SÜDPACK wins two of this year’s German Packaging Awards

This September, SÜDPACK is the proud recipient of two of the renowned German Packaging Awards. The film manufacturer impressed the German Packaging Award’s jury of leading experts with a recyclable bag for cheese ripening in the “new material” category and with a recyclable film concept for blister packaging for solid applications in the “sustainability/recyclability” category. What the two solutions have in common is that they are both based on recyclable mono-materials and stand out due to their greater material efficiency and reduced carbon footprints. On September 13, the SÜDPACK and SÜDPACK MEDICA teams accepted the two awards during the traditional ceremony in Berlin.

The two awards, which now join the many that were proudly accepted before them, add to SÜDPACK’s story of success. At the same time, the manufacturer of high-performance films has impressively underscored its role as a leader in technology and innovation in the market. Valeska Haux, Vice President of Strategic Marketing, is particularly pleased about that fact that “we were able to also win over the expert jury with a recyclable blister concept for the pharmaceutical industry. After all, SÜDPACK is not just a leader in sustainability with its pioneering packaging concepts in the food industry, but also in the medical goods and pharmaceutical industries.”

With the Tubular Bag PurePE …

SÜDPACK is setting standards in recyclability, material efficiency and in the reduction of carbon footprints. The polyethylene-based concept, which has been certified with a recyclability of 96% by the renowned Institute cyclos-HTP, is already established on the market.

Compared to conventional film structures, this innovative packaging solution reduces resource consumption by 23% by using a thinner film measuring 30 µm in thickness – all while maintaining the same functionality as well as maximum process and packaging reliability. What SÜDPACK has achieved is “nothing short of a packaging revolution” in the cheese ripening industry by reducing the carbon footprint by -52 g CO₂/m², or 19%. “These results could indeed be of particular interest to milk processors who operate internationally and who are focusing more and more on sustainable packaging concepts,” emphasized Valeska Haux. At the moment, the film manufacturer is seeing an increasing demand for PE-based film concepts, because these mono-structures are classified as recyclable in many countries.

 “With our Tubular Bag PurePE, we have an ideal substitute for conventional PA/PE structures because it maintains the same high requirements for product protection and functionality. This covers the individual barrier properties that are essential for cheese ripening, the maturation process and puncture resistance.” Last but not least, close cooperation with machine manufacturers ensures that the packaging concept can be optimally processed on full and semi-automatic packaging machines.

PharmaGuard – for added sustainability when packaging solid applications

SÜDPACK MEDICA’s PP-based and recyclable film concept for blister packaging has also already been launched on the market. The base and lidding films produced in an innovative coextrusion process feature a groundbreaking array of characteristics, including high transparency and barrier functionality. “What is worth particular mention is the excellent water vapor barrier thanks to having PP as the base material,” added Valeska Haux. The perfectly matched films guarantee top sealing performance, which is reflected by maximum process reliability and packaging quality.

A life cycle assessment conducted by Sphera has proven that the packaging concept is associated with a greatly reduced climate impact (in CO2-eq) of up to 47% as well as lower energy and water consumption compared to other commonly used PVC/PVdC and aluminum blister solutions.

Recognition

With the 46th German Packaging Award ceremony, a total of 34 innovations from Germany, England, the Netherlands and Austria were distinguished this year. What particularly delighted the independent jury was the “high quality, diversity and range of the submissions as well as the clear focus in the areas of sustainability, circular economy and climate and environmental protection.”

The winners received their awards on September 13 in Berlin’s Meistersaal located at Potsdamer Platz. For SÜDPACK and SÜPACK Medica, teams came from the Application Technology, Business Development, Sales and Sustainability departments. PharmaGuard impressed the jury “with its use of PP as a successful alternative to conventional, non-recyclable blister packaging, making it a recyclable packaging solution. The very good shaping of the cavities of the blister and the balanced PP-based covering film, which showed a clear functionality, are particularly noteworthy in this development.”

The jury’s statement for the Tubular Bag PurePE concept concluded that it “succeeded in converting an existing PA/PE packaging into a mono-solution through successfully selecting and combining innovative granulates, whilst at the same time ensuring the functional barrier for cheese ripening as well as puncture resistance required for this product. On top of this, the material reduction of 23% compared to conventional cheese maturing bags was impressive.”