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Hülzweiler, June 2022
At a festive award ceremony in Munich, the Green Product Awards were once again presented to products and services that stand out in terms of design, innovation and sustainability. The prize in the jury category “Best of New Materials” went to the barrier coating NP® SiOPack® from Nanopool GmbH. The innovative solution is designed to enable PE-free paper packaging for direct food contact.
Food safety without plastic content
SiOPack® addresses a long-standing challenge in the packaging industry. Until now, natural-fibre-based packaging solutions could only achieve sufficient packaging and food safety in demanding applications with the help of coating materials such as polyethylene (PE) or bio-PE.
Coating with the innovative solution NP® SiOPack®, for example, achieved values in terms of water stability and food safety on cardboard packaging in the tested applications that were comparable to a PE coating – without a plastic layer. Design for recyclability and compostability of a finished pack depend on its complete material structure and must be assessed for each application.
Technologically sophisticated application for cardboard packaging
For the technical implementation, Nanopool found the ideal support in Van Genechten Packaging (VGP), a specialist in coatings. The European manufacturer of cardboard packaging, headquartered in Belgium, has particular expertise in food packaging and has been working on new coating solutions and technologies for years. Together with its experts, the company developed the machine-based implementation of the coating of cardboard packaging for industrial production. In practical application at VGP, the material is coated with NP® SiOPack® and can then be easily processed further for any packaging application.
The jury’s assessment
This year’s jury of the Green Product Award also recognised the particular relevance of this coating for food packaging, describing NP® SiOPack® as “an excellent, more sustainable technology for paper and disposable products”. The ultra-thin barrier is neither visible nor tangible to the naked senses, which is why packaging made of paper, cardboard or other natural fibres treated with NP® SiOPack®, unlike PE-coated products, cannot be distinguished visually or haptically from the untreated raw material. The effect of the NP® SiOPack® finish, however, is clearly recognisable: absorbent natural materials become repellent to water, oil, grease and dirt. Possible applications include packaging for dairy products, liquids, frozen products, soaps and detergents; how a finished pack is to be disposed of depends on its complete material structure.
Quick implementation for packaging manufacturers
The fact that coating with NP® SiOPack® can be integrated into existing production processes for packaging manufacturers, both on the finished packaging product and during industrial production, makes the barrier coating a practical solution that is being positively received by customers. This practical relevance was one of the points that the experienced jury of the Green Product Award rated particularly positively.
Together towards new packaging solutions
Since 2013, the international Green Product Award, in cooperation with the IKEA Foundation, has been honouring solutions that stand out particularly in terms of design, innovation and sustainability. In 2022, over 1,500 projects from 56 countries were submitted in 13 categories. As part of the newly founded Green Future Club, this year will also see expanded networking among award winners.
“The collaboration of committed innovators is the key to new solutions,” says Sascha Schwindt, Managing Director of Nanopool GmbH. “I believe that only together can we shape a world in which the oceans are filled with fish and not with rubbish. And that is the future I wish for my children.”
“We are delighted that the cooperation between Nanopool and Van Genechten Packaging allows us to make a further contribution to protecting the environment, especially in terms of food safety, where it has not previously been possible to completely dispense with the classic barriers,” adds Marc Büttgenbach, CCO and Sales Director, Van Genechten Packaging.
For further questions about the wide range of possible applications of the NP® protective coating, the company based in Schwalbach/Germany will be happy to assist: d.schwindt@nanopool.eu (Mr Dieter Schwindt)
About the company:
nanopool® GmbH, based in Hülzweiler, is an innovative family-owned company. Since 2002, it has been one of the companies working with nanotechnology in the field of surface finishing.
nanopool® has succeeded in developing a surface finish for almost all areas of application. This innovation can positively change working life in a wide variety of ways.
Selected properties of nanopool® products have been examined by recognised research laboratories; all statements apply only to the tested products and test conditions.
Further information and a video can be found at:
https://www.siopack.eu/