At flexible packaging maker Coveris’ Pack Innovation Centre in Halle, Germany, pet food companies can run trials with their products on vertical form fill seal packaging machines to check for problems. Opened in early July, the Centre may help pet food producers avoid production stoppages at their facilities by troubleshooting problems beforehand.
The Centre can run trials on pet food packaging for dry kibble, treats and similar pet foods, using pillow, gusseted, 4 corner seal bags, HFFS for flow pack or stand up pouches, Barbara Sternig, director marketing and communications, said in an email.
“With the equipment we have at the Pack Innovation Centre, we are able to replicate the performance and work on eventual issues without our customers needing to stop their production at their facility,” she said. “Within Coveris we have developed a specific questionnaire to guide our customer in running packaging trials, making sure that they can focus on the critical points and also getting the full understanding on how the respective film performs.”
One focus of the Centre will be the development of sustainable pet food packaging options using Coveris’ films and other materials.
“During the past months we have been able to develop new material options in order to improve the recyclability: MonoFlexE which is a polyethylene laminated film, MonoFlexP a polypropylene one, but also some paper and mixed but easy to recycle combinations such as the Bag-In-Bag,” Sternifg said. “These solutions enables the consumer to recycle mixed structure in a better way without losing the performance of the plastic layer.”
More about Coveris’ Pack Innovation Centre from a press release
Coveris' new technical development center will welcome visitors in a dedicated space of over 400 square meters. The production area is equipped with packaging machinery, including thermoformer, tray-sealer and form-fill-seal machines to offer a wide range of industrial trial possibilities enabling on-site testing and immediate validation. The center intends to offer a unique customer experience, combining trials with cross-functional training sessions and dedicated workshops, tailor made to the innovation needs of its customers.
The workshop area has been designed as an open space - favoring exchange, discussions, sharing of knowledge, and expertise. It is meant to host internal and external events, all contributing to developing the packaging of the future. Coveris internal experts, along with renowned industry specialists, will regularly offer insights on the latest packaging and raw material trends.
Adding to the Pack Positive Centre in Leeds, UK, the Coveris Pack Innovation Centre represents the second building block of the Coveris forward thinking initiative centers. The Pack Positive Centre, which has specialized in consumer insights, now has a partner with the new Pack Innovation Centre that brings technical development, validation, and training.
