A considerable investment has been made into the software and automation division purposely to ensure, the brain behind not just a smooth transition with our new brands in the family, but also to increase the level of our technological capabilities.

Inkmaker’s software is the essence of our systems and by incorporating them into our newly acquired brands’ machines, we elevate the productivity and performance of these brands to a much higher and more energy-efficient level.

P32 automatic dispensing system from IM Group’s P-Series. All P-Series systems are operated via a computer using IM Group’s leading industry software IMAESTRO

“Inkmaker’s software – now known as IMAESTRO – was designed in-house by our software team and has always defined us as a leader amongst our competitors; therefore, it plays a major role in the operational execution of IM Group’s global strategy. We have since expanded our software line to another one, called IMPRIMO, which we recently released with our ink-transfer/supply system, Inktrasyst, and another three are under development, planned for release by next year,” says Francesco Nesti, global director of software and automation, IM Group. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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Automation

z Factory automation solution from B&R

Improving throughput in food packaging processes

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he food industry is one of the industries we cannot do without. Recent uncertainties have just propelled the demand curve, which has seen the market for packaged foods grow multi-fold. Driven by consumer lifestyle changes, the packaging of dry food products has transformed from essentially functional to a highly influential factor in their purchasing decision.

Though consumer emphasis on lightweight, flexible, compact, and hygiene-packed food products is increasing, it disrupts the process, such as weighing, handling, sorting, sealing, labeling, wrapping, etc., involved in packaging food products. The shifting preferences boost the demand of the packaging line for more flexibility and efficiency to maximize throughput. The food processing industry is deemed to innovate and advance the packaging process with technology-enabled solutions to meet the growing demands.

Food products are typically manufactured in large volumes, and packaging lines need to synchronize with the process to meet production goals. It involves seamless packaging machinery from primary, secondary packaging to the end of line solutions.

Manufacturers are challenged by increasing batch size variability, shorter product lifecycles, unpredictable demand fluctuation, and product proliferation from the single-use pack, films, wraps, bottles to containers used to pack food products in powder, grains, and grains granulate form. Therefore complete visibility of the process chain becomes crucial for manufacturers to address unique requirements from consumers and set new standards in flexible, productive, and efficient packaging. Data-driven models supported by advanced factory automation solutions enable manufacturers to take informed decisions and boost productivity and availability of packaging lines.

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Edge Controller enables manufacturers to handle database, process visualization, reports, alarms and trends in a single PC-based system seamlessly

Real-time assessment of packaging line Edge Controller, the factory automation solution from B&R, enables manufacturers to integrate machines on the packaging line and manage them seamlessly using a single system. Edge controller is a scalable and flexible system consisting of core components for operation and data management, making it a more robust and successful solution among the food processing industries. Edge Controller consists of ready-to-use modules that allow factories to monitor,

assess, and optimize production processes. With the integrated PDA (Process Data Acquisition) function, the manufacturer collects, processes critical parameters, and performs analytics.

Data being a key enabler for monitoring production, it is handled with ease using the PDA function. Data aggregated from the packaging line are processed and shared in real-time to factory managers to support making an informed decision. The PDA function’s scalability enables the implementation application to handle several hundred thousand data points in a

Automation single system. PDA is integrated with a robust business intelligence suite. With its user-friendly report design tool, manufactures can create customized reports that support all types of data sources. PDA offers intuitive dashboards and graphs that reflect production performance in real-time. It is enabled with powerful and long-time archiving that supports manufacturers to perform a detailed analysis of line performance.

Manufacturers adopt different packaging techniques based on the product lineup, such as zipper packs, aseptic packs, wraps, etc., and each process uses a unique set of data points operations. The Edge controller is easily configured to handle multiple products on the same packaging line. With advance and modular software blocks, this PC-based system can be programmed to handle production with ease.

In addition, manufacturers benefit from recipe management, user management, alarms, and trends that are essential software blocks to manage individual products effectively.

