TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Coatings
Siegwerk announces the establishment of a new business unit. It is dedicated to functional coatings for the realization of sustainable packaging innovations in the sense of a circular economy. Siegwerk is a provider of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels.
Strategic Focus Towards Functional Coatings
With this extension of its organizational structure effective April 1st, 2024, the company underlines its increasing strategic focus towards functional coatings. This will also boost its position as an enabler of circular packaging solutions across all business units.
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In addition to our broad portfolio of renowned printing inks and varnishes, we have also been focusing on the development of functional coating technologies for various substrates, processes and performance requirements for a long time now,” said Dr. Nicolas Wiedmann, chief executive officer at Siegwerk.
Especially in light of the sustainability trend, functional print coatings offer a high potential for the future of packaging. Because by providing specific functional properties, they play a key role in realizing packaging solutions in the sense of a circular economy. These functional properties are crucial for the performance and durability of packaging.
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Functional coatings can for example help to reduce packaging complexity or equip renewable materials like paper with functional properties so that they can be used for a wider range of packaging applications,” said Gilles Le Moigne, head of Business Unit CE Coatings. “
That is why we are increasingly focusing on the development of innovative coating technologies that prioritize recyclability, allowing packaging to seamlessly re-enter the circular economy.”
Hub of Excellence for Circular Solutions
Here, the newly established coating unit will serve as a cross-divisional hub of excellence for circular solutions. Adding specialized functional coating technologies to Siegwerk’s conventional coating offers different packaging applications.
In addition to effective primer solutions amongst others for delamination and deinking as well as decorative coatings for extraordinary optical or tactile effects, Siegwerk customers can also choose from a wide range of functional coatings now. These include barrier coatings against liquids, oil and grease, water vapor, oxygen, and UV light through heat seal coatings to protection coatings. For example, for heat resistance, anti-scratch, anti-slip, and anti-static.
Siegwerk’s portfolio of functional coatings already covers several water-based and solvent-based technologies for different applications, substrates, coating processes and performances. All coatings are produced worldwide. Siegwerk is always tailored to individual customer requirements, including specific regional regulations and local market needs.
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To continue paving the way for an increasing circularity of packaging, we will expand our cooperation radius to the entire packaging ecosystem going forward,” added Le Moigne. “
After all, packaging sustainability is a complex topic, making cross-industry collaboration inevitable for progress.”
Reducing Packaging Waste Through Reuse & Recycling
Rethinking, the design of packaging has never been more important. According to the European Commission each European generates an average of nearly 180kg of packaging waste per year. And without changing anything this will rise by further 19% until 2030, with an increase in plastic packaging waste even reaching 46%. That is why the Commission agreed on EU-wide rules on packaging to stop this trend.
The European Green Deal aims to reduce packaging waste through both reuse and recycling, making sustainable packaging the norm. Therefore, it is urgent to rethink packaging. Thus, make it fit for all kinds of regulations and potentially upcoming bans of specific material combinations.
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Here, functional coatings can help to enable the switch from multi- to mono-material packaging and extend the use of renewable packaging materials,” added Dr. Wiedmann. “
As ink and coating expert for packaging, we are very familiar with packaging design and the latest regulations, including food safety, packaging sustainability and recycling, and know what it takes to create packaging structures for circularity that are conform with all relevant regulations.”
Source: Siegwerk