Successful show for material partners

Manufacturer Eurocast and supplier Thomas Graphics are working together to offer the narrow web printing market a new channel to receive printable, high-quality films with shorter lead times, and in any width and quantity. They are also working to assist converters in material selection, cost and process optimization, and to improve their sustainability credentials.

The show has seen Thomas Graphics introducing several new products - a digital print version of the synthetic papers under the names of SYN-TAG and SYN-COAT, a high COF easy-to-print shrink film under the name of SYN-SHRINK and a new range of printable multilayer lidding films under the name of SYN-LID, plus others.

Speaking to Labels & Labeling during Labelexpo Europe 2013, Thomas Graphics managing director Nanette Thomas said: ‘WE have had a very positive response to our business strategy at the show, and I am overwhelmed by it as the narrow web market can be quite conservative.

‘We have also had a few discussions with brand owners and are looking for going forward, so we can develop our offering and service further.’

Labelexpo has also coincided with Eurocast investing in new technology to increase the use of recycled materials for food packaging.

The main technology used is extrusion, and the first products will be delivered in December. The new film factory will include a unit that decontaminates the recycled material into extrusion material in accordance with the EFSA and FDA standards, in a newly developed, low-energy consuming technology prior to the extrusion process.

The investment will allow Eurocast to introduce a number of new rigid film products including printable versions, and it will ultimately more than triple Eurocast’s output capacity for these films. Eurocast’s new investment will be made at its facility, which is located near the north coast of Poland outside the city of Gdansk.

Eurocast has so far been producing mainly A-PET and A-PET/PE for food packaging on its rigid film extrusion line. The investment will add R-PET, C-PET and PP rigid films to its product range.

The first production line applying this new technology will be up and running in November, and the entire investment is planned to be fully operational in July 2014.

Piotr Szymczak, executive vice-president of operations at Eurocast, said: ‘We are talking about a state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility with the latest automation technology for the decontamination of the recycled material as well as for the extrusion.

‘This concept is so innovative and environment-friendly, that we managed to obtain a sponsorship from the European Union, to partly fund the investment.’