The multinational organises the ‘Day of the Packaging' in Barcelona

And is that they are miscellaneous the appearances that allow that it was this, the one of the packaging, an industrial segment of enormous potential. “It is a technologically complex sector and very diverse, so much by the technology as by the products”, signalled Carles Navarro, commercial director for Spain and Portugal of BASF. “It needs of the vicinity with his final customers, therefore does not relocate , requires a constant innovation that sues the consumer and, besides, is an industry in growth, from the fall of turnover of 2008”. Such description served to show the potential of the sector for the multinational that already explains in his portafolio of products with several ideal articles for this sector.

In addition to the potentiality of the sector, BASF also organised the day to give to know the solutions that the multinational offers to the sector for the main industries consumers of the packaging, like the alimentary, the pharmaceutical industry, the graphic arts and the cosmetic. Although, as it signalled Navarro, "the sales of packaging of BASF represent 2% of our turnover in Spain and to global level between a 4 and 5%, has 80 solutions of products and lines of product that have direct application in the world of the packaging, but this is not sufficiently known by the industry”. They offer plastic, liquids, flexible, foamed, plastificantes, colorantes specific for plastics, pigments, resins for inks of impressesion, adhesive in basic water, products of barrier, additives for processes, cured… a big number of products.

BASF Does not overlook that they are miscellaneous the main demands of the industry: protection of the content, differentiation in the point of sale, sustainability, reduction of costs and comfort of the final user. “For each point, have a solution”, added Navarro.

More than 120 assistants, companies of all the segment of the packaging, associations, technology centres and administration, conformed a very representative sample of all the sector of the packaging in Spain.

Aurora is a multilayered iridescent film that provides a transparent shine that improves the finishing of the packaging and that by his effects of colour, achieves to capture the attention of the eye to the object of interest. In an increasingly competitive market, with cycles of life increasingly short, the special effects –and the iridescence, in particular– have turned into crucial elements to differentiate the product in the point of sale.

The iridescence is an optical phenomenon that characterises by the property of some surfaces in which the tone of the light varies of agreement to the angle from which observes the surface. This new technology allows to create packagings of sophisticated appearance and lujoso. In the case of Aurora, the film can contain until 226 micro-layers, that selectivamente reflect and transmit the colour in function of the light, awarding a glossy appearance to the paper.

BASF Has created And-by, the first elastic and resistant foam to the fisuración. After the first impact, the And-by –thanks to an effect memory or of padded– remains stable and recovers his original form in front of multiple crashes. Thus, it results ideal to use like packaging for the transport of electronic and electrical products sensitive to the impacts, like the televisions of flat screen, the portable computers, the frigoríficos or the washing machinees. This characteristic allows, besides the reuse of the material, abaratando costs.

The And-by is cream to cover the intermediate segment between the traditional Styropor (EPS: poliestireno expanded, rigid and especially indicated to absorb an only impact) and the range of poliolefina elastic and resistant Neopolen P (EPP). Conceptually the And-by, by his characteristics, finds nearer to the EPP but transforms like the EPS. Of this form, And-by combines the resistance to the crashes and the attractor trucks appearance of the Neopolen P with the saving of costs in transport and recycling, and the ease of storage and of processing of the Styropor.

The only characteristics of the plastic of engineering PBT (tereftalato of polibutileno), employed up to now mainly for carcasas of electronic devices, opens new possibilities of application in rigid containers for foods, moldeados by injection, since this material offers excellent properties of barrier against the steam of water, the oxygen and the mineral oils without need of additional layers.

Fruit of his advanced investigations, BASF has included a special quality, with these requests, in his line Ultradur-FC (FC: by food contact, or contact with foods) and keeps, likewise in this solution the classical advantages of this material: thermal sensors stability, resistance to the chemical agents, rigidity and solidez. This product results ideal for containers of foods and cosmetics of thin walls and moldeados by injection that require sterilisation. Also it can use for other innovative applications, like cartridges of coffee and containers for microwaves, as well as internal components for bars of cosmetics.

BASF Has developed a new biodegradable plastic apt for alimentary use, the Ecovio FS Paper that, among others uses, makes possible that the tableware desechable, once used, can compostarse turning into credit organic. With Ecovio FS Paper produces the upper plastic layer that recubre the tableware of paper or cardboard, so that it avoids that it soak when going in in contact with the foods. Once used can be processed together with the organic waste to obtain compost.

The elements desechables recubiertos with Ecovio FS Paper can be compostados on a large scale. For this reason, they result perfect for multitudinous evento in stadiums or commercial fairs, in restaurants of fast food, complexes of offices, hospitals or sportive centres and of leisure.

