Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics announced the commercial availability of a wide range of tenter frame, biaxially-oriented polyethylene (TF-BOPE) for linear low-, medium- and high-density packaging films. The offering was developed through a joint effort between Dow — and its INNATE TF80 technology — with Plastchim-T and Ticinoplast — producers of PE and BOPP — and machine manufacturer Brückner Maschinenbau. These solutions reportedly enable customers to use printable, tough, stiff and visually appealing BOPE films to produce resource-efficient, mono-material packaging that is designed for recyclability.

Dow’s TF-BOPE-based solutions for oriented films are already commercially available in Asia-Pacific. Applications range from downgauged frozen food films, to triplex laminates without BOPA, and duplex PE-based laminates used for home and personal care pre-made pouches.

“Building on our global experience with BOPE to design packaging for recyclability, the positive reaction of converters and brand owners in Asia has given us confidence to commercialize these solutions throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa,” says Jaroslaw Jelinek, global marketing manager for oriented PE technologies, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. “Our global teams have been working through Pack Studios to bring the success of this LLDPE based solution to other regions and to broaden the offering for the growing BOPE market.”

A statement from the companies says that customers of Plastchim-T and Ticinoplast can now work with a range of tested TF-BOPE films suitable for flexo- and roto-gravure printing, including:

• tough, high-clarity films for downgauging,
• co-extruded films and laminates,
• sealable, medium stiffness films for high-speed flow-wrap applications,
• increased density TF-BOPE films with remarkable stiffness and improved thermal resistance, used as a substrate for barrier deposition and as an outer film in PE-based laminates.

Visit www.plastchim-t.com, www.ticinoplast.it, www.brueckner-maschinenbau.com and www.dowpackaging.com for more information.