Ampac Flexibles Solventless Laminations Provide Sustainable Alternative to Packagers

Ampac Flexibles, the flexible packaging division of Ampac Packaging LLC, announces energy audit results showing significant energy savings from solventless lamination technology at its Cary, Illinois, facility. Ampac’s Comexi laminator, is a versatile unit utilizing low viscosity adhesives to achieve strong interlayer lamination bonds.

Solventless laminating offers many advantages to Ampac’s customers. Among the advantages can be improved shelf-life, barrier, and appearance. The use of solventless laminating also eliminates concerns with the removal of retained solvents and volatiles associated with solvent laminations. A new, important benefit, in light of the dependence on energy and attention to green house gases (GHGs), is the improved adherence to environmental regulations and lower energy usage.

A recent study completed for Ampac measured the energy efficiency improvement at the Cary, Illinois, facility by switching from solvent-based lamination (SBL) to solventless lamination (SLL). The study showed an impressive 86% improvement using SLL over SBL. This third party verification also allows for an extra credit for a sustainable energy efficiency gain improvement in the Walmart Scorecard.

“The solventless system not only saves energy, but also provides additional benefits by eliminating solvent based storage, use of flammable materials, and exposure to and removal of volatiles and hazardous waste,” said Ampac Flexibles Sal Pellingra, innovation and marketing director. “This fits Ampac’s commitment toward sustainability and providing a positive influence on the environment it comes into contact with. Further, we are pleased to offer our customers a technology that impacts their sustainable goals with a “greener” alternative that additionally impacts the Wal-Mart scorecard”.

Ideal market applications are products where integrity of product odor and moisture sensitivity are critical and where product must be protected from solvent migration, such as foods, pharmaceuticals, spices; condiments; and cereal products, including dry pet food. The solventless laminations also are ideal for microwaveable and boil-in-bag food products such as ready-to-eat foods, rice products, and sauces. Some of these products fall under Ampac’s PureFlex and FlexiFree product lines.

Ampac Packaging LLC is privately held, and is owned by senior executives together with equity backing by Prudential Capital Group and Falcon Investment Advisors. It is a diversified, international, flexible packaging company with 14 manufacturing centers in North America, Europe and Asia employing approximately 1,300 people with revenues in excess of $300 million annually. In addition to products offered by Ampac Flexibles, the company is the preeminent supplier of domestic and overseas retail specialty shopping bags and security bag solutions.