Integrated condition monitoring function shares critical parameters in realtime to optimize maintenance process and increase uptime of machines

End to end shop floor integration in a secured way Edge Controller brings in the transparency of shop floor data by integrating multi-vendor machines on the packaging line. It supports open communication protocols such as OPC UA and MQTT that enable the production line to connect and share data mutually with IT systems in a unified and more accessible way, thereby offering complete visibility of end-to-end operations on the shop floor. With the increased volume of data, there is also raised concern on data security by the manufacturers. They are keen on ensuring data generated from the process line is accessed only by authorized personnel.

Hence it adds to the responsibility of the automation system to address data security demand. Edge Controller uses best-in-class security features to ensure data is secure throughout the operation. Its integrated security cell provides simple yet efficient protection for systems against malicious software and cyberattacks.

Edge Controller functioning over LINUX operating systems gives an added benefit to performing reliable and secured handling of process data.

Increased uptime for increased profitability Manufacturers have the essential task of ensuring machine availability for continuous operation to achieve

production goals. Growing demand from the market forces manufacturers to run machines and packaging lines for long hours affecting the critical and complex motion components. The breakdown of such features brings the complete line to a standstill, affecting the production cycle and incurring loss to manufacturers. Exposure to chemicals, extreme temperature, vibrations, wear and tear, wash-down environments contribute to premature failures of the packaging line.

Packaging lines handling food products suffer from spillage of raw material, waste deposition on equipment that generates a short circuit on electrical systems. Downtime of process line also disrupts the quality of the product, especially food grade types. In addition, the usage of aging machines on the packaging line needs continuous monitoring and periodic maintenance to increase uptime. It has added pressure on maintenance personnel to adopt an effective maintenance practice to reduce breakdown and increase line availability economically.

Edge Controller proves to be a single system for performing predictive maintenance using its integrated ConMon (Condition monitoring) solution. With ConMon, manufacturers can determine the early warning signs of a breakdown in the packaging line. ConMon solution is built with intelligent algorithms to monitor vibrations anticipate failure at critical points, and minimize line

downtime. It makes the diagnostic process more accessible and reduces the time devoted by the maintenance team for routine inspections. It offers a real-time view of operation to the maintenance team and alerts them when the vibration and heat increase above a particular range. In addition, ConMon solution provides maintenance data in the report and graphical format, aiding maintenance experts to perform root cause analysis. It provides an effective monitoring solution for manufacturers that ensures the packaging line’s reliability and makes maintenance most efficient.

More innovative future with B&R The food processing industry is on the verge of rapid growth. Increasing market demands drive manufacturers to take the extra mile to stay ahead of the competition and become profitable. As packaging trends and consumer preferences are dynamically changing, adopting a scalable factory automation system is critical to creating a differentiation factor in the market. Edge Controller from B&R helps manufacturers design a highly flexible and efficient packaging line with a single system incorporating scalable control, process data acquisition, and condition monitoring.

With powerful software and scalable hardware, Edge Controller brings flexibility to the production line and makes them future-ready. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 2021

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Filling and Sealing

z Waterline with lightweight and stable PET bottle design

Sidel installs a complete waterline for Durrat AI Khaleej in Iraq

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s one of the leading bottled water producers in Iraq, Durrat Al Khaleej aims to provide the best experience to consumers. Sidel’s packaging solutions successfully fulfilled its goal by delivering a complete waterline with a lightweight and simultaneously stable PET bottle design, weighing only 10.5 grams for the 500 ml bottle format, at a time of very high travel restrictions in Iraq.

Durrat Al Khaleej, established in 2007, has become familiar to consumers as a symbol of good-quality water in Iraq. The company is adapting advanced production technology not only to adhere to national and international regulations and standards but also to stay at the forefront of innovation and sustainability. Ensuring the highest levels of quality and safety throughout the supply chain, from raw materials to the point of consumption, Durrat Al Khaleej has a laboratory that systematically checks the water produced to ensure it meets stringent standards to achieve its ambition for progress and development in Iraq.

