Success stories Packaging
Recyclable PVC mono blister developed
Discussion at the Perlen Packaging stand at the 2022 ‘K’ trade fair in Düsseldorf.
The Packaging Division has developed a sustainable blister pack system in which both the tray film and the lidding film are made of plastic. This makes the packaging system far easier to recycle than the traditional blister pack combination of plastic and aluminium films.
The new PERLALUX PVC Mono Blister is the Packaging Division’s first response to the growing demand within the pharmaceutical industry for recyclable packaging solutions that meet the requirements of today’s circular economy. PVC is the most extensively researched plastic for pharmaceutical packagings with outstanding processing properties. And to complement its existing thermoformable PVC tray films which accommodate the medicinal contents, the division has now developed a new transparent PVC lidding film with excellent push-through credentials. The new product was also honoured at the 2022 ‘K’ plastics and rubber trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, where it received the three-yearly global Inovyn Gold Award in the Circularity category.
“This distinction confirms to us that we are on the right track,” says Dr. Michael Nedelcu, Head of Research & Development at Perlen Packaging. “In developing this PVC push-through film, we’ve decisively expanded our skills and our expertise in the lidding film field. The latest development tests at machine manufacturers and our customers are now encouraging us to take the next development steps. And our new PVC Mono Blister will provide us with a vital platform for these further innovations.”
Mono blisters are an attractive option for the food supplement and OTC markets with their lower barrier requirements. At the same time, these transparent packaging solutions are well suited for use in standard pharmaceutical blister packs: they offer a full view of the tablets or capsules they contain; and as a recyclable system with a low carbon footprint, they can effectively complement the traditional PVC-and-aluminium blister pack combination.
New coating plant commences production in Brazil
The Packaging Division’s new coating plant in Anápolis in Brazil came into operation in the fourth quarter of 2022. Thanks to an exclusive agreement with Cipatex, a local Brazil-based supplier of PVC mono films, Perlen Packaging can offer a full range of film products from mono to high-barrier films to the rapidly growing Latin American market.
The coronavirus pandemic and global logistical problems posed the biggest challenges to bringing this demanding project to fruition. Delays and deferments were experienced as early as at the manufacturer of the coating machine. “To speed up the project process, it was decided not to assemble and test the machine at the manufacturer’s, dismantle it and then ship it and reassemble it here,” recalls Cristiano Bueno, Head of Operations at Perlen Packaging Anápolis Indústria e Comércio Ltda. “We decided to conduct the running tests here on-site instead.”
Thirty-four containers arrived from overseas in summer 2022. And over the following months, in a multi-phase programme, the new coating machine was assembled, the infrastructure was established to supply the new factory with electricity and liquid gas and the laboratory and the warehouse were repurposed accordingly.
After extensive tests, the new facility was formally approved for production in autumn, and was also subjected to an external audit process.