Displaying items by tag: Walki

Walki is answering to the growing demand for frozen food by expanding its portfolio of recyclable materials.

The global market for frozen food is expected to grow to 322 billion euros by 2026. Although the demand is growing globally across all age groups, it is especially popular among younger consumers.

  • Walki®EVO Seal and Walki®Opti Seal are recyclable paper-based packaging intended especially for pillow-pouches for frozen food.
  • Lamibel®MDO-PE is a film-based material for pillow pouches made of reverse printed MDO-film and solvent-free laminated with low sealing LDPE.
  • Walki®Pack Tray is a board-based tray suitable for frozen ready-made meals, designed to replace aluminium, plastic or plastic-coated trays.

The global market for frozen food is expected to grow to 322 billion euros by 2026. Although the demand is growing globally across all age groups, it is especially popular among younger consumers.

"Frozen food is an ideal way to prolong shelf life without losing out on the vitamins. It is also an excellent way to combat food waste. This is important as up to 9 % of global carbon emissions can be attributed to food waste, especially fruit and vegetables", says Dudley Jones, Consumer Sales at Walki.

Walki is introducing a broad portfolio of different materials, including printed solutions, to suit the needs of the frozen food market with the aim of making the packaging fully recyclable in the paper stream.

"Frozen food places high demands on the packaging. It needs to be both sturdy and puncture-resistant to handle diverse situations like pressures of sealing and mechanical tear during transportation. The packaging also needs to withstand variability in temperatures as some frozen food is defrosted in its packaging", explains Jones.

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Walki®EVO Seal and Walki®Opti Seal are recyclable paper-based packaging intended especially for pillow pouches for frozen food. Walki®EVO Seal has a dispersion coating as a barrier against water vapour and grease while Walki®Opti Seal has an optimised PE-extrusion coating.

"The dispersion coating makes Walki®EVO Seal recyclable in the waste-paper stream without any separation process, while the minimised PE-coating on Walki®Opti Seal makes it suitable to be recycled with paper with an acceptable fibre yield", says Andreas Rothschink, Head of Product Development at Walki.

Both are suitable for all kinds of frozen food: vegetables, seafood, and bakery products to name a few.

Lamibel®MDO-PE is a film-based material for pillow pouches made of reverse printed MDO-film and solvent-free laminated with low sealing LDPE. Thanks to the MDO technology, the film thickness is minimized while performance is maximized by replacing other sorts of materials such as PP- or PET-films.

"This combination of two PE-films makes the packaging fully recyclable in the plastics stream. The stretched film has better optics with high stiffness and mechanical properties than standard PE. The film can also be transparent, allowing the consumer to see the product", says Rothschink.

Lamibel®MDO-PE is an ideal material for all types of packaging (doypack, flowpack, pouches, etc.) as well as all kinds of frozen food like vegetables, sharp-edges seafood and bakery.

Walki®Pack Tray is a board-based tray suitable for frozen ready-made meals, designed to replace aluminium, plastic or plastic-coated trays.

"The tray is easy to fill, transport and store, and is also the convenient choice for the consumer as the fibre-based tray is safe to use in microwaves and in conventional ovens up to 220 degrees for up to 60 minutes," says Jones.

The tray material is 100% PET free and recyclable in the paper stream.

Company Profile Walki

At Walki, we believe in a sustainable and circular tomorrow. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition into a zero-waste future in packaging and promote the use of energy-efficient materials across industries. Walki’s product solutions are designed to bring value to customers in many different markets; from sustainable materials for packaging applications to energy-saving performance materials.

Walki is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia.

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The demand for fibre-based packaging is growing rapidly. To answer to this demand Walki has invested in a state-of-the-art printing machine in Pietarsaari, that provides high-quality prints for fibre-based packaging solutions.

Walki has made a significant investment in its Pietarsaari plant by purchasing a 10-colour flexographic printing press. The new 10-colour flexographic printing press enables better and more accurate printing, which is important particularly in the highly competitive food industry.

“The need for sustainable packaging is growing in the food industry. In addition to sustainability criteria, customers are also expecting high-quality, photographic printing and reproducibility,” says Petteri Pihajoki, Production Manager at the Pietarsaari plant.

