BIAX FILM | MATERIALS
Stretching ability in both directions
Biaxially oriented film – of many different types – can
offer high strength and barrier properties, and are helping
brand owners to extend their packaging capabilities
Delegates at the recent Biax Film event, organised by AMI, discovered that a wide variety of film can be created with emerging materials and tech- niques. Toppan said it is investing in new packaging solutions – which includes a focus to replace PET film with mono-material PP alternatives. This is difficult, considering PET’s characteristics – includ- ing high melting temperature, dimensional stability, stiffness and strength. However, the company says its Toppan GL barrier PP is suitable for retort applications and sterilisation processes up to 131°C – as well as having a high barrier. It combines this with an Irplast LISIM outer layer – which is thermostable up to 150°C, and has 0% shrinkage and high structural integrity. The film can be used for pet food and medical and pharma applications. To deliver this, it recently installed a new 20,000 tonnes/year LISIM (simultaneous orientation) line from Brueckner. This is used for five-layer produc- tion of BOPP film with thicknesses as low as 50 microns. “This line is dedicated to the production of speciality films designed with our in-house R&D,” said the company. The line, at Toppan’s Italy-based film manufac- turing subsidiary Irplas), was inaugurated in September.
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Another option for barrier film is SiOx coating – which the company can do at a new greenfield site in Most in the Czech Republic. Here, it makes transparent high-barrier BOPP films for various applications. “The plant enables sustainable packaging by combining strong barrier performance with compliance to evolving environmental and regulatory requirements,” said the company.
Expanding footprint Another Brueckner customer, China-based Forop Advanced Materials, runs 22 lines from the German machinery supplier and has five produc- tion bases. It says it plans to expand its footprint to 25 lines this year. The company said the market has seen recent change – with a shift towards wider, higher-speed lines and higher-quality films. Once, it would have run a 3,000 tonnes/year line at up to 130 m/min – where now it runs lines at up to 600 m/min with a capacity of up to 75,000 tonnes/year. There has also been a shift towards food
packaging – accounting for more than half its output.
As well as forging an upstream relationship with SCG Chemicals – relying on its expertise in BOPE – it has a downstream partnership with Master Kong, a leading noodle brand in China. Here, it is
October 2026 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 27
Main image: Dow says its advanced PE resins are widely used in biax applications
IMAGE: DOW
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