Plastics News - Show Daily - October 25, 2022 - 20

20 * Plastics News, October 25, 2022
SHOW DAILY
PackSys shows tube, closure innovations
By David Vink
Plastics News Correspondent
The core business of Rüti,
Switzerland-based PackSys Global
AG, a member of Brückner
Group since 2011, is development
and production of machinery
for side-seamed plastic and
laminated plastic tubes.
More recently, PackSys started
development of machines for
slitting and folding injection or
compression molded closures.
Compared to molded bridges,
slitting closures usually results
in more accurate and consistent
opening torque and can provide
tamper-evident features. A folding
tool centers, pre-folds and
folds caps within a fraction of a
second.
Most recently, the company
has focused on tethering caps to
bottles, without sacrifi cing tamper-evident
features, in view of
the EU Single Use Plastics Directive
2019/204, requiring as from
2024 that caps remain attached,
or tethered, on plastic beverage
containers up to 3 liters but can be
removed for separate recycling.
The application requires cap
band fl aps to be opened and
closed 15 times and to withstand
a minimum 25N force.
At K 2022, PackSys CEO Beat
Rupp said the number of slits
and type of tethers differ according
to the type of cap, which
range from 90-millimeter-diameter
sports caps that can be processed
at 1,000 caps per minute
of the PackSys TEM-SF Plus machine
processes, down to standard
38-millimeter caps at up to
3,500 caps per minute.
From left: Beat Rupp,
CEO; Ulrike Bauer, chief
fi nancial offi cer; and Aitor
Henao Soto, marketing and
communications manager.
PACKSYS
GLOBAL AG
Hall 3,
Booth D90
PackSys Global AG, a member
of Brückner Group since 2011,
has focused on tethering caps
to bottles, without sacrifi cing
tamper-evident features.
Plastics News photos by Marco Stepniak
The fi rst design capLAB onmechanical
fi rst-opening
functional testing unit automatically
feeds results back for the
slitting machine to adjust knife
temperature settings, so that
pull values are within the target
range, but also to communicate
major quality defects back to
the molding machine and mold
so that molding can be stopped
for correction.
line
The new capLAB+ machine,
shown at K 2022, now additionally
performs a leakage test, Rupp
said. It can work either online
with the TEM-SF Plus machine,
or offl ine. PackSys integrates
an IMDvista optical cap inspection
system from Brügg, Switzerland-based
IM Ltd. in its cap
tethering lines, which displays
cap images and data as caps
pass by.
The latest DecoFlex F hot foil
stamping machine, also on display
at K, can decorate multiple
areas with multicolor decoration,
and it has the fl exibility of
hot stamping metal foils on cylindrical,
conical, angular or even
on the noncircular parts that are
often used to contain cosmetics.
PackSys has a vision that customers
should be able to operate
its machines " lights off, " without
operator presence. For this to be
realized, the company says its
smartcube digital service platform
is " the stepping stone towards
achieving this vision, " as
it can monitor machines in real
time, present analytical data in
a user-friendly graphical form,
maintain smooth operation and
assist in spare parts purchase.
Rupp said such features became
even more valuable during
the COVID pandemic.
" Some
customers installed
our machines themselves, without
our specialists becoming involved, "
he said. The machines
are so smart that PackSys could
assess them online for customer
processing assistance.
COVID also raised interest in
tube packaging machines, out
of interest in avoiding operators
touching tubes, Rupp said. One
such machine, for packing in
cardboard boxes, is displayed on
the PackSys booth at K, connected
to a tube-sealing machine.
Teknor Apex gives customers 'multiple' roads to sustainability
By Frank Esposito
Plastics News Staff
Materials fi rm Teknor Apex Co.
is working with customers to fi nd
the right sustainable solutions.
" We can take multiple approaches, "
TPE Sales and Marketing
Director Stef Hordijk said at
K 2022. " In principle, we've been
working on sustainable solutions
for many decades. We've been replacing
materials that are higher
in weight or that can't be recycled
or use more energy. "
For example, moving a part from
thermoset rubber to a thermoplastic
elastomer made by Pawtucket,
R.I.-based Teknor Apex can reduce
wall thickness. " We can help with
design with a substitute material
that's lighter-weight, " Hordijk said.
" We can help a designer choose
what type of material to use and
how much. "
Understanding how a customer
defi nes sustainability also is part
of the process.
" Sometimes, [customers] have
a very specifi c defi nition, and
sometimes they don't really have
one at all, " Hordijk said. " We fi nd
out about the characteristics they
need and about the function of
the part. "
Some customers prefer using
Stef Hordijk, TPE sales and marketing director for Teknor Apex: " We
fi nd out about the characteristics they need and about the function of
the part. "
Plastics News photo by Caroline Seidel
recycled-content materials to
meet sustainability goals, he added,
because " they want to know
what's inside [the material] and
how it got there. "
" We start with replacing
raw materials,
and then we can optimize
the manufacturing
process, reduce
waste and improve
energy conservation.
We can help customers
develop parts that
are easy to recycle. "
Teknor Apex can make TPE
compounds with up to 80 percent
recycled content. The fi rm also
can use either post-industrial or
post-consumer content.
" We're on the same journey that
our customers are on, " Hordijk
said. " There are a lot more sustainable
options now than there
were fi ve years ago. But no one
can do it alone. You have to work
with the whole value chain. "
Sustainable materials showcased
by Teknor Apex at K 2022
include:
* Monprene RX-brand TPEs
with 25-35 percent recycled content.
Offi cials said that unlike recycled-content
TPEs from other
suppliers that are only available
in black, these materials are delivered
in a light, natural color, similar
to their prime offsets.
* Teknor Apex has partnered
with UBQ Materials, which makes
advanced materials from unsorted
household waste, to make additional
Monprene grades. The
material is being tested by OEMs
for automotive interiors. The
Teknor/UBQ Monprene has 30
TEKNOR APEX
CO.
Hall 5,
Booth E08
percent
sustainable
content. It's designed
for injection molding
applications or overmolding
onto polypropylene.
*
A new series of
Sarlink-brand thermoplastic
vulcanizates
(TPVs). The new grade incorporates
25 percent post-industrial
recycled content. It's a pre-colored
black, high-durometer multipurpose
TPV that's essentially
the functional equivalent of its
virgin counterpart in terms of processing
and performance.
* Recyclon-brand recycled nylon
- introduced in 2020 - is
a sustainable alternative to nylons
6 and 6/6. The line delivers
grades that contain up to 100
percent recycled resin content,
with consistent performance and
processability.
In late 2020, Teknor Apex
opened a major new compounding
plant in Rothenburg, Germany.
The plant covers 150,000 square
feet, employs 150 and operates
eight twin-screw extrusion lines.
The new site makes compounds
based on a wide range of TPEs
and engineering resins.
Teknor Apex is one of North
America's 30 largest compounders
and concentrate makers. The
fi rm operates 13 plants worldwide
in the U.S., Belgium, Germany,
China and Singapore and has annual
sales of more than $1 billion.
Plastics News - Show Daily - October 25, 2022

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