Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers, announces that it has acquired a minority stake in Bockatech Limited, a UK-based growth-stage green tech business and inventor of the innovative EcoCore ® manufacturing technology platform for sustainable packaging. The investment deepens the existing partnership between the two companies and underscores Borealis’ commitment to plastics circularity. The move entails joint market and material development in the long term as well as the scaling of the EcoCore platform itself. The aim is to enable a greater number of global customers, value chain partners, and supply chain players to benefit from a broader range of lighter weight foam-based applications, primarily in the packaging sector.

True to the EverMinds™ ambition: synergistic effects to drive plastics circularity

Borealis and Bockatech are leading the transition to plastics circularity, building on co-operation which began in 2016 to develop foam injection moulding solutions for reusable and recyclable packaging. The partnership has already chalked up success with the 2020 “Close the Loop” pilot project at Borealis sites in Belgium. Here, over a million single-use drinking cups were replaced with 30,000 EcoCore lightweight cups, which can be collected and washed for reuse before ultimately being recycled. Thousands of these more environmentally-friendly cups also made an appearance at the recent COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, where they were used for publicly catered events. The conference venue ordered 70,000 reusable cups for use at this and future events.

By intensifying their collaboration, Borealis and Bockatech are accelerating the development of more circular packaging solutions for converters and brand owners in order to meet demand for packaging formats with lower environmental footprints. Bockatech EcoCore uses optimised polyolefin resins supplied by Borealis to create mouldings that have skin-foam-skin walls with high strength-to-weight ratios and excellent thermal insulation. Because only minimal investment in new equipment is required to produce safe and reliable mouldings using the EcoCore technology, converters can readily move into more sustainable packaging formats for a wide range of sectors.

While collaboration will continue to focus on reusable coffee cups, additional applications for technology licensing are foreseen, including more sustainable reusable packaging types and lightweight single-use solutions. Applications in non-packaging product ranges are also envisioned, as the EcoCore technology is further advanced and scaled up.

One aim of deeper co-operation is to produce success stories which exemplify the Borealis circular cascade model, in which design for eco-efficiency, reuse, and design for recycling are key elements integrated in a complementary and cascading way to achieve plastics circularity. The EcoCore technology platform aligns with the Borealis circular cascade model on all three levels. “We are proud and pleased to deepen our partnership with Bockatech,” says Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology. “This is proof positive of our EverMinds approach and commitment to collaboration and innovation to bring about plastics circularity. We look forward to enabling an exciting range of lighter weight and easily recyclable solutions that facilitate the transition from single-use to reuse. This is the right path towards more sustainable living.”

“Working together with Borealis, we’ve already been able to develop packaging for several leading foodservice and fast-moving consumer goods brands in North America and Europe. This new investment will help us advance our EcoCore technology even further and increase the number of applications,” says Henri Gaskjenn, Bockatech CEO. “We share with Borealis a long-term vision of sustainability and, like them, aim to be leaders in the new plastics economy. Their material expertise combined with our manufacturing technology is creating more sustainable solutions with better performance for converters, brands, and consumers alike.”

EMSUR, through its Technology Innovation Centre INNOTECH, presents ECOEM-Sleeves, a new range of sustainable shrink sleeve solutions for bottled carbonated drinks, water, juice or drinkable yogurts.

The beverage industry knows all about the advantages of bottle sleeves as they provide a key element of product differentiation on shelves, display strategic brand messages or nutrition information on the product’s contents and enhance consumer added-value perception through innovative designs, materials and printing.

In the current processes the sleeves are removed from the bottles at the washing stage to avoid contamination of the PET flakes that are later used in the recycling flow Post-consumer.

Within our ECOEM-Sleeves range we provide different types of sustainable solutions, including our ECOEM-FULL PET Sleeve, an outstanding, innovative shrink sleeve solution based on a combination of films and washable inks designed to simplify the recycling process by avoiding any type of residues or contamination.