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Consumer brands are increasingly reducing the use of plastic and are hence looking for solutions that do not compromise food safety while still being fit for recycling in fibre streams. Walki's fibre-based packages with high-quality printing are also suitable for the demanding frozen food segment, where the package needs to be puncture resistant and be able to withstand large varieties in temperature.

The printing machine is also suitable for heat-sealable solutions for non-food items and e-commerce packages. The printing width of the Allstein press is 1600 millimetres, which is sufficient for large packages, like corrugated cardboard packaging.

“We want to offer environmentally friendly alternatives that minimize waste in line with our mission to accelerate the world towards a zero-waste future,” Pihajoki says.

The printing technology is efficient in energy as well as in the use of colours and water.

At Walki, we believe in a sustainable and circular tomorrow. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition into a zero waste future in packaging and promote the use of energy efficient materials across industries. Walki’s product solutions are designed to bring value to customers in many different markets; from sustainable materials for packaging applications to energy saving performance materials. Walki is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia. In 2021, the Group’s annual turnover was approx. 500 million euros employing around 1400 people.

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Walki is investing over 10 MEUR in a state of the art, next generation production line in Valkeakoski, Finland, to answer to the increased demand for sustainable materials in the fast-growing consumer packaging segment and for flame-retardant materials.

The investment is Walki Valkeakoski plants most sizable investment ever and will amount to 10 MEUR+. Walki has received financing of 3 MEUR from Business Finland's circular economy funding.

walkismall webWalki has planned the production line inhouse for over two years and it's beinga built on premises.
"We have designed it ourself and have conducted extensive test runs to get it exactly right. It will be a completely unique production line and the most modern one in the world", explains Kari Salminen, Deputy CEO and Executive Vice President, Engineered Materials.

The new production line will make use of a novel coating technology that has not previously been used at Walki. This combined dispersion and impregnation technology is important for creating barriers for recyclable fibre-based packaging.
"There is a strong megatrend where brand owners are switching to recyclable packaging. Dispersion technology is a sustainable way to get a barrier for fibre-based packaging that does not compromise recyclability in fibre streams", says Salminen, adding that the new production line also caters to the increased demand for heat sealable packaging solutions.

The production line will also answer to the increased demand for flame-retardant materials. Regulation is increasingly being tightened in the construction industry, creating the need for materials that can replace aluminium but still offer flame-retardance in order to comply with fireclasses. The new production line will produce facings coated with a flame-retardant substance for Polyurethane insulation.

The production line will also be used for testing completely new innovations. It will be taken into use during the second quarter of 2023 and will also deliver capacity to Walki's plants outside Finland.

At Walki, we believe in a sustainable and circular tomorrow. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition into a zero waste future in packaging and promote the use of energy efficient materials across industries. Walki’s product solutions are designed to bring value to customers in many different markets; from sustainable materials for packaging applications to energy saving performance materials. Walki is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia. In 2021, the Group’s annual turnover will approx. reach 500 million euros employing around 1400 people.

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Walki is answering to the market's growing demand for materials made from recycled plastics by introducing Lamibel®Recycled, a non-food monomaterial packaging material.

Making the plastics stream become more circular is critical to reduce the use of plastics. It has been particularly challenging to find ways to put post-consumer plastic waste to good use. Walki is introducing Lamibel®Recycled, a non-consumer material that uses up to 70 % post-consumer plastic waste. Typically, non-food packaging products only has between 30 and 50% recycled material, mainly from industrial processes.

 “We transform post-consumer plastic waste into valuable objects, using recycled materials to create high-quality packaging", explains Juan Pedro Hernández, Head of sales South-West, Films & Bags with Walki Plasbel.

2022 02 24 113012The demand for packaging material made from recycled plastics is spurred by the European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan, one of the key components of the European Green Deal. It includes a revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) that seeks to ensure that all the packaging on the EU market will be recyclable or reusable in an economically viable way by 2030.

"Flexible packaging products made from fully recyclable monomaterials like Lamibel®Recycled, will play an important part in achieving the ambitious European goals", says Juan Pedro Hernández.

