Development and optimization of packaging materials

We support you with our expertise in bio- and fiber-based materials, barrier coatings and mono-material solutions in the development and selection of alternative packaging materials. With the help of our calculation models (shelf life modeling), we find the optimal packaging concept for your product. In the process, we take into account transport and storage conditions as well as special requirements for the packaging material, e.g. recyclability according to the German Packaging Act. We are well equipped for the subsequent characterization and evaluation of packaging materials.  To improve packaging quality, we also carry out material testing, migration testing and sensory testing directly on our premises. With our extensive measuring techniques and flexible test facilities, we record relevant data on materials, processes and packaging for newly developed materials and thus ensure optimized validation.

In particular, the use of sustainable and recyclable packaging — which is being demanded by the trade sector and political sphere with reference to the circular economy — is leading to altered, hitherto unknown and more complex issues across the entire value chain. To obtain a usable mono-material solution, new barriers involving recyclable lacquers or specific material structures and new coating technologies are needed. We will also test out the use of recyclates in mono-multilayer films for you.

Our many years of experience make us your expert contact when it comes to barrier and ultra barrier films. We will find the right combination of materials and technologies for you and test them out in the manufacturing process. Pilot-scale production including the manufacture of product samples is possible in our in-house test center. We have been carrying out multilayer extrusion of polymer flat and flexible materials and their wet-chemical or vacuum coating on a pilot scale for many years. The (ultra) barrier films developed in this way, including films with an integrated active function, are used for packaging for food, pet food and cosmetic products as well as in technical applications. We evaluate the surface structure, e.g., with AFM, the mechanical and optical properties of packaging materials and their barrier properties in relation to gases and moisture. The permeation measurement data is interpreted using advanced simulation codes. This enables us to extrapolate the lab measurement data to the end value, considerably shortening measurement times.

We develop packaging with specific barriers to protect your product, increase the recyclability of packaging and make recyclates fit for use.

As well as fulfilling its original functions — such as protecting the product inside — packaging for food and consumer products also needs to perform well in terms of sustainability and recyclability. Increasing numbers of consumers now also base their purchase decisions on how environmentally friendly the packaging is. What’s more, companies are becoming aware of their social and environmental responsibility and are looking into using more sustainable packaging solutions for their products.

Development of sustainable packaging solutions

Thanks to our many years of expertise in packaging development and our research experience regarding bio-based packaging materials, we can assist you in developing sustainable packaging solutions tailored to your needs. In our research team, we focus on combining biopolymers and fiber-based materials with suitable barriers to design packaging made from biodegradable materials as an alternative to plastic packaging.

We can perform every step in the extrusion, lacquering and laminating process from laboratory to pilot scale up to a film width of 600 mm. In addition, it is possible to provide a classification regarding food regulatory compliance in our test laboratories.

We develop packaging made from bio-based materials as an alternative to plastic packaging.

With the right packaging and its specific protective properties, you can extend the shelf life of your products. Based on our mathematical shelf life simulation, we are able to make predictions regarding the shelf life of your products and also present you with options to optimize this. Our model-based simulation works on the basis of our extensive data sets on various quality-determining factors, which we have collated over the course of many years of research work in relation to food and packaging development.

We will be happy to advise and support you with our model-based simulation for new developments, fault diagnosis or when optimizing your packaging systems and/or products. For the shelf life simulations, we take into account data from various processes, such as microbiological processes in the packaged product, changes to the intrinsic quality properties (e.g., appearance, taste) as well as specific material properties for the packaging in question. This enables us to provide you with informative analyses quickly and on a comprehensive scale so that you can find the optimum packaging both for technical articles, cosmetics and hygiene products as well as food and pet food.

We can help you to make predictions regarding the shelf life of your products. 

The complex interaction between material and machine places high demands on the production process in order to meet the requisite quality standards. It requires material specifications that are more application-oriented to improve the predictions that can be made about how the material is expected to behave in packaging plants, for example.

Through special testing methods, the use of new, intelligent sealing technologies and analytical processes, and statistical experimental design options, we can assist you in developing and testing packaging, in optimizing your packaging processes and in developing new tools.

We can support you with the preceding testing phase for the processing properties.