Sustainability, self-adhesive label materials and digital embellishment are three educational themes shaping the forthcoming Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2023, with learning opportunities at the three-day event in February to include a workshop, show floor themed café, and trail highlighting innovations from one of the industry’s fastest-growing areas.

The technical half-day Label Academy led workshop takes place on the final day of the show, Saturday 11 February, focusing on the extremely popular topic of self-adhesive label materials. Over six in-depth sessions, the workshop will cover: PS labels and the circular economy, given by Darren Milligan, VP/GM, ASEAN, Avery Dennison; paper and synthetic paper face materials; release liner substrates from Elkem; exploring different adhesive types; filmic face materials; and testing methods and procedures.

The show floor will also feature a Sustainability in Print Café, which will showcase some of the ways in which technology and products are already starting to reduce waste and contribute to a better environment. Visitors will be able to engage with projects and case studies, as well as learn how these can make a difference to their label and package printing business.

Thirdly, a Digital Embellishment Trail, recently seen at Labelexpo Americas 2022 and Labelexpo India 2022, aims to highlight the lucrative, fast-growing area of decoration and coating techniques. Examples and samples of these technologies will be available to view across the show.

Richard Quirk, Labelexpo Southeast Asia event manager, commented: “We’re delighted to be back in the ASEAN region for the first time since the inaugural edition of Labelexpo Southeast Asia in 2018. In that time, the label and package printing industry has moved on significantly, with exciting new trends such as digital embellishment emerging, and this has intensified the appetite for learning.

“At the same time, sustainability underscores the entire industry and is now high on the agenda, while self-adhesive label materials is always among our most popular taught topics. We can’t wait to host this face-to-face educational platform, however workshop places are limited, so I’d strongly encourage visitors to book as soon as possible.”

Workshop speaker Darren Milligan said: “As sustainability and the circular economy become inevitable for every business, we need to amplify the significance of a label’s role in the circularity of the entire packaging, and take more proactive steps in response to the need for sustainable label designs that will enable this. Industry collaboration is key to the success of this approach. I’d like to address key trends and behaviours in the packaging industry and how we can work together across the value chain to stay ahead, through the innovation of sustainable labels.”

Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2023 takes place from 9-11 February at BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand.

For full details of the Self-Adhesive Label Materials Workshop or to reserve a place, visit: https://go.brandprint-expo.com/e/707733/sive-label-materials-workshop-/8p2z19/1639065119?h=Ra8UZxin-epDzyPsYD5FshdB_54AoAf3uDGmZLMSOnw

UPM Raflatac and Orthex have joined forces to offer household products and their labeling made of recycled plastic saved from ending up as marine litter. The products include buckets, wash bowls and water scoops. To achieve this, both companies are part of value chains that collect the plastic waste and transform it back into raw materials.

Orthex is part of a value chain that produces raw materials from recycled plastic by collecting old fishing nets and ropes from harbors in Scandinavia, in the UK and in Northern Europe. The collected material is sorted, cleaned, shredded, and extruded into raw material pellets, from which the Orthex’s bucket, bowl and scoop products are made. The raw material has up to 94% lower carbon emissions compared to virgin plastic.

“To produce household products from recycled materials requires a great amount of expertise and collaboration in the value chain. By collaborating with UPM Raflatac, we can have even the product labels made from recycled ocean bound plastic. This is the icing on the cake, making our products even more sustainable,” says Alexander Rosenlew, CEO of Orthex.

UPM Raflatac collaborates closely with multiple partners in the value chain to produce the Ocean Action labels. The Ocean Action label materials are the world’s first label materials made from ocean bound plastic waste. The ocean bound plastic waste is abandoned plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50km inland from shores, defined by OBPCert as “at risk of ending up in the ocean”.

