The packaging industry represents one of the most crucial interfaces when it comes to implementing the principle of the circular economy in trade and industry. While consumers are challenging the manufacturer, the manufacturer must not only focus on packaging materials, but also on the technology that processes them. By entering into a strategic partnership, Syntegon and paper manufacturer Koehler are making their contribution to driving the circular economy forward.
Sustainable packaging, which means replacing plastic with paper wherever possible, is not just a question of material availability. While flexible packaging paper may well be threatening to displace plastic packaging, both materials still have to share the same machines for the time being. Questions concerning changeover times and even machine conversions and, above all, process reliability in processing are therefore of primary importance for machine operators.
In close cooperation with the Flexible Packaging Paper Division of Koehler, Syntegon has thoroughly tested a new paper on pilot machines at its test center for vertical packaging technology. The result is a new stand-up pouch made of paper (Doy paper bag).
Thanks to the transfer of knowledge between Syntegon and the paper producer Koehler, customers can continue to use their existing machines – on which multilayer and monomaterials made of plastic have been processed until now – for paper as well.
"The best thing about it," says Alexander Rauer, product manager at Koehler, "is that our paper is fully recyclable. We are thus providing a material for which a functioning cycle has long been in place and which is moving us one step closer to sustainability in the packaging industry."
