The FachPack 2021 exhibition, which is now taking place in Germany, has already managed to please with interesting innovations. And in general, it confirmed that in the near future more and more paper will be in demand for creating packaging. So, two companies presented very interesting developments of paper packaging at the same time.
The largest paper and packaging company Mondi, together with packaging equipment manufacturer Rovema, presented pillow bags made from Mondi Kraft paper at the exhibition. By using a “very thin layer of polymer material” in paper packaging, Mondi claims it can provide optimum mechanical and sealing performance while still being recyclable like regular paper. At the same time, manufacturers focus primarily on the packaging of frozen and fresh food products. “We see the great potential in the coming years to replace plastic packaging with more sustainable paper solutions” - says Silvia Khanzelova, head of the Mondi Functional Papers Group.
Is the new paper material universal for packaging equipment and can we immediately replace our films with a new material without any problems? Unfortunately, the easy transition from plastic bags to alternative paper bags is not available for all packaging equipment. But Mondi promises to solve this issue with the specific inquiries. And they already have such experience. Most recently, Mondi provided the Swedish sausage maker HKScan with a barrier paper that allows sausages to be wrapped in a paper cushion bag without any technological changes to the packaging lines. At the same time, the product retains all its qualities, and the packaging, which consists mainly of paper, is suitable for further processing.
Another version of paper packaging was presented by the Austrian company Coveris, which, together with the paper manufacturer Brigl & Bergmeister, developed a new packaging material PaperBarrier Seal. This paper material is made to fit standard packaging equipment such as our company offers, without requiring any technical changes. Here the manufacturer focuses mainly on the packaging of dry products such as dried fruits, cereals, sweets, pasta, etc. The PaperBarrier Seal will be available in three different barrier properties: moisture, air, grease and mineral oil. And since the material is created entirely on a paper basis, it can also be recycled like paper.
Materials from sites mondigroup.com, packaginginsights.com, coveris.com were used.