At the first stage in the value chain HHI, a Malaysian-based plastic recycling company collects and sorts the ocean bound plastic waste with its partners. HHI then uses chemical recycling to convert the waste into pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis oil is used by SABIC to create high-quality PP plastic granulates. The plastic granulates are used in the process in which the film manufacturer Taghleef Industries produces the label film that is used to produce the final label material for product labeling.

“Orthex’s products made of old fishing nets are the perfect match for our Ocean Action labels. The combination is a concrete example of how we can create new products from recycled raw materials with close collaboration and some ingenuity within the value chain,” says Eliisa Laurikainen, Business Development Manager from UPM Raflatac.

The plastic waste used in the value chain of making Ocean Action label material is certified under the Zero Plastics Oceans program, and the final label material under ISCC PLUS. The label material is produced using sustainable recycled feedstock, replacing the equivalent amount of virgin fossil resources used in the production process, using a mass balance approach accounting for the amount of sustainable resources. These verify that the Ocean Action label material is traceable and sustainably sourced.

UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac is leading in sustainable labeling through our innovative self-adhesive label materials and services. We offer high-quality paper and film label stock for branding and promotion, informational labels, and labels with functionality. We operate a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. Our company employs around 3,000 people and made sales of EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.9 billion) in 2021. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM. Find out how we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils at www.upmraflatac.com.

BOBST has claimed another global top spot, with recent sales figures revealing that the company now has the largest share in the worldwide flexible packaging market for vacuum metallizing and coating technologies.

“Sales in these technologies have been particularly buoyant over the last two years or so and we are delighted to claim the leading position,” said Davide Garavaglia, Head of Product Lines Vacuum Metallizing, Coating, Laminating, Gravure Printing at BOBST. “The recent developments that BOBST introduced to the market combine our vision, based on connectivity, digitalization, automation, and sustainability, with our capability of producing machinery characterized by minimal downtime and superb quality at high speeds. Converters and brand owners are now seeing the benefits of this for their flexible packaging.”

It is a milestone that has been several years in the making. BOBST has many years of expertise in the vacuum coating process and in handling flexible substrates. This has led to the development of high technology vacuum metallizing and coating lines that can be used to produce a wide variety of products. The introduction of BOBST’s Centers of Excellence has also been key, with the Centers in Bobst Manchester and Bobst Italia containing specialist equipment and expertise in vacuum metallizing and coating respectively.

“This achievement is actually the culmination of a long-term vision and process, which we have progressed step by step, with quality always at the center,” explained Davide Garavaglia. “We have made significant investments along the way in terms of R&D, technical aspects, staffing and training, and the result has been high-quality technology that answers the needs of our customers.”

A defining moment in sustainable flexible packaging

BOBST’s in-depth knowledge of both coating and vacuum metallizing equipment technology and processes has also been a major benefit in its drive towards truly sustainable flexible packaging.

Overcoming the technical complexities of developing and manufacturing sustainable high barrier flexible packaging that is recycle-ready is a major challenge. But with the family of oneBARRIER sustainable solutions, BOBST and its partners have developed industrially viable recycle-ready mono-material ultra-high and high barrier duplex and triplex substrates for packaging designers as alternatives to non-recyclable metallized polyester film. oneBARRIER sustainable solutions developed to date include PrimeCycle, comprising EVOH and topcoat-free transparent AlOx-based or opaque AluBond-based full PE mono-substrates, and FibreCycle, a mono-material high-barrier paper-based structure coated with functional layers that can be recycled in the existing paper stream.

“oneBARRIER is a family of viable tested solutions that meet the industry’s requirements for packaging simplification, layer reduction and replacement of non-recyclable mixed polymer substrates with recycle-ready mono-material structures as a way to support circularity and recyclability,” said Mr Garavaglia. “It’s a defining moment. We believe oneBARRIER will become the benchmark for recycle-ready mono-material packaging.”

