MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a business unit of Dow announces the commercial availability of a wide range of tenter frame, biaxially-oriented polyethylene (TF-BOPE) for linear low, medium and high density packaging films, said the company.
This offering has been developed through a joint value chain effort, combining Dow’s INNATETM TF80 technology with the production know-how and experience of Plastchim-T and Ticinoplast, leading producers in PE and BOPP, and the processing knowledge of machine manufacturer Bruckner Maschinenbau. These solutions enable customers to use printable, tough, stiff and visually appealing BOPE films to produce resource-efficient, mono-material packaging that is designed for recyclability.
Dow’s TF-BOPE-based solutions for oriented films are already commercially available in Asia-Pacific and appreciated for their remarkable appearance, and puncture and impact resistance. Applications range from downgauged frozen food films, to triplex laminates without BOPA, and duplex PE-based laminates used for home and personal care pre-made pouches.
"Building on our global experience with BOPE to design packaging for recyclability, the positive reaction of converters and brand owners in Asia has given us confidence to commercialize these solutions throughout Europe, Middle East, and Africa,” said Jaroslaw Jelinek, global marketing manager for oriented PE technologies, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. ”Our global teams have been working through Pack Studios to bring the success of this LLDPE1 based solution to other regions and to broaden the offering for the growing BOPE market."
"One main focus of our research work was to make BOPE a comprehensive offering and explore higher density spaces that would make this replacement viable and robust,” said Karlheinz Hausmann, global technical fellow, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. “As a result, we have developed a unique blend approach that gives converters of BOPE the flexibility to tailor the film performance to the needs of their customers as effectively and economically as possible."
"BOPE is a breakthrough technology in flexible packaging, comparable to the launch of BOPP in the 1970’s,” said Paolo Rossi, managing director of Ticinoplast. “BOPE needs strong technical efforts for the complete industrialization, and thanks to the active engagement of all value chain members, the development and production of BOPE is growing. We have already seen its benefits including excellent sealability and mechanical characteristics which are comparable to optics and printability available in current films. The joint efforts of the participants in this BOPE development will lead to recyclable flexible packaging solutions as requested by all stakeholders in the market."
"Our company is strategically focused on environmental protection, and the novel BOPE solutions are one of the few significant developments in the last years that will make a real difference,” added Aydin Faik, owner of Plastchim-T. “There’s a growing interest in tenter frame BOPE and its usage for different applications, which are designed to be recyclable and downgaugeable. The grades we have produced in cooperation with Ticinoplast and Dow have achieved very positive test results by converting companies across the globe."
"For us, BOPE opens the door to a new generation of biaxially oriented films to meet market demand while enabling a closed life-cycle for plastic packaging”, Sebastian Ruhland, sales manager at Bruckner Maschinenbau. “All the key factors needed – processing know-how, machine design, and various BOPE film grades – have been developed collaboratively. Now printable and metallizable BOPE-HD based films with high stiffness, low shrinkage and high transparency are ready for the market."
As MRC informed earlier, Dow develops simplified, lightweight design for face shields to help protect healthcare professionals, shares open-source design to encourage additional production. To help address the urgent need for personal protective equipment (PPE) among healthcare professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Dow developed a simplified face shield design and is sharing its design through an open-source file to help accelerate production rates of this critically-needed PPE. In addition, the Company is collaborating to produce 100,000 face shields for donation to the state of Michigan for distribution to hospitals.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC"s ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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