Water-based film for the food sector: Italians first

Innovation in food packaging by AMB, which unveils a completely water-based production of plastic films destined for food packaging.

AMB SpA - an important manufacturer of flexible, rigid and semi-rigid plastic films destined mainly for food packaging - has begun production of completely water-based high barrier multilayer film (eliminating solvents from both the adhesives and the inks). This new production brings clear advantages, first of all to the consumer, with the reduced risk of migration of undesired substances from the packaging to the food product, and to high quality food producers (organic foods and baby food).
For the packaging, production quality remains unchanged (same colors, graphic versatility, optional solutions and appealing finishes), not to mention respect for the environment and “pre-emptive” compliance with increasingly restrictive packaging regulations.

A shared project and its outcome
AMB’s water-based production is the result of an ambitious project that saw the light following investments totaling five million euro and two years of hard work. Important to reaching the goal was the collaboration of important international partners: Comexi (installation supplier), Actega and Sun Chemical (inks), Basf and Dow Chemical (glues and adhesives). This represents a positive example of industrial growth, made possible by the collaboration of concerns that consider innovation a fundamental value and united by a common objective: to perfect a production technique capable of eliminating solvent emissions into the atmosphere while maintaining the excellence of the final outcome, particularly in terms of color and finish.
Bruno Marin, president and acting manager of AMB, explains: «Water-based printing is advantageous for the environment and for the consumer, but in the plastics sector it is not widely used due to the difficulties of color “transfer”, for which until recently, solvents have always been the solution.

However, considering increasingly strict regulations on emissions into the atmosphere, while maintaining our faith in our concern’s role as an innovator, we decided to invest in water-based production. After two years of work carried out by a dozen specialized engineers and technicians, joined by our valued international partners, the acquisition of new machinery modified for the purpose, and the creation of a new facility of 2 thousand square meters, we can say that not only is water-based production possible, but also that the quality is identical if not exceeding that employing solvents. And even production cycle times are not penalized».

Ahead of their time
In this case, AMB was not responding to a legal obligation, but to a global change with respect to environmental sustainability «a change that -Marin emphasizes - will increasingly have to involve industry of every type and scale.
Whoever is ready will be able to play it to their own competitive advantage. And that’s not all: end consumers want to learn about the products they buy, including the packaging. In this case, being able to exclude the possibility of contamination from solvents thanks to a water-based production makes all the difference».
At the AMB facility, water-based production has already started, but the concern emphasizes that it remains experimental, and it will remain so until next fall, when AMB will unveil a new water-based installation for the production of multilayer plastic films.