Always adding another layer of value

BOBST’s expertise in coating extends beyond the common uses. In the field of flexible packaging high performance functional substrates, BOBST is also leading the market in the field of aluminum applications such as lacquered aluminum foil, for example. Other applications where major international converting companies have chosen BOBST coating technologies in the past few years to increase their production capacity or enter new markets, include self-adhesive special tapes, medical applications, labelstock and release liners.

One of the reasons BOBST can continue to add value for its customers is that, uniquely in the industry, BOBST can be a single source supplier, offering end-to-end solutions that can address all requirements, for flexible packaging and other flexible material applications. BOBST has pioneered multiple ground-breaking innovations that enable better sustainability, efficiency and output quality in production, equipment, and processes.

The two Competence Centers in Manchester, UK and San Giorgio Monferrato, Italy are dedicated to converting technologies. Bobst Manchester offers vacuum coating processes for barrier, while the LEONARDO pilot coating line in Italy offers a multitude of coating and drying systems and can perform production scale applications.

“Given the very strong increase of demand for functional barrier coating for filmic and paper applications, as well as production of recycle-ready new high barrier substrates, the service we can offer brand owners and converters is truly unique,” said Mr Garavaglia. “With our Competence Centers, converters can test new packaging substrates and functionalities, checking which type of coating method, drying system, and consumables works best for each new packaging design and structure. They can also calculate productivity and profitability on wide-web pilot equipment to enable them to check the viability of their new developments.”

About BOBST
We are one of the world’s leading suppliers of substrate processing, printing and converting equipment and services for the label, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated board industries.

Founded in 1890 by Joseph Bobst in Lausanne, Switzerland, BOBST has a presence in more than 50 countries, runs 19 production facilities in 11 countries and employs more than 5800 people around the world. The firm recorded a consolidated turnover of CHF 1.563 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021.www.bobst.com

To many people, a label is purely a decorative item used to convey information and draw attention to a product. We are used to using labels to influence our purchasing decisions in a variety of places like supermarket shelves and pharmacies. But what about the environments through which these labels must travel? The label has to be able to withstand different conditions, without compromising quality. According to Mark Andy, growing expectations and requirements for the durability and strength of a label, including those made by climate change, have become an increasingly important issue in many markets worldwide. Brand owners challenged by high temperatures of up to 40C/104 F are a prime example. These labels need to be manufactured with special printing and finishing equipment. Mark Andy has been a long-term producer and supplier of presses offering inline, single-pass label production that meet the highest standards of consumers and brand owners. 

Climate-related challenges include all types of weather, with temperatures ranging from freezing to hot and arid, and high humidity as evident in equatorial regions. Labels must also withstand abrasion which may occur during transportation or by coming into and contact with sea water, blood, chemicals, and more.  Mark Andy’s view is that, considering all these factors, a label has become much more than a decoration and means of imparting information on packaging – it must also be durable and resistant to many different external conditions. 

The foundation of a durable label is a stronger and heavier gauge substrate than that of a standard label. And if they are pressure sensitive, the adhesive will need to be very aggressive to cope with sub-zero or beyond boiling point temperatures. Ink must also be a consideration; it should be lightfast and suitable for harsh conditions with good adhesion, rub and scuff properties. 

Phil Baldwin, Sales Manager for the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia outlined the background to Mark Andy’s involvement with the sector: “The company has long supplied technology to this market and has extensive experience of applications from oil drum labels, wrist bands, and tree tags to animal carcass straps.  Mark Andy’s chill drums not only chill the web but allow it to be heated, which improves handling when running aggressive adhesive material.  The pre-tension web transport and Oldham coupling drives also ensure the press can handle special materials like Tyvek for wrist bands and plastic plant pot inserts.  If required, it can also supply inline spot hot melt glue heads, laminators to apply glassine strips or protective films, RFID insertors and many other options.” 

