MACHINERY | THERMOFORMING


This is not Nelipak’s only expansion in Costa Rica


– as it broke ground on a new facility there last sum- mer. Due to open in the middle of this year, the 60,000 sq ft Class-A facility will expand Nelipak’s regional capacity and capabilities. The new site will be ISO 13485 certified and include ISO-7 clean- room manufacturing space.


Faerch is looking to become an integrated PET tray recycler


Advances in thin wall packaging


At the last Thin Wall Packaging conference, organised by AMI, Synco de Vogel, a polymer technologist at Synthomer, explained how its Plastvance T additive technology can boost packaging recyclability.


It can modify the melt strength and rigidity of PP to mimic the


properties of materials like polystyrene (PS) and PET while allowing manufacturers to use existing machinery and processes, he said, and presented case studies demonstrating the material’s versatility. The first replaced PS with PP in thermoforming. “Thermoforming PP is not easy due to sagging and sheet


thinning, a narrow temperature window and slower production cycles,” he said. Here, a 0.5mm thick PP sheet – with 16% Plastvance T – was


compared with a 0.6mm PS sheet. The PP sheet was 38% lighter, more transparent and as easy to thermoform. Downgauging helped to cut emissions by 48%, he said, and cut material cost by 32%. The second compared PS with a modified PP. In trials at Klock-


ner Pentaplast, it tested 800-micron PP/EVOH/PP formulations with its additive in two different loadings (which it did not specify). One formulation cut thermoforming cycle time in half with no effect on quality, and had a 14% higher top load resistance. The third, carried out at Illig, addressed the ‘snap ability’ of


portion packs, which are traditionally made from PS. When standard PP was used here, it failed the snap test – but PP modified with Plastvance T successfully replicated the snap function of PS. At the same event, Olivier Laigre, head of external affairs at


Faerch, said the company plans to raise the use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in its tray production and become an ‘integrated PET tray recycler’. It is looking for a 90% reduction in the CO2 emissions of its rPET trays by 2040, in line with its long-term net-zero targets. In 2024, it installed a second PET recycling line at its recycling facility in Duiven in the Netherlands, with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes. In 2026, it is planning a third line – in a location to be confirmed – with a capacity of 40,000 tonnes/year. The company supplies trays with rPET values from 0 to 100%.


16 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | March 2026


Packaging advances TekniPlex Healthcare showcased its medical packaging at the recent MD&M West show in the US. This included TekniMD PX, a recyclable material in the polyester 1 stream, engineered as an alternative to PETG for thermoformed medical device tray applications. The proprietary material is helping OEMs advance sustainability without compromising package integrity or manufacturing processability, said the company. It forms part of the company’s barrier protection systems portfolio that supports medical device packaging. TekniPlex also showcased its coating and


converting capabilities from its recently opened facility in Wisconsin, which includes coated Tyvek. The site features in-line slitting, as well as high-qual- ity eight-colour printing with a flexographic press. “The most effective medical device packaging solutions are developed in collaboration with our customers,” said Bryan Wesselmann, senior vice president and general manager for barrier protec- tion systems at TekniPlex. Prior to this – at the Pharmapack exhibition in


France – it showed its recently launched line of coextruded blown films and bags made at facility in Puurs, Belgium. These films and bags, produced in ISO Class 7 cleanrooms, offer oxygen barrier properties in a PE-EVOH-PE construction with up to five layers, addressing the needs of applications requiring enhanced barrier protection. The company also highlighted its barrier laminate and coated film solutions, including Aclar laminates and PFAS-free SBC PVDC-coated PVC structures that have high moisture and oxygen barrier protection.


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � www.kiefel.com � www.siemens.com � www.geiss-ttt.com � www.cannon.com � www.kydex.com � www.amiplastics.com � www.ntic.com � www.nelipak.com � www.tekni-plex.com � www.synthomer.com � www.faerch.com


www.filmandsheet.com


IMAGE: FAERCH


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