This new product line, based on eco-design principles, features a combination of PET-based films and washable inks which can be mixed and recycled with PET bottles without any clumping of residues or interruption in the drying and decontamination process.

In addition, this product can be manufactured with post-consumer recycled content and has APR certification for washable inks, preventing discolouration of the flakes from the recycled PET bottles.

Another of the notable products in this new family is EMFULL, a polyolefin-based sleeve option whose floatability properties allow the sleeve to be separated directly from the bottle during the washing phase of the recycling process

This product range also features other solutions and different materials such as PETG, with available post-consumer recycled content and different types of finishes such as high gloss or matt, transparent and other differentiating elements such as holographic effects, glow-in-the-dark pigments, gold and silver inks, etc.

Any other material can be used in combination with these bottles thanks to the option of micro-perforation, which means that the bottles are also recyclable with the aid of consumer interaction.

It is worth mentioning that EMSUR has been authorised by the DPG-System set up in the German market to fulfil the mandatory deposit on one-way drinks packaging, in accordance with the requirements of the German Packaging Ordinance so as to promote circularity and recyclability.

At COEXPAN & EMSUR we continue working on developments that respond to our customers’ needs and to consumer and market trends, as well as driving forward our commitment to sustainability.

Packaging automation takes recourse to packaging machinery at different stages of the method.  Right from fastening, sealing, and bolting boxes to strapping, coding, and labelling items, these equipment are the perfect go. Automatic and semi-automatic- there are mainly two types of machinery that dole out an array of different tasks. However, as the name puts forward, semi-automatic packaging machinery call for more labor most of the time.

Usually, packaging machinery tend to process goods way faster than the methods that involve manual proceedings. Based on the kind of automation and the amount of products one needs to package, a machine will be capable of binding and wrapping tons of items just in a jiffy. With such advanced technology in use, one can significantly improve productivity, save time, and confirm a faster production line.

Especially, in case, the items are large, weighty, and heavy, there always remain chances of injuries and risks for safety of the concerned personnel whom the job has been assigned to. Automated packaging equipment confiscates this challenging issue and makes space for a safer working environment altogether.

With automated packaging machinery on board, one can be pretty sure that every package is properly protected through a uniform and consistent packing process. The fact that automated packaging comes up with a tailored packaging shape and design ensures the same level of required protection for every piece of item.

Last but not the least; when it comes to safeguarding the planet with depleted wastage, packaging automation plays its part well indeed. It involves utilizing only those materials that will be fuel-efficient and economical in nature. In the long run, it also saves a company a substantial amount of packaging expenses & outlays by streamlining the overall packaging process. When it curtails redundant waste, it also prevents over-ordering of a number of materials.

According to Allied Market Research, the global packaging machinery market is anticipated to grow at a considerable CAGR from 2020 to 2027. In the last few years, there’s been a huge increase in the adoption of packaging equipment in a plethora of different domains such as cosmetics, healthcare, food & beverages etc., since packaging plays a highly essential role indeed. Surge in demand for consumer goods and development of eco-friendly machines have driven the market growth in more than one way. Automated packaging equipment are used in different phases of packaging, which makes sure that the respective job is done way before than the time it would have taken with the older versions of the machineries. In a nutshell, packaging machines are somewhat indispensable in establishing product safety all through the supply chain.

Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that the outbreak of covid-19 has led to disrupted manufacturing activities across the globe, especially during the first phase of the lockdown. This, in turn paved the way for reduced demand for packaging machinery from several industries. However, the global situation has started getting better, due to mass rollout of vaccination in most countries, and the global packaging machinery market is expected to revive soon.

The new packs will be for the brand’s range of pulses, beans, cereals and dried fruit. According to Parkside, the packaging incorporates a duplex compostable laminate manufactured by Futamura. It is designed to “break down within 26 weeks in a home composting environment”.

Parkside added that the packs have gained full accreditation from TUV and have been tested for eco-toxicity and various other criteria against EN 13432.

