Uflex Unveils Lighter, More Sustainable ALOx Polyester Film
Upholding its commitment towards down-gauging and light-weighting, Uflex Limited has launched 9.5-micron speciality ALOx polyester film, FLEXALOXPROTECT F-PGX.
Engineered by Uflex’s fully owned subsidiary company Flex Americas S.A. de C.V at its Mexico plant, the film is the thinnest PET ALOx available globally. Despite being the leanest, it exhibits excellent barrier for oxygen and water vapour as W.V.T.R (gm/m2/day) and O.T.R (cc/m2/day) are both < 1.0.
There is a growing demand for transparent flexible packaging that allows retail customers to see through and check the quality of the product packed inside to their satisfaction. Conventionally metalized films have been used to impart enhanced barrier properties to laminates, but metallization renders the film opaque. This PET ALOx film can offer yet better barrier properties while still being transparent.
Being a down-gauged film FLEXALOXPROTECT F-PGX is 24 percent lighter than its 12.5-micron variant and almost 60 percent lighter than the 23.5-micron variant. Furthermore, the price coordinates are better and so is the yield. While the 12.5-micron ALOx film has a yield of 57.14 m2/kg and the 23.5-micron film has a yield of 30.4 m2/kg, this new speciality ALOx film yields 75.18 m2 per kg. This brings major cost savings for converters. The PET ALOx film can be reverse-printed and then laminated with a sealing substrate. Depending on the barrier properties required by the product to be packed, ALOx-coated films can be used in 2-ply structures right up to multi-layered laminates.
The film also complies with EC and FDA regulations for food contact and finds extensive use in manufacturing laminates used for packing dried meat, fresh food, snacks, confectionery, microwavable foods, retort convenience food, cheese, baked goods, drinks, pharmaceutical and medical products.
“One side of the polyester film is coated with aluminium oxide in a special metallizer where aluminium metal is thermally evaporated and reacted with oxygen under high vacuum conditions to achieve its oxide,” says J.K. Sharma, AGM, technical service and new product development (films). “The ALOx when deposited on clean film surface offers very high barrier against oxygen and water vapour transmission simultaneously giving excellent clarity and transparency to the film.”
Uflex
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