FRANK JEURISSEN, Global Account Manager at Mpac Langen, looks at the role flexible packaging automation can play in speeding up the sustainability process…
Plastic packaging is ubiquitous in our daily lives. It plays an important role in protecting food as it moves through the economy. It has a role in reducing food waste and its climate impact. Over the past decade, the global packaging industry has enjoyed strong growth, driven by shifts in choice, the expansion of new markets and consumer demand for convenience, resulting in the widespread use of single-use plastic in packaging.
But now, the packaging industry is focused heavily on greater sustainability. Driven not only by consumer demand, but also prospective legislation, with many brands and businesses already making bold moves to decrease the use of single-use plastic.
Sustainability in packaging can mean a variety of things. It can involve the use of recycled or recyclable materials, eliminating the amount of plastic used in packaging or reducing the total overall volume of packaging used. It is important for us to find balance between sustainable packaging, whilst also ensuring that products are able to reach consumers securely in order to avoid an increase in food waste, poor customer satisfaction and ultimately, impacted profit margins.
Automated for the People
As we work with our clients to address the challenges sustainable packaging presents for them and their products, whether it be for frozen pizzas, desserts or biscuits, flexible packaging automation solutions will be vital in achieving an effective solution. Automated machines offer enhanced levels of reliability and repeatability. Fixed machinery on the other hand, can be inflexible in adapting quickly to lightweight materials or less rigid packaging, such as recycled cardboard. Modular machines that can adapt and grow are the ultimate solution.
At Mpac Langen, our infeed and cartoning systems are based on modular designs that are adaptable across all equipment platforms. They are designed to carefully handle products through to the carton loading process, required for even the most unique sustainable packaging requirements. Flexible cartoning machines such as these, can help not only ease, but accelerate the change to more environmentally conscious and innovative materials, as they are able to adapt to new products and packages of different shapes and sizes, whilst new material innovations are continually being developed that could replace traditional plastics.
We are working closely not only with our customers on their sustainability goals, but also packaging developers and suppliers to understand the possibilities that innovative, new and sustainable packaging options bring, before they even arrive.