Ecovio FS Paper Is composed of Ecoflex FS and PLA (sour poliláctico, of renewable origin and from the starch of corn). The result is that the thin layer of plastic of the dishes desechables is composed of more than 50% of renewable raw materials; so that the final article incorporates more than 90% of renewable matters. This product means a step more in the constant investigation of innovative solutions of BASF. In his development has been always present the interest of the company to direct and facilitate the work to all the chain of value, from his transformation, to his use and recycling.

“A material is sustainable if it is effective”

Javier Crag, scientific director of Mater (Centre of Materials FAD), took part during the day in a presentation titled ‘The answer is in the materials” in which it spoke on the evolution of the materials the long of the history, from materials like the stone, the copper, the bronze or the steel that have defined were, going through the plastics, until the nanotechnology. “Happened all these ages, in a short space of time, conviven the practical whole of the families that have gone creating, more than 160.000 materials, the no assimilated majority by the society neither the chain of value of determinate productive or economic sectors”.

As it signalled Crag, the material today can do what we want to, that is to say, can change of form, of colour, accommodate the temperatures, improve the thermal sensors inertia, do invisible, increase his effect barrier…. “Thanks to the nanomaterials achieve new behaviours and new possibilities. Depending on the nanorecubrimientos or nanoaditivos, the plastics no longer are warm, can be cold like the metal or even arrive to be transparent. The properties that to day of today had clearly clear-cut and parametrizados by families and typologies, are a revolution and have exchanged of clear form”.

Aleix But Stahr, director of marketing and development of Comexi Group, spoke on the flexible packaging and of how obtain a more flexible container, favouring the costs of productivity for the converter and final customer.

The collaboration between both companies gave like result a process of impressesion of high quality applying technology and basic inks water. The union of the printer Comexi Flexo F2 and the sustainable approach by means of solutions of inks of basic impressesion water of BASF, allowed the development of a process of high quality of impressesion in flexible containers and that reduces drastically the broadcasts of CO₂ and the energetic consumption. Said process presented in the previous edition of Drupe. “We believe in BASF and in Comexi Group that when the chain of value exchanges his knowledges can achieve put very ambitious as we did in Drupe, and expect to achieve in the fair K the next 2013”.

Aurora in Packagingland

Between narrow corridors and with the only help of a torch, the assistants to the day lived a special experience. With a clear ambientación typical of Alicia in the Country of the Wonders, the presents found characters during all the route that spoke of the materials of BASF: the sombrerero that wanted to be “compostable” like the stock exchanges of rubbish and glasses Ecovio, the rabbit that wanted to do his house with And-by to resist the hits or the cat that helped to the assistants to deposit a questionnaire where described his packaging ideal in a probeta. A tale, as the one of the packaging, that always reinventa.

Interview to Carles to Navarro, commercial director of BASF Spanish

Why this strategic change to the sector of the packaging?

BASF Is present from does a lot of years in sectors like automotive sector or the construction, where know us all the main actors of the industry. Have a good position of market in each sector.

In the case of the packaging, do not have this notoriety and is a pity. It treats of an industry that develops better that others, very complex and for which offer a lot of solutions. We have given us account that they do not know us the sufficient and the way to correct this, although it will be a long process, is to present us in society as we have done by means of this day.

What characterises to the products that present for this sector?

Each one has his function, Aurora for example, is a material that even for the majority of us, of the own structure of BASF, was unknown. Aurora is a multilayered film with iridescent tonalities that confers to the surfaces a very noble appearance that achieves with a relatively economic cost in front of the textile, to the that resorted before and of upper price. A material to differentiate us in the point of sale.

And-by, for example, is a material in which the big characteristic is that unlike the Styropor, our “white cork” to understand us, bears repeated hits and is especially devoted for packagings of electronic equipment. No only it resists the impact repeated but besides it recovers of the same. Likewise, has a surface to the pleasant touch, in front of for example the white cork.

By his part, Ultradur is special for containers of yoghourts that have to have properties of barrier of oxygen, in front of the water and especially, has the property to reduce the wall of the glass until limits insospechados, conserving his mechanical properties. The sustainability also goes through to employ fewer resources and achieve the same effect.

And by his place Ecovio..

Ecovio FS Paper, biodegradable and compostable, serves for stock exchanges of organic matter but also for recubrir glasses and trays. The advantage is that it can process all the together residue, without separating at all.

How began his relation with Comexi Group?

The collaboration began with the manufacturing of the fair Drupe. It was interesting because it began with one of our lines of product, some resins for inks, biodegradable, basic water. When beginning to work jointly gave us account that for the project that they had between hands also could contribute other materials of other divisions and at the end, when they mounted his stand in the Drupe, attained that practically all the samples manufactured went only of products of BASF: Ecovio, with pigments for basic inks water or adhesive for multilayered that also are biodegradable…. When we collaborate with companies, as it is the case of Comexi, the possibilities arise constantly. We throw of the thread and since have a fan of products so wide are to disposal to offer a palette of different lines of product.