Lightweight and stable PET bottle design and costeffective line solution To optimize bottle design as well as line performance, Durrat Al Khaleej chose Sidel for its expertise in packaging solutions. The collaboration between Sidel and the customer was crucial to develop a new PET bottle design and to manage the installation and commissioning of the equipment, as the site for the line was a greenfield project. After the meeting in Dubai, Sidel’s packaging experts met the customer’s expectations by proposing a lightweight solution while also incorporating the original premium look. The lightweight PET bottle in the 500 ml bottle format, weighing only 10.5 grams, has high stability and has proved to be very successful on the market. In light of its sustainability and low total cost of ownership (TCO), Sidel’s complete water line has become the perfect solution,

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Sidel delivered a complete waterline with a lightweight and simultaneously stable PET bottle design, weighing only 10.5 grams for the 500 ml bottle format

with a speed of 24,000 bottles per hour (bph) for 500 ml. It has not only helped the customer save water on bottle cleaning but also no air conveyor is needed.

Sidel’s service exceeds expectations “Sidel provided extra support well beyond the scope of delivering the equipment to Europe by choosing trusted shipping companies and recommending

approved experts for installation and commissioning of the line in Iraq. The entire logistic flow was thus well planned and smoothly implemented,” says Ibraheem Ghudaib, CEO at Durrat Al Khaleej.

The installation and commissioning was very successful, achieving 98.1% line efficiency during the customer acceptance validation (CAV). Thanks to Sidel’s great teamwork, the project kick-off was in March 2020, and the first sellable bottle was launched in December 2020. z

Sustainability

z Selling used cartons through app and website

Tetra Pak partners with The Kabadiwala

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etra Pak, a world-leading food processing and packaging solutions company, has tied up with The Kabadiwala, a well-known local waste management venture to increase the collection of used beverage cartons in Bhopal. Consumers can sell their used cartons by booking a pick-up through The Kabadiwala app or its website and get paid for their waste in return. The team will also set up 70 deposit points at public places across the city where consumers can drop off their used cartons for recycling. In addition, The Kabadiwala will work closely with the municipal corporation of Bhopal to recover used packs of juice/ milk etc., from the corporation’s sorting centers as well. All collected cartons will be sent to the nearest recycler, Khatema Fibres, in Uttarakhand for recycling.

With this new partnership, Madhya Pradesh has become the 23rd State / Union Territory covered by Tetra Pak’s extensive collection network. This network covers 39 cities and 14 Indian Army contingents, supported by over 27 collection and awareness partners across 23 states and Union Territories.

Jaideep Gokhale, sustainability director, Tetra Pak South Asia, said, “This partnership is an important milestone in our journey of 17 years over which we have established

Consumers can sell their used cartons by booking a pickup through The Kabadiwala app or its website and get paid for their waste in return

a collection ecosystem across the country. Madhya Pradesh is a very progressive state when it comes to waste management, and we had been looking for a strong partner to help us recover used carton packs efficiently for recycling. The Kabadiwala team is just the right partner for us with their extensive network and unique model that makes it convenient for consumers to actively participate in recycling while also working closely with waste-workers to recover cartons from other sources.”

Tetra Pak cartons are paper-based and recyclable.

Once collected, they can be recycled into various

materials like paper, waterproof poly-aluminum, or panel boards, which are then turned into useful items like classroom furniture for disadvantaged schools, roofing sheets, notebooks, seats and backrests for commercial vehicles and more.

