We recently wrote about how packaging giant SIG had introduced the first 1-liter aseptic carton for liquid packaging. Now the company has announced a strategic partnership with Swedish company PulPac AB to grow the development and production of fiber-based closures.
As part of SIG’s goal of increasing the paper content of its aseptic packaging cartons to 90% by 2030, the new closures (and associated bases) will replace existing plastic components.
PulPac is a leader in the concept of Dry Moulded Fiber, which uses less water and energy to make paper-based items than traditional processes.
An important feature of the new closures is compatibility with existing SIG aseptic packaging systems:
“For packaging innovations focused on sustainability to have a significant impact, they must be compatible with the installed machinery setup. That is why “plug-and-play” solutions are an absolute design principle for us at SIG, which we inherently follow across our unique packaging structures without aluminum layer. We apply the same approach to our paper-based closures. The combination of aluminum-layer-free packaging materials and paper-based closures will be our path to 90% paper content in our full-barrier aseptic cartons. This would be a real breakthrough in the packaging industry toward a circular economy.”
~ Christoph Wegener, Chief Markets Officer at SIG
SIG expects the performance and customer experience to be similar to the existing plastic closures, and that the new ones will replace a significant number of the current closures.
or more information on this innovation, see the SIG news site.