On the consumable side, Mark Andy digital inks have high lightfastness ratings and excellent adhesion, scuff, and rub properties.  The ink used on the Mark Andy Digital Series HD hybrid press is also autoclave and boiling-water safe, tested for solvent resistance to ASTM 5402-06 for solvents, grease, oil, fats, alcohol, and blood, tape test approved to ASTM 3359, has 7-8 on the blue wool scale, meets rub, scuff, and abrasion tests to industry standard ASTM 5264-98, and carries UL 969 certification for durable label applications. 

When discussing hardworking and durable labels, RFID tags are a good example, especially with its growing popularity and implementation to meet the evolving requirements of different worldwide markets. Speaking for the company, European Sales Manager Lukasz Chruslinski explained how Mark Andy became involved with this sector: “We started with logistics, shipping companies, and pharmacies, which were all areas that have thousands of different factors and where precision was the number one criterion.  To meet these growing needs, we have designed and built presses equipped with RFID modules that enable the application of tags. As far as label durability and structure complexity are concerned, we offer many other solutions that extend and upgrade the entire configuration, streamline the manufacturing process, and offer better control. We invite every company looking for a solution to producing durable labels to contact Mark Andy. We’re very keen to share our extensive knowledge and rich experience in this area, as well as offer a suitable, appropriate press configuration”. 

About Mark Andy Inc.
Mark Andy is a pioneer of the graphic arts and printing industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of narrow- and mid-web printing and finishing equipment, it supplies leading global brands, including Mark Andy and Presstek printing presses, Rotoflex finishing solutions, as well as a complete line of Mark Andy Print Products consumables and pressroom supplies. All products are backed by the largest customer support team in the industry, minimizing downtime and helping customers be profitable, efficient and at the forefront of innovation. Mark Andy does what it takes to understand each customer’s unique business, the challenges they face and the pressures they feel. It strives to provide products and services that help customers solve their problems and solutions that go a step further, allowing them to excel in their day-to-day operations, ultimately increasing productivity and reaching their full potential. For more information, visit www.markandy.com.

UPM Raflatac, a global supplier of innovative and sustainable labeling materials, recently expanded their Direct Thermal (DT) Opticut Linerless labels portfolio. The OptiCut products in this portfolio are customized for various applications in hospitality, retail and weigh scales, transport and warehousing, and industrial food.

“We widened our OptiCut Linerless portfolio to enable brands to maximize efficiency and find solutions for each unique packaging type. The adhesive properties for each of our seven OptiCut products were designed for various application environments,” stated Brinder Gill, Director, Paper Laminates, UPM Raflatac Americas.

UPM Raflatac designed their expanded DT Linerless range with the specific functions of each end-use in mind. This includes retail and weigh scales; logistics for transport and warehousing; to-go orders for hospitality; and cold environments for industrial food. Examples of the unique adhesive properties of UPM OptiCut DT Linerless products include repositionability and resistance to high heat, moisture, and extreme cold.

DT Linerless also enables process enhancements and operational efficiencies including:

• Reduction in material costs with the ability to use variable lengths when labeling

• Reduced roll changes

• Lower storage and transportation costs due to 50 percent more length per roll

• No release liner waste

UPM Raflatac OptiCut products not only offer excellent adhesion and repositionability, but customers can also move closer to their sustainability goals. The carbon footprint of UPM Raflatac Linerless products is certified by the Carbon Trust and the full range is certified CarbonNeutral® product (not including use) by Climate Impact Partners in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol.

“With these designations, our Linerless product portfolio not only provides brands with increased efficiency, accuracy, and a reduction in waste, but also a certified carbon savings,” stated Gill.

UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac is leading in sustainable labeling through our innovative self-adhesive label materials and services. We offer high-quality paper and film label stock for branding and promotion, informational labels, and labels with functionality. We operate a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. Our company employs around 3,000 people and made sales of EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.9 billion) in 2021. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM. Find out how we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils at www.upmraflatac.com.

Jorn P. Jensen is appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and a member of the Group Executive Management Team, as of December 1, 2022. Jorn has 27 years of experience as CFO, most recently at Dyson Ltd and earlier at Carlsberg A/S.

