Adhesive Applications
Boosting business: The future of adhesives A
dhesive performance has always been crucial for label converters, and developments over recent years have
seen new technologies addressing criteria well beyond headline requirements, such as initial tack or food contact compliance. Jasper Zonnenberg, director films, EU at Avery
Dennison, looks at some of the big opportunities for adhesives, now and in the future. Label converters face many different
commercial and regulatory demands. They need label constructions that look good, enable new design trends, comply with emerging regulations, convert productively – and sometimes offer added functionality such as peel-and-read, security measures or RFID. Adhesive performance underpins many of
these requirements. An adhesive needs to deliver reliable results in a particular application and, increasingly, it must be available on a global basis to support product harmonisation.
With innovation and responsiveness in mind,
what are the main drivers for adhesive technologies in 2017 and beyond?
THINNER Thinner labelling materials have been an important trend over the last few years. They offer many different benefits, including lower transport costs, fewer reel changes, higher shelf impact and improved sustainability. A high performance adhesive is critical when converting thinner materials. Avery Dennison ClearCut adhesives are an example, designed to give the clarity and low adhesive bleed levels needed for successful ‘no label’-look applications.
FASTER Good adhesive design enables faster and easier operations. For example, Avery Dennison TrueCut is designed to support paper label conversion speeds up to 100 per cent higher than alternatives, with fewer web breaks, prolonged die life (from lower pressure cutting) and shorter time-to-stick.
SMARTER Smart labelling is already important in some segments, such as fashion retailing, where RFID tags are commonplace, but its potential remains largely untapped in many applications and adhesive technology can be a key component. Avery Dennison tyre materials, based on its specialised adhesives and swell free facestocks, perform well in combination with RFID technology. This allows entire pallets of tyres to be scanned simultaneously and creates new sales opportunities for converters.
SUSTAINABLE The routes to more sustainable label constructions are varied, including the use of thinner labelling materials as described above, an illustration of how productivity and sustainability can interact in a virtuous circle. Converters can now choose between many different sustainable product options, and while facestocks are often emphasised, adhesives also play a very important role. For example, Avery
Dennison’s CleanFlake technology is based on an adhesive that facilitates separation of the label material from PET bottles during the PET recycling process, allowing pure PET flakes to be generated from the recycling stream and conserving virgin PET resources while reducing landfill. ‘OK Compost’
26 March 2017
materials are available, including a biodegradable adhesive with direct food contact approval so that food packaging can be composted. The new Avery Dennison ClearIntent portfolio brings products of this kind under one umbrella, and includes EU-wide matrix and liner recycling initiatives for both converters and end users so that sustainability improvements are seen throughout the value chain.
COMPLIANT There are now probably well over 1,000 new regulations affecting label converters in a typical year. For applications such as food and pharmaceuticals packaging, compliance has long been critical, and label converters need to offer the shortest possible qualification times. The Avery Dennison Complete Compliance service helps converters satisfy all global regulatory requirements, with testing and an individual compliance statement. There are many specialist adhesives on offer. One example is S717P, a pharma adhesive that suits small diameter plastic containers, which has been tested in accordance with ISO 10993-5 standards, reducing re- qualification costs by around 20-30 per cent, compared with start-from-scratch approval for a standard syringe labelling solution.
Research efforts at
Avery Dennison labs are intensive
The most recent example is a clear hotmelt
adhesive now developed for chilled food, offering good tack at temperatures between 0-8°C. Work on compliance is continuous, looking at not only confirmed regulations but also rather more ‘blue sky’ issues, such as mineral oils in food packaging. Avery Dennison operates a number of fully
dedicated R&D centres; its USA facility in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, specialises in adhesives technology platform development, and its lab at the Kreuzlingen manufacturing plant in Switzerland supports further adaptation and implementation of products. These facilities support proactive business growth via new labelling solutions. Research efforts at Avery Dennison labs are
intensive. The adhesive products still being developed by the company address everything from mainstream, ‘commodity’ level applications through to highly specialised technologies, such as the recently-launched Heavy Industrial portfolio, which allows metals to be labelled very early in the manufacturing process at temperatures up to 500°C. One thing is certain – adhesive innovation will
continue as markets develop and as regulations change. The secret lies in anticipating future changes, and responding in a way that will actively boost competitiveness and business growth.
uwww.averydennison.com www.convertermag.co.uk
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