“Our strategy to make this initiative a two-fold success – to raise awareness among waste-workers to recover more and more carton packs which will help them generate additional income; and to increase citizen awareness about recyclability of cartons,” says Anurag Asati, co-founder, The Kabadiwala. z

z Enabling competitive exports of egg packaging

Huhtamaki invests in new fiber packaging capacity in South Africa

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uhtamaki, a global key advanced manufacturer of sustainable packaging solutions, is setting up a new manufacturing unit in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to serve its existing and new egg packaging customers in the

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KwaZulu-Natal area with a broad range of locally produced packaging solutions. The new facility will be located close to one of South Africa’s main export ports, enabling competitive exports of egg packaging for customers across East Africa.

“The addition of a unit in KwaZulu-Natal is an important addition to our fiber packaging footprint in South Africa, not only providing efficiencies in our service to customers in South Africa but an additional benefit in terms of proximity to a major

Sustainability port which will drive access to markets across East Africa. The new facility sets us up to better meet the growth of the fiber packaging sector and future demand for sustainable packaging. It also strengthens our position in the region significantly,” says Eric Le Lay, president, Fiber Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania.

This investment underlines Huhtamaki´s strong commitment to the growing customer base in South Africa and East Africa, as the addition of several new lines allow a significant increase in capacity.

Manufacturing operations are expected to begin during the fourth quarter in 2021 and the facility is expected to employ approximately 30 employees when fully operational. z

z Renewable and innovative paper applications

BillerudKorsnäs’ SWAPP to enable transition from plastic to paper

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WAPP is a range of fiber-based packaging materials from BillerudKorsnäs to enable transition from plastic to paper, and meet new consumer demands through better sustainability performance for people and the planet.

BillerudKorsnäs expresses that SWAPP is an opportunity for companies to grow business by meeting new consumer and regulatory demands through renewable and innovative paper applications. SWAPP is a collaborative and seamless process where BillerudKorsnäs guides brand owners and retailers through the transformation towards sustainable paper packaging solutions.

“The FMCG packaging market is in a transformation phase – immense change will have to take place if brand owners and retailers are to meet directives and fulfill corporate commitments by 2025. With the SWAPP offering, BillerudKorsnäs provides sustainable paper alternatives to resolve some of the most imminent challenges – driving plastic reduction, CO2 reduction, and increasing recycling rates,” says

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Patrik Bosander, director packaging solutions at BillerudKorsnäs.

BillerudKorsnäs takes responsibility for the transition from A to Z. Within a SWAPP project, the team supervises all actions to deliver a solution designed for consumer appeal and commercial performance.

BillerudKorsnäs can provide paper material expertise, industrial experience, a network of converters and designers, and prepare for full-scale industrial packaging production.

“SWAPP is about focusing on the needs and market requirements of brand owners and retailers as they move to paper solutions. Our brand owner, managers and project teams collaborate with the key functions within the brand owner’s organization – packaging development, brand management, production – to deliver paper solutions that are “on brand” and are suited for their own production scale-up. We orchestrate the critical players in the supply chain: from the brand’s production hall and filling machine adaptation, to converting and guidance to capable partners

and ultimately to our own paper mills and innovation teams,” says Kristopher Fain, director solutions sales, BillerudKorsnäs. z

Sustainability

z EPL unites with GSK

GSK’s oral care segment to be 100% recyclable by 2025

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PL, the world’s largest specialty packaging company, has partnered with one of the world’s leading FMCG companies, GSK Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH), in their journey towards achieving 100% sustainability in the oral care segment. Under the partnership, EPL will be supplying their APR-approved, 100% recyclable, and fully sustainable Platina tubes for the toothpaste range of GSKCH. EPL’s Platina tube with HDPE closure is the world’s first fully sustainable and completely recyclable tube accredited by APR. This partnership will help GSKCH’s oral health brands, including Sensodyne, Parodontax and Aquafresh tubes, to be 100% recyclable by 2025.

Speaking on the partnership, Sudhanshu Vats, MD and CEO, EPL, said, “EPL is proud to be associated with GSK, to further their sustainability initiatives in the oral care range. This partnership strengthens EPL’s core focus on sustainable packaging and our aspirations to actively participate in the ‘net-zero impact on the

barrier properties. This allows for sustained product stability and durable shelf life of the packed content.