CFO Sakari Ahdekivi leaves Ahlstrom end of December to pursue new opportunities outside the company.

Hans Sohlström, President and CEO, says: “I thank Sakari for his valuable work during nine years as CFO of Ahlstrom. During this time Ahlstrom has more than tripled in size and transformed into a much stronger and more profitable company. Sakari’s contribution has been material to the success of Ahlstrom. I wish him all the best for his future endeavors.”

Hans continues: “Jorn brings with him an extensive international CFO experience for the continued transformation and profitable growth of Ahlstrom. I welcome Jorn to our Team.”

Ahlstrom in brief
Ahlstrom is a global leader in combining fibers into sustainable specialty materials. Our purpose is to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. Our vision is to be the Preferred Sustainable Specialty Materials Company for all our stakeholders. We serve five growing and distinctive end markets, which form the basis for our five divisions: Filtration, Food & Consumer Packaging, Healthcare, Building Materials, and Technical Materials. Our pro forma net sales 2021 for continuing operations amounted to EUR 2.6 billion and we employ some 7,000 people. Read more at www.ahlstrom.com

“Vetaphone has been our preferred corona treater supplier since we fitted their first unit in 2013,” said Jim Driscoll, Executive Vice President of EMT International.  His comment relates to the strong working partnership that has built up between the two companies, and was most recently highlighted in Chicago, where the Danish manufacturer’s technology scored a double hit with both a web cleaner and a corona treater fitted to EMT’s Rotocontrol 2.0 Hybrid narrow web line at Labelexpo.

Founded 80 years ago in Green Bay as a toolmaking shop, EMT has grown to become an internationally renowned manufacturing business that’s now based in Hobart, Wisconsin and employs more than 200 staff.  Today, the company is known for its engineering and technical prowess in providing solutions for continuous web handling, specifically but not exclusively to the graphics and label markets, and this was significantly increased with the acquisition of Rotocontrol GmbH based in Siek, Germany, in 2016.

Asked why the company chose Vetaphone when American options were available and close-by, Jim Driscoll commented: “Everything about the technology spells quality – ease of use, reliability, and great local support – it was not a difficult decision to make, and we have never regretted it.”  Both Corona Treater and Web Cleaner draw praise for their simplicity of operation, with good and quick access to the working parts that need regular cleaning and occasional maintenance.  “All machines need looking after to perform at their best and the design of the Vetaphone units demonstrate that care and attention to the operator’s needs have been a high priority,” he added.

In particular, Driscoll draws attention to the simple and intuitive touch panel that operates both the Treater and the Cleaner.  “It’s indicative of the thought and care that Vetaphone has put into their design and manufacture – the fact that they can offer it as a competitively-priced solution speaks volumes.”  Former EMT staff member and now Vetaphone agent for the area Jeff Messenger commented: “EMT-Rotocontrol is a great business, so the opportunity to provide the company with sales and service support on surface treatment from the market leader made for the perfect marriage – and I’m keen to see how we can build on this cooperative partnership going forward.”

www.vetaphone.com

Scottish CV Labels has recently added another Nilpeter press to their line-up. The new FB-350 is the latest add-on and expands the company’s Nilpeter presses to a total of three.

Having worked with Pharmaceutical, Medical, and Healthcare labeling solutions for more than 30 years, CV labels is very well aware of the high standards they need to meet in order to deliver the best solutions to their customers. Investing in state-of-the-art technology is a key component of the company’s strategy. This rimes well to world-class engineering with Danish roots and Nilpeter.

The FB-350 is an ideal choice for CV Labels and is specialized in printing pressure-sensitive labels for pharmaceutical and medical products. The new press is a 7-color flexo press with a number of value-added features customized for CV Labels. One of the features is an inserter making it possible to create multi-page peel and read labels using different substrates. The FB-350 with this exact configuration, is the first of its kind on an FB-press in the UK.

