Amcor Flexibles Wins Three 2015 Alufoil Trophies
Demonstrating Amcor's ability to offer the highest quality in innovative and creative packaging solutions, Amcor Flexibles is proud to be the recipient of three coveted Alufoil Trophy 2015 awards organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).
In the category of Product Preservation, Amcor Flexibles, together with its partner Sandoz International, was awarded an Alufoil Trophy for AirFluSal® Forspiro® , a new respiratory inhaler for people suffering with asthma/COPD.
Amcor Flexibles was asked to design a blister strip to ensure a longer shelf life of the powder in the AirFluSal® Forspiro® inhaler. The strip protects the inhalation powder from moisture ingress and also improves performance during transportation and release of the powder from the cavity. By removing the aluminium blister strip at the end of the day in the feedback window, the patient can check whether the prescribed number of inhalations has been taken.
Head of the judging panel, Jean-Paul Duquet, Global Packaging Eco Design Manager of Bel Group, explained what impressed them, "This is a complex device and all the components had to be carefully combined to achieve the required performance. It is clear that the protection of the active ingredient – a hygroscopic powder – is entirely due to the innovative use of the aluminium foil in the blister strip." "The powder is readied for release when the lid foil is pierced and upon inhalation the airflow transports the powder out of the cavity through the holes," he added.
Andrea Della Torre, RD Pharma Director at Amcor Flexibles Europe and Americas commented, "We are particularly proud to have won this award for our blister packaging with our partner Sandoz. It emphasizes how an early and close collaboration in the packaging development process contributes to launching an innovative product for patients."
By using a novel seal layer between its Formpack® base and blister lid foil, Amcor has been able to reduce the potential for moisture ingress via cross diffusion by 50%. Amcor Flexibles was also awarded an Alufoil Trophy 2015 for Technical Innovation for STELVIN® Inside, a new range of aluminium wine closures and liners that can double wine maker's Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) choices.
Each of the four new liners has a different OTR target which, through technical developments in combination with other materials that make up the liner, ensures a controlled level of oxygen dispersion allowing wine makers and consumers' consistency from one bottle to the next.
Liners are highly complex and play a pivotal role in aluminium closures for wine. They guarantee absence of cork taint, consistency from one bottle to another, preservation of aromas, flavours and freshness and controlled OTR which is critical to the wine ageing process.
Explaining the judges' decision, the head judge said, "A great deal of research and development has gone into the making of these closures. The absence of tin in any of the liner formulations means there are no issues about stability or recyclability. Further, they take aluminium closures into new segments of the wine market, such as aging red wines, which can only add to their popularity in the marketplace."
Nicolas Freynet, General Manager of Amcor Flexibles Capsules, on accepting the award commented, "Amcor Flexibles Capsules is delighted that STELVIN® Inside has been recognised by the Alufoil Trophy 2015 jury and has won such a prestigious award for Technical Innovation. It demonstrates our ability, as the pioneer of STELVIN® aluminium closures, to continue to bring breakthrough innovations to the market, which offer new benefits that help winemakers craft and perfect their wines."
All of the films used in the liners are produced by Amcor and are PVDC-Free. Two of the four new liners also contain layers of aluminium foil. OTRs are offered between 1 O² and 7 O². In the category of "Resource Efficiency", Amcor Flexibles was awarded an Alufoil Trophy for Canseal Pro, a direct-seal aluminium membrane for can ends. The membrane reduces total packaging material and cost, since it is directly sealed onto a can so no additional metal ring is needed. Canseal Pro offers a safe and convenient closure, with excellent seal integrity, outstanding barrier properties, easy peelability and highly efficient processability.
Thanks to the excellent barrier properties offered by aluminium foil, Canseal Pro is currently being used for dry products that do not need heat processing after filling, as well as for other products such as condensed milk.
"This is an excellent solution in a high volume packaging product, which can have a substantial impact on the amount of material used, as well as performing well across other functions," said JeanPaul Duquet, who headed the panel of judges which chose the winning entries. "We viewed it as a potential ‘game changer' for this type of can product, as sealing times could be reduced and better line speeds achieved, offering resource efficiencies in these areas too," he added.
The coextruded sealing structure of Canseal Pro is made especially for a newly developed direct sealing technology, based on inductive heating of the can body. The composition of Amcor's polymer coating on the aluminium foil enables this kind of sealing process with reliable seal integrity. For a typical 73 mm diameter can, 1,000 conventional steel EOE lids weigh around eight times more than the equivalent Canseal Pro lids.
"We are delighted to receive this trophy as recognition of our continuous focus to improve convenience and reduce the total packaging cost of our customers' products. Canseal Pro is another success story resulting from our strong cooperation with machine manufacturers and customers. Together with Alufix®, our range of easy-open aluminium membranes for cans, Canseal Pro further strengthens our offering in this market," explained Sven Bauer, Product Development Engineer at Amcor Flexibles Europe Americas.
For more information
Contact: Florence Rocq
Email : florence.rocq@amcor.com
Phone: +33 1 5700 3619
