SUN Chemical has announced a partnership with Archipelago Technology Group to support increased adoption of paper-based packaging solutions.
The agreement is tipped to help customers improve sustainability and navigate EPR and PPWR requirements more effectively through the development and supply of coating solutions, including new barrier layer technology.
The move combines Archipelago’s proprietary Powerdrop non-contact coater and end-to-end coating process with Sun Chemical’s liquid barrier and resistant coatings, including optional heat seal capability. Applications include 2D substrates and 3D moulded fibre containers, providing brands and packaging manufacturers with alternatives to plastic and composite structures.
The first approved coating from the partnership, BARV656: VAPORBLOC DFC HOTFOOD, has completed testing and validation and is now commercially available.
“Moulded fibre packaging combines strong sustainability credentials with the potential for a lower carbon footprint than many conventional packaging formats,” said Pete Saunders, global director, digital businesses, Sun Chemical. “But untreated cellulose lacks the necessary barrier properties to resist oil, water and gases. Traditional alternative paper-based packaging, on the other hand, relies on the addition of plastic layers, whether lamination or extrusion, making the resulting composite material more difficult to recycle.
“Archipelago’s Powerdrop technology solves this problem by applying a highly efficient, ultra-thin functional coating layer at high throughput and with very low levels of waste, creating a uniform, high-performance barrier layer for demanding packaging applications. By then pairing the capabilities of Sun Chemical’s advanced barrier coatings with the Powerdrop coating application technology, we can keep the total weight of the coating well under the critical 5% threshold. Crucially, this means that the container remains a highly pure cellulose mono-material that can be recycled through existing paper infrastructure without specialised sorting.”
