Research at Schubert: New Strategies for Packaging Selection

Sustainable packaging

Innovating, testing,

packaging

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is shaking up the world of packaging. But sustainable packaging solutions don’t emerge from new regulations alone. That’s why Schubert and its partners are also researching strategies that go beyond the scope of the EU regulation and make it easier to choose environmentally friendly packaging. After all, it always comes down to striking a balance between the environment, efficiency, costs and product protection. We aim to provide expert support to FMCG manufacturers in their decision-making processes.

Every customer project is unique – every machine, every format, every type of packaging. That’s what makes our consultancy and development work at our Packaging Competence Center (PCC) so exciting. Take, for example, the latest packaging line for vaccines from Schubert-Pharma. We’re also focused on the underlying packaging strategies: Which products require which types of packaging? What new materials are available? Which materials can be processed by machine? Which methods should be used to test the leak-tightness of packaging?

More about the new pharmaceutical packaging

A plastic flowpack made of mono-material with a Schubert label.

Not all ‘sealed’ packaging is the same

Schubert customers often request sealed, environmentally friendly food packaging solutions. But not all packaging that claims to be sealed is the same. Waterproof, airtight, resistant to aroma loss or grease, leak-proof in a water bath test, leak-proof in a pressure chamber test – these are just a few of the many possibilities. Without such information, it’s impossible to select a suitable packaging material and test it for suitability. Fortunately, there’s a much simpler approach and here’s how it works: asking something along the lines of “Please make me some environmentally friendly packaging for my crisps.” Anyone who already knows what properties a crisp packet needs (or a “pouch”, as professionals call it) and how best to test it for seal tightness will arrive at a sustainable solution more quickly.

Conducting research together

We work together with our partners on these product properties and packaging tests. Our network has grown to 19 members over the past year. We regularly consult with suppliers of corrugated board and solid board, plastics processors, fibre-moulding manufacturers, universities and technology companies specialising in material joining. We discuss the future of packaging and jointly test materials and packaging at our Packaging Competence Center. Technology and automation are the cornerstones of a more sustainable packaging world. There are eureka moments along the way, too. And contrary to popular assumption, a crisp packet doesn’t need an aluminium lining to keep snacks crisp and fresh.

>> The new approach towards more sustainable solutions begins with the product itself, rather than the conventional packaging.

“New materials call for new technologies. At Schubert, we combine both – as trailblazers for the sustainable automated packaging of the future.”

Michael Graf, Director Packaging Competence Center, Gerhard Schubert GmbH

A stack of cardboard packaging with the characteristic Dotlock holes on a pallet.

Dotlock: Finding the Right Parameters

Our Dotlock packaging is now properly taking shape: Our glue-free cardboard packaging – developed in-house – continues to undergo extensive real-world testing during lorry transport. Meanwhile, we’re working on processing it reliably, quickly and efficiently. In practical terms, this means joining a flat blank by machine without glue and punching the dots in such a way that the packaging holds firmly together. We’ve conducted numerous laboratory-scale tests to determine the precise specifications for the folding and punching tools. This is an equation with a great many variables: the thickness of the cardboard, the diameter of the holes, the thickness of the punching tip, the force applied during punching, the number of dots and so on. Defining basic parameters for toolmaking takes a great many trials and data collection. How will our machines process Dotlock automatically? Watch this space!

A folded ReDiPack box unfolds and is closed with a lid.

Shelf-ready box: an automatable reusable solution

Beyond its research activities, the PCC team has automated the ReDiPack packaging developed by Schoeller, jointly creating a highly robust, future-proof solution for the retail sector. ReDiPack is a display box with a lid made from recyclable polypropylene that can be reused up to 30 times. It is extremely lightweight, hygienic, stackable, foldable or nestable, and can be relabelled time and time again. It functions like a standard shelf-ready box, with the added advantage of significant CO2 savings and the ability to be opened without a knife. And the reusable box is now even better, as it can be automatically erected in our packaging lines. To achieve this, we developed a special forming tool, fitted out a test machine and demonstrated the flexible solution at a customer event. Simply swapping the tool allows the retailer to switch seamlessly from single-use packaging to the reusable box – or back again. The reusable box has already proven its worth in a trial run at a major retail chain, marking yet another small step towards sustainability for us and our customers.