Partners qualify lower weight board for pharma cartons

Material supplier Stora Enso, packaging manufacturer Edelmann and packaging line supplier Uhlmann have tested and qualified lower weight board for the production of pharmaceutical cartons in high-speed pharmaceutical packaging lines.

The development project started with printing trials at the end of 2012, with Stora Enso's Tambrite board tested against several competitive board qualities of 250gsm base weight, which is typically used in pharmaceutical cartons.

Edelmann manufactured cartons in three sizes and the packaging trial was conducted on a high-tech packaging line at Uhlmann at the maximum speed of 300 boxes per minute. The test showed that Stora Enso's 215gsm Tambrite board can be used in packaging instead of 250gsm boards that are typically used, with no compromise in packaging performance.

The use of lighter cartons was shown live at the recent FachPack exhibition in Germany, where cartons made of 215gsm Tambrite were run on the BEC300 packaging line on Uhlmann's stand. The development is being marketed by Edelmann using the name ValueCase.

Stora Enso highlighted a number of environmental benefits from this development, as a reduction in package weight generates savings and environmental benefits throughout the supply chain and the product's life cycle, with less raw material used, less weight in storage and transportation, less packaging waste and fees to pay, and a lower carbon footprint.

Wilfried Schmahl, segment development manager, Stora Enso, said: ‘The project combines Stora Enso's material expertise with the converting and filling expertise of leading packaging solution suppliers serving pharmaceutical industry.

‘Focusing on one target, we jointly managed to optimize all factors to achieve the most efficient and the most sustainable output: minimum raw material use, superb printing and converting performance including safety coding on the maximum filling line speed.’

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