Sappi Speciality Papers will be making their way across the Atlantic to exhibit at PACK EXPO, scheduled to run from 28-30 September in Las Vegas. 2015 marks the first time Sappi Speciality Papers will exhibit at this trade show in North America. The company will be located in Booth S-6287 at the show. 

“Our ability to bring our award-winning speciality papers for the packaging & label market to the Americas is enabled by our rebuild of Paper Machine 2 (PM2) at our Alfeld Mill in Germany,” says Thomas Kratochwill, Director Sales & Marketing at Sappi Speciality Papers. “That, combined with our new Speciality Papers competence center has positioned us to expand our market reach to Americas and Asia, bringing even more new and innovative products to market for use in packaging and labels and work closer together with our customers providing meaningful and sustainable packaging solutions.”

The rebuild of PM2 at Alfeld Mill has increased the variety and quantity of speciality papers the mill is now able to produce. The competence center is staffed with a team of application specialists, technical customer support as well as highly skilled end use managers. This dedicated business development team is tasked with developing new innovations and solutions for the packaging market. 

“At PACK EXPO,” Thomas Kratochwill continues, “we will be featuring our Algro Sol^® line of silicone base papers with low silicone consumption; in fact, 25% lower than other standard carrier papers currently available on the market. This ensures excellent removal of the self-adhesive films from the siliconized carrier paper and results in significant cost savings.”

Safer food products

Another highlight for PACK EXPO attendees interested in flexible packaging will be Sappi’s substrates Algro^® Guard M and Leine^® Guard M with integrated oil barrier and hot sealing properties. These innovative and very unique grades were developed in partnership with BASF and Eurofins. These grades are recommended to prevent migration of contaminants into foods and other sensitive products and are ideal for use in sugar, chocolate and confectionery; coffee and tea; crisps, snacks and nuts; dried and dehydrated foods packaging. 

Food migration issues have arisen as a result of cardboard packaging materials containing recycled fibres for which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks contain mineral oil as solvents, as do many commercial printing inks. Mineral oil compounds can remain in the fibres during the recycling process if the printing ink is not completely removed. Algro Guard and Leine Guard M were designed to provide a barrier against mineral oil contamination.

Composting made easy

Also for the flexible packaging market, Sappi Speciality Papers will present Algro^® Nature.  This innovative packaging solution was developed in cooperation with Innovia Films and is fully biodegradable and home-compostable. Being manufactured from renewable resources, it is food contact approved and delivers excellent printing and converting results. “This will be a truly unique entry into the North American market,” Thomas Kratochwill says.

Sappi North America

Sappi North America will be introducing at the show their new offering in the packaging market named LusterCote^TM, a superior C1S paper for labels and other related end use applications. The paper is equipped with a smooth printing surface and superior bulk and stiffness, which will translate into yield and converting efficiencies, bringing real value to the label market.

“Regardless of how demanding brand owner requirements for packaging and labels might be,” Thomas Kratochwill concludes, “our substrates are ideal for meeting those needs. Packaging converters, brand owners, designers and print finishers will get evidence on how the flexibility of Sappi speciality papers contributes to the visible, tactile and protective qualities of the finished package. We are specialists in addressing challenging packaging and conversion requirements. With all of the work that is going on in our Alfeld competence center, we expect that we will also have some surprises for show attendees and encourage everyone to stop by our stand for more news and to get samples of all of these outstanding packaging materials. Our goal is to introduce one innovation each year and we are on track to do so in 2015.”