In order to meet the demand from the market for alternative packaging materials, the two companies LEIPA Georg Leinfelder GmbH and Koehler Paper Group have developed in conjunction with MULTIVAC a cardboard composite, which can be used for packing fresh food such as meat for example. This innovative solution based on paper fibre packaging material will be presented at IFFA on the MULTIVAC stand and run on a compact thermoforming packaging machine. The packs are designed in such a way, that the end user is able to separate the cardboard backing from the plastic barrier layer and then put it into the paper recycling.
When developing this material, the challenge was to produce a cardboard composite with high barrier properties and a suitable sealing medium, which has the stiffness of a flat precut card sheet but is also capable of being wound onto a roll, so that it can be run on a thermoforming packaging machine. The first results show that the LEIPAflat multilayer composite is excellent at meeting all the requirements. This material can be used on a thermoforming packaging machine to produce skin packs, which not only package the product securely but also present it attractively to the consumer. As a strategic development partner in the board sector, Koehler provides LEIPA with the material for manufacturing LEIPAflat.
“LEIPAflat is made of up to 90 percent renewable raw materials. Compared to the conventional packs used for these products, the features of this packaging material are its appearance and feel of a paper pack, and this contributes significantly to product differentiation in the chill cabinet,” explains Matthias Haux, Commercial Head of Flexible Packaging at LEIPA. “This solution meets the high aspirations and demands of consumers, who are conscious of both quality and the environment. The cardboard offers not just the required stiffness, but it can also be run particularly well on thermoforming packaging machines thanks to its ease of winding on rolls. This solution can generally also be used on existing machines and dies. If requested, we are always willing to give customers advice on site about the optimum settings for their equipment.”
Danny Köppl, Product Manager for Films & Consumables at MULTIVAC, adds: “This sustainable packaging solution, which was launched at FachPack 2018 and marketed under the MULTIVAC PaperBoard range, has already received a very positive reception from professionals in the trade. Now we are receiving a large number of enquiries from the market, particularly against the background of the EU Plastics Strategy, and these are coming not only from Germany and Western Europe but also from many other regions such as Eastern Europe, North America and Oceania. We are currently carrying out a large number of sample productions for a wide range of customers.”
