Milliken & Company, a US expert in plastics additive and colorant technology, has partnered with Finnish flexible packaging company Huhtamaki Group to develop a more sustainable, mono-material laminate for use in tubes targeting cosmetics, toothpaste and other personal-care applications.
The results of this joint effort, designed to create a healthier future, will be on display at the K 2022 trade fair in Dusseldorf on 19-26 October. Milliken will display shiny silver high-density polyethylene tubes, in 40 to 200 ml, produced using Huhtamaki laminates optimized with Milliken UltraGuard Solutions technology. Executives from the two firms also will participate in a TechTalk presentation at the show on Tuesday morning, Oct. 25 (from 10:30-11:00 a.m.) at Milliken’s Gallery (Hall 6).
With the market’s keen focus on recycling and circularity, it is more vital than ever to find technologies which can eliminate the typical metalized (usually aluminum) layers while maintaining the necessary barrier properties, especially against water vapor and oxygen transmission needed in personal-care applications.
By improving the barrier properties of HDPE film by up to 50 percent, UltraGuard Solutions contribute to sustainability by enabling more mono-material construction of popular products such as stand-up flexible pouches and tubes and making them ultimately more recyclable. These improved barrier properties also allow for downgauging of the polyethylene (PE) film, resulting in a lighter-weight end product and a reduction in the amount of resin needed to achieve the desired result.
Huhtamaki’s work on this project fits in with its blueloop initiative, a product portfolio aiming to make flexible packaging circular by introducing a range of recyclable solutions with mono-material structures using PP, PE and paper.
