Drupa Ideal for Flexible Packaging Innovations from Rohm and Haas Adhesives

The recent Drupa 2008 trade fair in Dusseldorf proved to be an ideal venue for Rohm and Haas Adhesives innovations in flexible packaging.

Specialty materials company Rohm and Haas (NYSE:ROH), Philadelphia, PA, USA, found the recent Drupa print media, publishing and converting conference held in Dusseldorf, Germany to be the perfect setting to introduce the company’s latest innovations in environmentally advanced water-based technologies. According to Jon Hastings, vice president and general manager for Packaging and Building Materials in Europe, “We were pleased to see so many flexible packaging manufacturers and converters, from both Western and Eastern Europe, expressing substantial and immediate interest in the solventless adhesives, extremely low monomer (ELM) adhesives, and high-performance retort solutions for flexible packaging that we showcased during Drupa.” According to Hastings, Rohm and Haas’s commitment to packaging performance and sustainability through water-based and solventless products has enabled the company to grow significantly in the region, in both Western and Eastern Europe. “By working closely with customers, co-suppliers, equipment manufacturers and end-users, we’ve achieved a rate of sales growth that is double the already fast-paced economic growth of Eastern European economies. We believe this is proof that our strategy of delivering sustainable technologies and innovations to address specific customer needs is attracting the attention of many future-focused EU companies, just as it has elsewhere in the world.”

A centerpiece of the exhibition was an innovative, narrow-web, flexible packaging film laminating system. Developed in conjunction with Hewlett Packard, AB Graphics International, and Scanflex, the system, which exclusively uses second generation water-based Robond* L products, gained widespread attention from packaging engineers and product development personnel at the conference. “The challenges brought about by EU food packaging regulations have significantly increased interest and trial of Robond L and other new products in our line of water-based, acrylic adhesives,” explains Agnes Roger, Rohm and Haas commercial manager for Packaging and Converting. “A prime example is our new Robond GL 53-350, our most recent product for gloss lamination.” Rohm and Haas demonstrated the new product at the Paperplast International booth, where visitors were able to see the product perform on one of two new film laminating machines introduced by Paperplast to film converters attending Drupa 2008. Roger commented that Robond GL 53-350 works extremely well, even at higher than average machine speed, without compromising the finished appearance of the end-product lamination. “This makes possible optimal tack with a lower weight of adhesive on the film,” adds Roger.

Rohm and Haas’s solventless polyurethane laminating adhesives are expected to replace solvent-based materials in many applications. Attendees interested in polyurethane systems found the company’s solventless Mor-Free* ELM series of particular interest. The amount of free isocyanate monomer in Mor-Free ELM products is below 0.1 percent, drastically lowering the risk of primary aromatic amine formation and reducing the cure time needed prior to shipment by as much as 50 percent. Well suited for general to medium performance food packaging applications, the product is available globally to converting customers. Mor-Free ELM products are produced at the company’s facility in Mozzate, Italy, where a recent investment of two million Euros was made for ELM series production.

During the conference, Rohm and Haas specialists also fielded questions about the use and performance of the company’s higher-solids adhesives used in foil retort packaging adhesives that enable higher running speeds and faster drying. These new products, also marketed under the brand name Mor-Free, exhibit excellent machinability with better leveling and wetting than similar products previously available.

Also highlighted at the conference was Rohm and Haas’s commitment to technical service and research. Collaborative development work with customers, suppliers, and machinery manufacturers at the company’s technical centers located in Bremen, Germany; Mozzate, Italy; Shanghai, China; and Elgin, Illinois, in the United States, enables Rohm and Haas to recommend complete solutions for new packaging and converting market needs. “Jointly developing new processes helps customers qualify applications without interrupting their production and implement them faster while increasing productivity and managing costs,” says Francesco Talamonti, technical service and development manager, Packaging and Converting, Europe. “In a very competitive marketplace, advantages like these make big differences for our packaging and converting customers.”

Rohm and Haas adhesive products featured during Drupa 2008 are fully compliant with EC regulations. “Building global leadership in environmentally advanced adhesive innovations is a core emphasis of Rohm and Haas,” says Pierangelo Brambilla, Rohm and Haas European champion for water-based technology. “Our company was founded on the principle of innovation, and with demand for environmentally advanced products continuing to grow; we intend to continue as the front-runner in new technologies and improvements, in line with our corporate goal of making the impossible possible.”

This business provides an excellent range of products and technologies for a variety of end uses, including building materials, packaging, automotive and others. Products include adhesives and sealants for use in packaging, pressure-sensitive, construction, automotive and other applications; plastics additives for use in the packaging, construction and automotive industries to improve strength, flexibility, weather-resistance or process capabilities of materials; and functional polymers to enhance the qualities of textiles, nonwoven materials, graphic arts products, paper and leather materials.

* Trademarks of Rohm and Haas.

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