Industry News
Editor’s Note
Hello and welcome to the June issue of Converter magazine, which this month brings you in-depth features detailing the latest and greatest technology emerging from the coalface of the industry. Despite the huge restrictions and challenges that
the coronavirus pandemic has forced upon us all, the converting marketplace continues to thrive and adapt, and many new products have been launched, including those aiding the frontline healthcare and medical industries. New technology is being trialled, smarter ways of working have been established and all companies are looking at how to work under the ‘new normal’ guidelines forced upon us by the virus. There’s also been some considerable movement in the Flexo
Technology sphere, and you’ll find a specialist case study detailing one such company’s achievements and future aims on page 20. We’ve also got the newest styles and designs taking the Luxury Packaging market by storm and we discover what Finishing Equipment has been offered. I hope you find this issue informative, intelligently curated and
inordinately useful. Stay safe,
Niamh Marriott Editor
nmarriott@datateam.co.uk
Tetra Pak commits to net zero emissions
Tetra Pak reconfirms its strategic priority in driving the sustainability transformation by setting an ambition for net zero emissions across the value chain by 2050, supporting this with an intermediate 2030 target of net zero carbon emissions across its own operations. Lars Holmquist, executive vice president packaging dolutions and Commercial
Operations at Tetra Pak, said: “We have consistently delivered on our climate goals. In 2017, we were the first company in the food and beverage industry to have our climate impact reduction targets approved by the SBT initiative. More recently, we joined the European Alliance for Green Recovery. Today, we’re once again leading the way by setting ambitious net zero emissions targets that will drive transformation right across our sector and the entire value chain. The planet’s greatest environmental challenge demands nothing less from us.”
MICA launches its first compostable adhesion promoter
Mica Corporation, a leading manufacturer of water-based primers and coatings for the global flexible converting industry, is excited to introduce its first compostable adhesion promoter, MICA MC-634. MICA MC-634 can help the paper and packaging industry achieve its ambitious goals to create more sustainable food and beverage packaging while simultaneously helping to solve a waste problem that has been negatively impacting the environment for decades. MICA MC-634 is an aqueous emulsion designed to be an adhesion promoter for compostable substrates, such as paper, PLA and PHA, and some metalized bio-based films. MICA MC-634 passes compostability testing requirements, including the ASTM D6400 and the Biodegradable Product Institute’s PFAS Fluorine analysis, as a standalone product, which means it completely biodegrades in municipal and industrial composting facilities. Paper and packaging professionals have been working to create compostable structures using bio-based or cellulosic resins and paperboard but have continued using traditional adhesion promoters that are not inherently compostable. This means that most hot cups currently end up in our environment or in landfills. However, as global compostability standards become more rigorous and new innovative products are introduced into the market, converters will now be able to use MICA MC-634 to create commercially compostable structures. According to a recent study, MICA MC- 634 performs as well as, or better than, traditionally used PEI adhesion promoters as a sealing layer for PLA and PHA in certain conditions.
convertermag.com
Milliken boosts plastic industry’s ability to supply materials for PPE
Global materials science expert Milliken & Company is leveraging its capabilities to help produce needed medical personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The current shortage in plastic materials used for protective face shields is leading manufacturers to offer the readily available polypropylene plastic. The material, however, is naturally hazy, so plastic manufacturers are turning to Milliken and the company’s NX UltraClear polypropylene concentrate to produce plastics with clarity levels suitable for healthcare industry face shields. “In this global pandemic, the need for medical PPE continues to rise,” said
Halsey Cook, president and CEO of Milliken & Company. “We are committed to finding solutions that assist our customers and allow us to join in the fight against COVID-19 wherever we can make a difference.”
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