DECORATION | INNOVATION
Decorative labels applied in-mould to soup containers made by ITC Packaging for Spanish organic food producer Dulcesol also provide an oxygen barrier that enables Dulcesol to do away with preservatives. The labels help create containers with an oxygen transmission rate 100 times less than packaging with a standard IML label. The labels also withstand pasteurisation. Verstraete IML utilised a combination of specific inks, a special lacquer, and a special pasteurisation-resistant oxygen barrier film
production demonstration at NPE was carried out on a four-cavity “proof of concept” mould. A full production mould with more cavities should be ready in August. Viappiani is also involved in a second project for labelling regular (smaller) capsules, where once again PLA is being evaluated. (Last October, Beck, Fostag and Netstal demonstrated production of coffee capsules with a pre-metallized wrap-around IML label from Verstraete IML. That was also on a four-cavity system.) The project with Beck and Fostag is a sign that
Viappiani is now expanding beyond its home market in Europe. Gorjup says the company is also growing business elsewhere. In fact, Viappiani — which is owned by the Austrian CTI Group, which specialises in printing and has affiliates in Europe and in several South American countries — has plans to expand its IML activities worldwide. “We want to follow the big brands,” he says. Gorjup reckons there are fewer than ten companies globally that are dedicated like Viappia- ni is to IML. “It requires a lot of dedication,” he says. “Technical support to customers is particularly important, as is quality consistency of course.” This year, the company is investing over €6m in new printing and cutting equipment and in strengthen- ing its laboratory operations.
Wider acceptance Verstraete IML had its products running on no fewer than 11 injection moulding systems at NPE, demonstrating the ability of IML not only to decorate but also to provide interesting surfaces and improve barrier. “We see IML making more and more inroads into the market, as brands find an increasing need to differentiate their products,” says Sales & Marketing Manager Dieter Maes. Verstraete IML is now a Multi-Color Corp
company. MCC, headquartered in Batavia, Ohio, is another international label maker, with more than 70 facilities around the world.
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This June, Verstraete IML opened a new IML manu- facturing facility close to the MCC headquarters. IML started in Europe a long time ago, and the US is still playing catch-up. “All our major custom- ers in Europe have established a local presence in the US, with local project management and technicians for maintenance,” says Maes. He cites the acquisition of CBW Automation (based in Fort Collins) by Mold & Robotics Group, which already owned Swiss IML automation and tooling company H. Müller-Fabrique de Moules. Another IML specialist, French mould maker Plastisud, has had a presence in the region for several years, through its acquisition of Integrity Mold & Die (now Plastisud USA) in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. “The locals have been growing their knowledge too,” Maes says. “IML is now standard in the USA in many major
categories of packaging, whether they be ice- cream, margarines, spreads, salads…” he notes. “Containers for products like confectionery and paints will follow, just like they did in Europe.” Barrier is an important growth area for IML in thin-wall packaging, Maes says. These types of labels are generally made from coextruded PP film with an EVOH core. “It’s not going to enable this type of packaging to replace glass or metal, but many food companies are looking to enhance product characteristics without the need for preservatives, and it can help here,” he says. “This is a sweet spot where we have been putting in a lot of development effort.”
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Left: Decorative brush effect, printed with Norilux DC on a PC film. Second surface decora- tion was printed with another Proell ink system for IMD, Noriphan HTR N the IMD/FIM ink system Noriphan HTR N
June 2018 | INJECTION WORLD 37
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