Platina tube is especially suited for oral and beauty and cosmetics products. Platina tubes and caps are certified as 100% recyclable by The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and RecyClass European certification for ‘Code 2’ (recycling), making it the first specialty packaging tubes and caps to be recognized as 100% recyclable globally.

environment’ journey. Going ahead, we believe that sustainability will be the cornerstone of packaging innovation, and EPL is leading the pack globally in sustainable packaging.”

Alan Conner, regional vice president, Europe, EPL, said, “World over the drive towards recyclable products is gaining momentum. At EPL, we now have the right focus and breakthrough innovation capabilities. Our relentless drive towards sustainability has placed us ahead of the pack, and this will generate significant growth for the company as we explore new partnership opportunities.”

EPL’s Platina, an eco-friendly laminated tube produced with less than 5% barrier resin, is designed to deliver source reduction and recyclability without losing any

GSK is anticipating that the use of 100% recyclable tubes will see over a billion toothpaste tubes per year become recyclable by 2025. z

z Accessibility to healthy and sustainable food choices

Nestlé joins initiative to make food more sustainable

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estlé has joined more than 50 other companies and industry bodies to support a European initiative to make food more sustainable. The EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing Practices sets out actions that food producers, food service, retailers and others can take to make healthy and sustainable food choices more accessible.

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Nestlé contributes to a wide-ranging set of 23 commitments to reduce the environmental footprint of products while contributing to healthy and nutritious diets. The company will add more nutritious products to its portfolio and roll out the Nutri-Score nutrition labeling system across Europe, where stakeholders are supportive. On the environmental side, actions include support for regenerative agriculture as well as a shift to

100% renewable energy and zero-emission logistics.

Achieving many of these goals will require a full supply chain approach, working closely with farmers and other companies to positively impact communities and the environment. An enabling policy environment at the European level can help and the EU Code of Conduct is a unique opportunity for the European food and drink industry to lead the way. z

Industry News

UFlex closes FY 2020-21 on a high note

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Flex, India’s largest multinational flexible packaging company and a global player in polymer sciences, has declared its annual results for fiscal 2020-21 and quarter ending March 2021. With packaging taking center stage in pandemic last year, UFlex rose above the challenges to post exemplary performance and achieved the highest ever production and sales volumes, revenue and profitability in the quarter as well as in FY2020-21.

Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director, UFlex, said, “Our business network has weathered the disruption while also demonstrating resilience to cope with the ever-changing demands of the sector.

We commissioned three of our projects in FY2020-21, a BOPET film line in Russia and Poland each, and a new BOPP film line in Egypt with 42,000 TPA capacity, thus gaining an even wider reach globally.”

Continuing, he said, “The pandemic did not dampen our focus on ESG practices and we continue to accentuate our efforts on this front. After the success of post-consumer multi-layer mixed plastic waste and PET bottle waste recycling lines at Noida in India, we are in the process of replicating these at our overseas locations at an even larger scale.

At our Mexico facility, we are setting up plant to upcycle post-consumer PET bottles waste into high recycled content polyester PCR films, for flexible packaging applications and also propose to set up facilities to recycle post-consumer multi-layer mixed plastic waste to make molded, injection molded and extrusion molded components, both of which shall contribute to a circular plastic economy. In Poland, again, we are setting up plant to recycle post-consumer multi-layered mixed plastic waste to make various molded components.” z

Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director, UFlex.

Photo: The Packman

Toppan’s new packages connect with NFC-enabled smartphones

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oppan, a global leader in communication, security, packaging, décor materials, and electronics solutions, has developed interactive packages that connect with smartphones via NFC1 to provide digital content such as games and music to consumers.

A wireless NFC-based connection is established when a smartphone is in close proximity to the package.