Roger Watkins, managing director at Mintons said: “We are a healthy foods brand, and our customers are environmentally conscious, so it makes sense that we progress our business model by adopting sustainable packaging for our products. The pack created by Parkside has aligned a significant portion of our offering to both our business and consumer ethos. Parkside are industry-leaders in sustainable packaging, so they were always our go-to partner for this venture.”

Parkside new business development manager Paul Lenihan added: “Consumer concerns have shifted a lot throughout the pandemic, but sustainability has remained at the forefront of their minds, particularly in the health foods sector. It’s great that Mintons has turned its attention to its packaging and that our sustainable packaging portfolio fits intrinsically with their goals.”

This will open up new possibilities for recycling post-industrial printed film waste and potential for zero-waste production along the value chain of PP-based packag- ing for packaging manufacturers.

Alternative to non-food packaging made from virgin material

Kiefel has successfully thermoformed both coloured trays and cups from the re- cycled PP flat films, on the KMD and KTR series machines. "The machine set- tings practically did not have to be changed from processing of new material," emphasizes Olaf Tanner, Head of Project and Product Management in the Packaging division at Kiefel. "The shape, appearance and functionality of the deep-drawn, recycled pack- aging is so good that it represents a real alternative to non-food packaging made from virgin material."

In addition, with the increasing proportion of recycled material, savings of up to 20% in heating energy could be observed in the production of deep-drawn PP cups compared to virgin material. This effect can even be further enhanced through the use of dark recyclates due to the better heat absorption. 

This opens up interesting possibilities for packaging manufacturers to reduce the proportion of new materials in their containers to contribute to the climate and to save energy.

The recyclates have also been incorporated up to 100% into the middle layer of ABA flat film structures of different thicknesses (500 µm, 800 µm) without any issues. The use of extrusion technology, equipped with a single screw without degassing or a twin screw with degassing, has proven equally suitable for producing color films free of defects and odours with excellent thickness uniformity and stretchability.

PrintCYC is an initiative along the entire packaging value chain for the recycling of printed films. The consortium utilises fact-based industrial tests to showcase solutions for a circular economy of printed PP-based packaging films. The initiative includes the machine suppliers Brückner Maschinenbau. Kiefel and PackSys Global, Profol, the specialist for flat films made of PP (pol- ypropylene), the printing ink manufacturer hubergroup Print Solutions, and Erema, the specialist for recycling technology. The initiative is coordinated by Dr. Annett Kaeding-Koppers, an independent consultant for sustainable pack- aging solutions.

KIEFEL GmbH develops and produces high quality machines for processing plastics  recycled and, bio-based materials and natural fibers. Kiefel's customers include well-known manufacturers from the medical engineering, refrigerator and packaging industries. With its own technology and material centers, the company offers turnkey solutions and provides support in partnership from product development through machines and tools to service.

Luke Bray, HAVI’s senior manager, Quality Systems & Compliance, said that Detpak is a long-established leading supplier and its focus on providing McDonald’s restaurants with the best possible packaging products was a step above the other suppliers in 2021.

Detpak’s partnership with HAVI was forged over four decades ago when the business first started supplying packaging products to McDonald’s Australia. It has since grown to a global supply agreement to help service the world’s largest QSR, with several products manufactured locally.

“Over the years, Detpak has worked closely with HAVI and McDonalds to implement specialised packaging solutions, underpinned by extensive root cause analysis on quality control and open, honest lines of communication between the parties. This true partnership is built on a foundation of trust and quality, and a relentless pursuit of our customer’s needs,” said Bray.

“The number of touch points in our business that have worked to achieve this recognition runs into the hundreds,” said Conrad Groenewald, CEO of Detpak parent company Detmold Group.

“This award speaks to our relentless pursuit of quality across our business, and the passion and persistence of our people. We are honoured to have been recognised in this way.”

“HAVI and McDonalds are incredibly valuable partners of ours, and we look forward to building on this successful partnership for many years to come,” he added.