MATERIALS | STRETCH AND SHRINK FILM
prohibited or restricted. It is designed for stretch- wrapping of metal equipment or components that need to be kept rust-free. Workers can replace their existing stretch film with EcoStretch on existing stretch-wrapping equipment. The self-adhering film bonds each layer to itself for added strength. Once the metals are wrapped, EcoStretch will provide contact, barrier, and vapour-phase corrosion inhibition while also helping keep dust, dirt, and moisture off warehouse stock. After use, EcoStretch can be sent to a commer- cial composting facility to turn into a soil amend- ment for future use rather than going to landfill. In addition, the company has developed its
Right: EcoStretch offers corrosion protection and can replace conventional stretch film
Cor-Pak stretch hoods, which combine speciality polyethylene plastomer resins with the company’s corrosion inhibitor technology. The UV-stable stretch hoods deliver high puncture resistance and load holding, allowing users to downgauge, contain aggressive loads and pro- duce a better package at reduced cost, says Cortec. The stretch hoods are elastic (788% elongation at break), sealable and have high toughness.
Recyclate boost KHS of Germany says that all of its shrink packers can now handle film made completely from recyclate. With immediate effect, film made entirely of
recyclate can be handled on all KHS shrink packers in the TSP, WSP, SP and PSP series. Thanks to their modular design, existing machines can be easily adapted. Fully recycled film is suitable for use with both PET and glass bottles, as well as beverage cans. “Consumers, retailers and the food and bever- age industries are increasingly calling for environ- mentally friendly packaging systems that aren’t merely recyclable but also made of recycled materials,” said Martin Thyssen, packaging expert for shrink film at KHS. “With the option of process- ing shrink film made of 100% recyclate, we meet this demand.” Using recycled film can reduce carbon footprint by up to 65%, says KHS. It could also help to meet legislation in some countries: in the UK, for instance, plastic packaging must be made up of at least 30% recyclate by April 2022. In France, plastic
38 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | July/August 2021
packaging must already contain at least 50% PCR. Film made with recycled content is more
expensive than conventional new film: a film made with 50% recycled PE incurs around 10% more in costs, while a 100% rPE film is around 15% more expensive. However, Thyssen believes that acting sustainably overrides the increased expenditure – especially when failing to meet legislation means paying environmental taxes in the future.
More for less AMI recently ran its Stretch & Shrink Film event as a virtual conference – which had a focus on the increased demand for environmental performance. Luke Venechuk and Kurt Riemenschneider – sen- ior packaging engineer and president, respectively at US-based Highlight Industries – presented delegates with a dilemma. “To reduce your carbon
footprint, should you use 10% less stretch film, or 10% more?” they asked. They said that stretch film, when used properly, provides the best load containment and value – and lowest carbon footprint. In their presentation, they cited a
case study of a bottled water company that launched a new pack design – which experienced 5% product damage in the first 90 days. Following this, it contacted Highlight to
review problems and look for solutions. The first step was to evaluate existing methods.
They found that existing methods worked in the past – but were not appropriate for the new pack design. The company needed to find the best way to stabilise and test new products. For this, it used Highlight’s TS Revolution test stand, which allows automated stretch film testing. The brand owner supplied film that Highlight tested in order to find the ‘sweet spot’. The original film had been stretched to 200% – but Highlight found that the sweet spot was at 270%. The sweet spot is typically 70% of the ultimate stretch level. In addition, the brand owner delivered six loads
of the new pack design to Highlight, so they could be evaluated on its Transportation Simulation System (TSS) – which established a baseline for improvement. This models a range of attributes including containment force, cost to wrap and film thickness. This led to a recommendation to increase contain-
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: CORTEC
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
