Long-term Pack Studios joint developments and trials to help industry adopting pouch design for recyclability based on machinability and material science know-how
HORGEN, Switzerland – Enabled by Pack Studios, Dow (NYSE: DOW) is working together with Mespack, one of the leading manufacturers of horizontal form fill and seal (HFFS) packaging machines, to develop a holistic understanding of the processability and machinability of stand-up pouches to be designed for recyclability. Jointly developed PE-based prototypes will be on display at Dow’s stand at K 2019, the world’s largest trade fair for plastics and rubber (16 - 23 October 2019).Starting in October, the companies will begin evaluating various mono-material packaging structures to optimize machine-packaging interaction and expect to identify and deliver over the next five years key machinability and multilayer film structure parameters to enhance productivity, optimize machine settings and enable next generation sustainable packaging.
Applications to be assessed range from stand-up pouches for baby food, condiments, and detergents, to personal care applications such as shampoos, shower gels, or body lotions. For packaging applications that cannot compromise on content preservation, Dow combines this technology with barrier solutions in structures that are designed for recyclability.
As recently announced at Pack Expo in Las Vegas, Dow will install Mespack’s 180 FE HFFS machine at its Pack Studios location in Freeport, Texas. In addition, the two companies are working closely together in extensive trials in Mespack’s technical center in Barcelona, located near Dow’s packaging center of excellence in Tarragona, Spain, where films and laminates are being fabricated for testing on Mespack machinery.
“With about 86 billion stand-up pouches being produced every year, there is a clear opportunity to make them recyclable, so that this flexible packaging format can play a key role in the circular economy,” said Peter Sandkuehler, global application technology leader for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. “Thanks to the close collaboration, machinery installations and productivity trials in our Pack Studios, our development work with Mespack can help enable the fast commercialization of pouches made of PE-based films allowing converters and brand owners to help meet their sustainability commitments to help increase recyclability of flexible packaging.”
The PE-based stand-up pouch on show at Dow’s K-stand were produced on Mespack HFFS packaging lines in combination with monoply or laminate film structures made by Transcontinental and enabled by high-performance Dow resins such as DOWLEX™, ELITE™ 5960G in outer layers and AFFINITY™ as sealants.
Explore this solutions at K 2019
Dow will be showcasing Mespack prototypes in their design for recyclability portfolio and a broad range of products enabling a transition to a circular economy on their stand (K48, Hall 8a) at K 2019, the world’s largest plastics and rubber trade fair from 16-23 October in Dusseldorf, Germany. We’ll be there to listen, learn, discuss and be inspired: www.dow.com/k2019
About Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics
Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP), a business unit of Dow (NYSE: DOW), combines core strengths of R&D, worldwide reach, broad product lines and industry expertise to deliver high performing technologies for end use markets in food packaging, personal hygiene, infrastructure, consumer goods and transportation. P&SP is one of the world’s largest producers of polyethylene resins, functional polymers, and adhesives, and enabled by Pack Studios, is a leading innovator and collaborator across the value chain on sustainable application development and circular economy life-cycle design for plastics. www.dow.com/packaging
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines one of the broadest technology sets in the industry with asset integration, focused innovation and global scale to achieve profitable growth and become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow’s portfolio of performance materials, industrial intermediates and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for our customers in high-growth segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 113 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,000 people. Dow delivered pro forma sales of approximately $50 billion in 2018. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.
For further information please contact:
Uta Ünal
Dow
+41 44 728 21 11
uuenal@dow.com
Sergio Di Gesù
Porter Novelli
+32 2 413 03 40
sergio.digesu@porternovelli.be