No Bluetooth pairing is required. Pad-type switches embedded in the package allow consumers to enjoy interactive experiences, pressing or tapping to produce sounds or control content on the smartphone screen via a compatible app. LEDs and other additional components can be incorporated into the package to meet needs based on the purpose or conditions of use.

The structure of input-output devices such as antenna modules and switches can be customized, allowing

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controller modules to be built into various types of packaging, including gift boxes and other paper-based packages, molded plastic, and corrugated fiberboard.

Power for the controller is supplied by the smartphone over the wireless NFC connection, eliminating the need to incorporate a battery into the package. This power can also be used to make LEDs embedded in the package light up. In addition, the use of NFC means that a high level of security can be provided, for example, by linking to ID authentication systems to ensure that apps and content are only activated when the unique ID of the NFC tag built into the package is verified.

“These packages are very effective for making the most of touchpoints to provide new experiences to consumers when they purchase products,” said Takamitsu Nakabayashi, senior R&D manager in Top-

Toppan’s new packages connect with NFC-enabled smartphones

pan’s security business. “The combination of easily accessible interactive functions and NFC-enabled ID authentication means that this is a solution that provides both outstanding added value and enhanced security for packaging.”

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Industry News

Michelman announces leadership transition

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r Richard I Michelman will become Michelman’s next president and CEO, effective 1 January 2022. At that time, longtime leader Steven J Shifman, president and CEO since 2003, will assume the role of executive chairman.

in many organizational roles, most recently as chief technology officer and executive vice president for Americas, and the printing and packaging business segment. Furthermore, his background as a chemist gives him a true understanding of the sustainable solutions Michelman continues to innovate globally.”

Shifman led the company’s global expansion throughout his tenure. It now maintains production facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia, product development and technical service centers in several major global markets, and a worldwide team of over 400 highly trained professionals.

Steven Shifman will now become the executive chair and Dr Rick Michelman will become the president and CEO of Michelman

“Richard is uniquely qualified to serve as Michelman’s next president. His leadership, customer relationships, and proven performance make him the natural choice

to succeed me.” Shifman continues. “He has been with the company for more than 25 years, acquiring broad operation and market knowledge by serving

Dr. Michelman adds, “Steve is leaving us in a solid position. We are set up to be more vital and impactful than ever before, and I am ready to lead the business into the future as the coatings, printing and packaging, and fibers and composites markets continue to need our sustainable solutions. Our global associates and deep customer relationships have positioned us for continued growth in these markets that embrace sustainability.” z

Cosmo Films enters FMCG segment with Fabritizer

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osmo Films, a global leader in packaging films and synthetic paper, has forayed into the Fast Moving Consumer Goods industry with the launch of Fabritizer, an after-wash laundry sanitizer for germ-free clothing. According to the company, Fabritizer forms a unique protective layer that stays up to 7 days even after ironing and can kill 99.9% of viruses, germs and bacteria. The after-wash laundry sanitizer is AATCC 100: 2012 and 2019 Standard certified (tested at a Mumbai lab), making it a superior product in the market. Cosmo Films claims it also gives protection against human Covid viruses (tested as per ISO 18184 standards at a Lab in the USA). Available online on Amazon India from 3 June 2021, Fabritizer will be available on other e-commerce giants, including Flipkart, and soon be launched on Cosmo’s own e-commerce platform across India.

Cosmo Films states that Fabritizer is skin-friendly and ideal for bed linens, towels, baby clothing, innerwear, etc., and is compatible with all detergents and machine and hand laundry and works in hot

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and cold water. Free from Silver Technology and phosphate, the product retains its effectiveness against odor-causing germs and maintains a soothing and long-lasting fresh fragrance. Talking about the product, Pankaj Poddar, director, Cosmo Specialty Chemicals Limited and CEO, Cosmo Films Limited, says, “This product can be a game-changer for tackling the current situation of Covid. And just by following small necessary steps like using sanitizer, washing hands, and now using Fabritizer for washing your clothes can make a huge impact on the current situation. As a society, we can overcome this pandemic by taking proper precautions and by following all necessary steps.” z

Industry News

SMI installs Matho waste management system

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umbai headquartered SMI Coated Products, one of India’s largest labelstock manufacturers, has recently installed three Matho waste management systems at its Ambernath plant. Rohit Mehta, director of SMI, says, “We continuously strive to invest in sustainable, cleanroom manufacturing and environmentally conscious practices. Installation of the Matho waste management systems is a step in that direction.”

