German engineering company Heidelberger Druckmaschinen and global producer of speciality chemicals Solenis have jointly developed a process for barrier coatings on flexible paper packaging.
The packaging is suitable for food, beverages, cosmetics, and certain nonfood products.
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It will be presented at Fachpack 2025, a European trade fair, in Nuremberg, Germany.
Heidelberger has incorporated Solenis’ barrier coatings technology into its flexographic web printing process Bordmaster.
According to the company, the new inline process ensures that barrier coatings are applied precisely and only where needed during production.
The partnership aims to make this technology readily accessible to packaging producers by utilising the capabilities of the Bordmaster assemblies for applying barrier coatings.
Heidelberger CSO David Schmedding said: “Economic innovations are crucial if we are to replace plastic packaging with recyclable or compostable paper packaging. By collaborating with Solenis to develop coatings and inks and produce coated paper packaging inline, Heidelberger is reinforcing its claim to be a strong driving force behind pauperisation.
“We are thus acting as a full-service provider of end-to-end solutions in the growth market of mass production of fibre-based packaging solutions.”
The increasing trend of using flexible paper packaging as an alternative to plastic packaging is gaining popularity, the company said.
Flexible paper packaging is forecasted to see an annual growth of 4.5% until the end of this decade.
According to a survey by the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) Heilbronn and Heidelberger, the demand for environmentally friendly packaging alternatives is on the rise.
However, achieving the necessary barrier properties while adhering to circular economy principles has been a longstanding challenge.
DHBW Helibronn head of the study Carsten Kortum said: “This is not a short-term trend, but a profound change driven by new legal requirements, increased environmental awareness in conjunction with changing consumer behaviour, and technological innovations.”