Bob Veitch, Owner and Managing Director at CV Labels adds,
“We have always been very pleased with the Nilpeter presses we have had so for us it was an obvious choice to add another one to our production line. Our business is growing, and we needed more volume and more colors. We got that with our new FB-350. The new press gives us a number of new opportunities, and especially making it possible to create multi-page peel and read labels has been a valuable contribution”.

Some of the value-added features of the FB-350 for CV Labels are UV-curing, the latest version, rail system and rail-based auxiliaries, de/re-lamination, a turnbar, re-register unit for preprinted webs, video inspection, and standard die stations.

Nick Hughes, Managing Director at Nilpeter Ltd,
“I have known Bob for ages, and we have always had a great partnership. It’s always nice to see that our customer’s business is growing, and we are very happy to help them find the right solution in order for them to meet the constantly increasing demands of their customers. We managed to do it this time, and I am confident we will continue to do it in the future as well”.

A customer journey that started in 1983
The partnership between CV Labels and Nilpeter dates all the way back to 1983 when Bob visited Copenhagen, Denmark, to test a Nilpeter B-200 letterpress. Bob, who at this time worked at another company, was stunned by what he saw in Copenhagen,

“Honestly, I was blown away by what I saw in Denmark. The advanced technology was revolutionary compared to everything else. I consider Nilpeter as one of the top manufacturers in the world, and it matches the ambitions of CV Labels – we only want to deal with the best”.

About CV Labels:
CV Labels, based in Irvine, Scotland, was founded in 1989 and has 20+ employees. They recently expanded the production area to 2,000 sq/meters (21,000 sq/feet). They are specialized in labels for the pharmaceutical industry and hold a PS9000:2016 accreditation developed by the Pharmaceutical Quality Group (PQG). CV Labels is one of the UK’s leading pharmaceutical specialists.

www.nilpeter.com

TLMI announces that two of the association’s Sustainability Committee’s subcommittees have launched interactive maps that show the locations of recyclers and waste disposal sites for liner and matrix materials. The release liner subcommittee has launched a map that indicates paper and PET release liner recyclers across the United States and Canada and the matrix subcommittee has launched a map indicating matrix waste byproduct disposal sites. The subcommittees’ goals in making these interactive maps available to association members is to offer companies critical resources as they develop and carry out their own sustainability initiatives. 

Liner subcommittee chair, Adam Frey, Business Manager Roll Sales for Wausau Coated Products, comments, “This map was created to help spread the word that paper and film release liner does not need to end up in landfill and that there are much better options. If you want to be a central part of improving sustainability in our industry to assure its growth for years to come, you should join this awesome team!”

Matrix subcommittee chair, Marco Acevedo, Regional Sales Manager at Precision AirConvey, adds, “This interactive map of environmentally friendly landfill alternatives exemplifies the commitment of TLMI and its productive committees to find sustainability solutions and improve efficiencies to members and non-members alike. The Sustainability Committee and its subcommittees are dedicated to protecting the environment and becoming landfill-free.” 

TLMI started providing association members with sustainability resources that included recyclers and non-landfill matrix disposal sites a decade ago in the association’s Recycling Handbook. The publishing of the handbook was one of the central initiatives of the association’s Sustainability Committee to ensure members had resources available as they began their sustainability journeys and looked for ways to recycle liner waste and to keep matrix byproducts out of landfills. TLMI VP of Sustainability, Rosalyn Bandy, comments, “In making these maps available we are taking some of the sustainability resources that TLMI provides its members to the next level. I hope that companies will take the initiative to explore non-landfill disposal of their byproducts and can use this resource to help their customers. We understand that this is another piece of the sustainability puzzle for converters to figure out, however it’s well worth it to keep their waste out of the landfill and we hope TLMI can be instrumental in this process by offering members these important resources.”

The liner recycling and matrix disposal maps will be available on TLMI’s website in early January 2023.