Matho’s exclusive agent in India, Weldon Celloplast, handled the sale. Commenting on the deal, Kanwar-

deep Sahni, managing director of Weldon, says, “SMI is an industry leader demanding and opting for the best.

It is a prestigious sale for us to have been preferred by industry stalwart Ajay Mehta. ” SMI converts 1,350 tons of paper every month on seven coaters, producing 100 million square meters of labelstock per annum. SMI exports its final products to 22 countries. The company also has set up a slitting cum distribution company in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE.

attracts dust and bacteria and poses a severe health hazard. In addition, the massive volume of waste takes over the expensive shopfloor that otherwise could be used for productive purposes. The Matho systems extract trims and matrix by suction from the slitting machine or die-cutting station to transport it to the main equipment to shred the self-adhesive waste without letting it stick to the sides and clogging the pipes, and further blowing it on to either collection bags in highly reduced space or compact for easy disposal. z

The slitting trims or matrix waste with tacky adhesive

Dabur to invest Rs 550-cr in a new factory in Madhya Pradesh

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abur India has commenced construction of its largest manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh. Being set up with a phased investment of around Rs 550 Crore, the new unit will manufacture a range of Dabur’s food products, ayurvedic medicines, and health supplements.

The first phase of construction of this new facility – which has been planned under the Mega Projects Scheme of the Madhya Pradesh Government and the Central Government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme – is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021-22 financial year.

Located in the SMART Industrial Park near Indore, the plant is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to around 1,250 people initially and over 3,000 people at the end of the final phase.

“This project is the largest single investment by Dabur in the state of Madhya Pradesh, and is a clear commitment on our part towards promoting the traditional science of Ayurveda. This new facility will provide us the space needed to rapidly expand our production capacity to not only satisfy the growing demand for ayurvedic products and medicines but

also develop and launch innovative Food Products for the future,” said Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer, Dabur India.

“The plant would feature fully automated processing and packing lines as well as state-of-the-art warehousing infrastructure to optimize supply chain

and quality management. With its stringent quality control mechanism and highly hygienic production environment in place, consumers can be sure that products coming out of this factory will offer bestin-class quality while adhering to world-class Good Manufacturing Practice standards,” said Shahrukh A Khan, executive director, operations of Dabur India. z

Next Labelexpo India in November 2022

L

abelexpo India 2021 will now take place on 9-12 November 2022, allowing time for the Covid-19 vaccination program to roll out and for the situation to normalize next year. The show will remain at its existing location at Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida – Delhi NCR. Labelexpo India event director Pradeep Saroha said, “We have decided not to run Labelexpo India 2021 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We expect that by rescheduling the show a year later, to 9-12

November 2022, the pandemic will be under control, with the industry ready and excited to network and do business again.”

Kuldip Goel, president of LMAI, the Indian Label Association, said, “The LMAI Awards night will also be postponed to Labelexpo India November 2022 to run alongside the show.” The last edition of Labelexpo India in November 2018 attracted almost 10,000 visitors from 55 countries, with 250 Indian and global-based exhibitors. z THE PACKMAN | JUL-AUG 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 E448, Gaur City 1, First Avenue, Greater Noida West, Gautam Buddha Nagar 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India Issue Published on 8 July 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 E448, Gaur City 1, First Avenue, Greater Noida West, Gautam Buddha Nagar 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India Editor: Mahan Jyoti Hazarika

Industry News

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