The post-consumer material used to make Lamibel® Recycled typically comes from three main sources: stretch film for pallet wrapping, PE packaging material, and film used to bundle bottles, cans and Tetra Briks. These products are all collected by certified suppliers from supermarkets, warehouses, shops and so on. They then go through a careful selection process through which the materials suitable to continue into the production process are identified.

Made at Walki Plasbel’s plant in Murcia, Spain, Lamibel®Recycled is primarily used to package non-food household products like toilet rolls, hand rolls and hand towels.

Lamibel®Recycled, being a monomaterial, is also a fully recyclable.

“By being both recycled and recyclable, this material enables a true circular economy."

At Walki, we believe in a sustainable and circular tomorrow. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition into a zero waste future in packaging and promote the use of energy efficient materials across industries. Walki’s product solutions are designed to bring value to customers in many different markets; from sustainable materials for packaging applications to energy saving performance materials. Walki is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia. In 2020, the Group’s annual turnover was approx. 355 million euros employing around 1000 people.

www.walki.com 

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The demand for flexible packaging materials is growing amid the transition towards sustainable food packaging. Walki has answered to this need by investing in a brand new flexo printing machine in its Jatne plant in Poland.

“This new investment will significantly increase our capacity and we will be able to answer to the fast growing demand in flexible packaging”, says Andreas Rothschink, Sales Director, Consumer End Uses at Walki.

The high-speeed machine is a 10-colour, state of the art flexographic printing machine that offers top quality and low change-over waste.  The investment includes a fully automatic plate mounting machine to further ensure superior printing accuracy on both paper and film and a system for fully automatic job setting in the printing machine. The inks used are water-based and hence environmentally friendly.

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As the food industry is shifting to recyclable food packaging, paper-based materials come up as a strong contender. The look and feel of the packaging  is an important differentiating factor for end consumers. This sets high demands on the print quality.

“The new flexoprinting machine assures great accuracy of the printouts and a very high quality”, says Jakub Gunert, Plant Manager in Jatne.

The importance of flexible packaging will grow substantially in the coming years as paper-based packaging is efficient both in terms of the amount of materials used and easy recyclability.

“With this investment we are strenghtening our capabilities to further improve the quality and efficiency in all of our product categories, ”, says Andreas Rothschink.

In addition to food packaging, the new machine in Jante will also serve ream wrapper customers.

For further comments, please contact:
Marko Siltala
Executive Vice President Industrial Packaging and Lean Operations
Tel. +358 40 585 2796
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

At Walki, we believe in a sustainable and circular tomorrow. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition into a zero waste future in packaging and promote the use of energy efficient materials across industries. Walki’s product solutions are designed to bring value to customers in many different markets; from sustainable materials for packaging applications to energy saving performance materials. Walki is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia. In 2019, the Group’s annual turnover was approx. 400 million euros employing around 1000 people.

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EU is expected to revise the 1994 Packaging Directive to require all plastic packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030. The implementation of the Single Use Plastic Directive will ban materials like styrofoam containers. Several EU countries are also considering a tax on plastic and single use items.

Walki has developed an ovenable tray made of renewable fibre to help customers comply. The Walki Pack is 100% PET-free and easy to recycle.

 “At Walki, we are eager to support the transition away from aluminium and plastic-based solutions towards fibre-based alternatives”, says Annika Sundell, Executive Vice President, Innovation and Business Development at Walki.

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The tray can stay in the oven for up to 60 minutes. The trays are also suitable for a wide variety of applications including frozen or chilled ready-made meals, such as fish and baked goods. The Walki Pack Tray solution can be used for folded and pressed trays and the inner part of the tray is available in brown or white.

The barrier materials are kept to a minimum to make them easily recyclable.

“We are continuously working on increasing the fibre-content in our products and with the launch of the new tray material we have taken a giant step forward towards monomaterial solutions”, concludes Annika Sundell.

At Walki, we believe in a sustainable and circular tomorrow. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition into a zero waste future in packaging and promote the use of energy efficient materials across industries. Walki’s product solutions are designed to bring value to customers in many different markets; from sustainable materials for packaging applications to energy saving performance materials. Walki is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia. In 2019, the Group’s annual turnover was approx. 400 million euros employing around 1000 people.

www.walki.com

Further information:

Annika Sundell
Executive Vice President, Innovation and Business Development
Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone +358 40 845 9072

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