Scholle IPN to Exhibit at Pack Expo Las Vegas

We’re thrilled to announce that Scholle IPN will be back at PACK EXPO, one of the largest packaging trade shows in the world. The annual event, which will be held September 27-29 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, brings together leaders in the packaging and processing industry and is the place to learn about new industry trends, showcase emerging technologies, and see full-scale machines in action. We’ll be at Booth N-9109 with our SureFill® 52 and SureFill® 42 Aseptic fillers, as well as many new films and fitments.

This year’s show is particularly significant. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the way we connect with our customers, but the transformative power of flexible packaging solutions became even more clear. We worked hard to meet the new challenges the pandemic brought about, improving on our industry-leading films, fitments, and pouches. We also acquired Bossar, a global leader in forming, filling, and filling equipment, to give our customers a vertically integrated flexible packaging solution.

We asked Jackie O’Dea, Marketing Generalist; and Monte Kimball, Director of Retail Business Development; about what to expect from Scholle IPN at this year’s show.

Why does Scholle IPN attend PACK EXPO every year?

JO: We attend Pack Expo each year not only because it’s the biggest packaging trade show, but it’s also a good way to get exposure with new and current customers—especially given the past year of working from home. We’re excited to showcase all of our new innovations each year. It also gives us the opportunity to get together with other industry leaders.

PACK EXPO offers a chance for our customers to meet the teams they’ve been working with. We’ll have members of our commercial team, upper management, and R&D including Brent Haynam, Sustainability and Ecommerce Lead; David Bellmore, Director of Film and Global Package Development; and Glenn Wiechman, Commercial Director for North America. If you want to learn more about our packaging or take a deep dive into some of our technologies, we’ll have plenty of experts for attendees to connect with.

Scholle IPN is debuting a number of new products at PACK EXPO. What kind of film and fitment technology will be at the booth?

MK: Scholle IPN is a market leader in barrier film technology. We’ll be showcasing a variety of films that demonstrate our dexterity in this market. This includes both our printed and unprinted barrier films for bag-in-box and pouch. You’ll find a wide range of solutions from DuraTech™ and DuraTuff™ to RecShield™, our recyclable bag-in-box and pouch film.

We initially introduced RecShield at the 2019 PACK EXPO, though it was originally designed for spouted pouches. Over the past two years, we’ve expanded the RecShield family and used it in tandem with our 2Pure™ film to design the first 100% recyclable bag-in-box package for water, as recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Together, these two films make it possible to safely ship and store water in packaging that consumes fewer resources than water bottles while keeping it taint- and odor-free.

Alongside our game-changing films for water packaging, we’ll have our ClearShield™, a five-layer film ideal for high-temperature filling typically associated with fruit processing; EnduraShield™, a co-extruded film designed for vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) applications that require a high barrier; FlexiShield™, a five-layer film produced for VFFS dairy products; and more!

JO: In addition to our film innovations, we’re also showcasing our new tethered fitments. They’re great for customers needing to conform to the new EU regulations around single-use plastics, but it’s also a huge game changer when it comes to sustainability. Our tethered fitments help make sure that things like caps and lids get recycled along with the whole package and not just thrown out or lost on the ground somewhere. Our fitment engineers worked on these designs to not only ease the recycling process, but also consume less material than standard pouch fitments.

These can be seen in our lightweight fitments, which use fewer materials and help contribute to our sustainability mission. You get the same hermetic seals and barrier properties we were seeing in our other fitments, while keeping the planet in mind.

What equipment can attendees see at your booth this year?

MK: We’re going to have the SureFill 52, which is our aseptic spouted pouch filler. It’s a lab-scale filler, so it’s good for companies who are just getting started. It’s actually featured at one of our customers, SinnovaTek, who will be at our happy hour to talk about the filler and how it’s revolutionizing the aseptic packaging market and helping grow their business. We’ll also have the SureFill 42 Aseptic, which is our largest aseptic bag-in-box filler.

What does it mean for Scholle IPN to acquire Bossar?

JO: It’s a strategic fit for us, given their expertise in hybrid and HFFS equipment and our expertise in barrier films and ergonomic fitments. The synergies between the two of us solidify us as a market leader in films, fitments, and equipment for the global liquid packaging market, allowing us to create your ideal total packaging solution.

MK: It breaks down barriers that you can run into if you’re not managing all three of those technologies. This acquisition should enable us to continue to drive leading-edge packaging solutions and move sustainability to the forefront. We’re taking ownership of the entire process. If we only made the film, for example, we wouldn’t know what’s going on with the fitment or the equipment. Now we’re the owners of all three of those and can take the right measures to make sure what we’re doing is executable out in the marketplace.

You mentioned sustainability—how does Scholle IPN incorporate sustainable practices into their newest technologies?

JO: Along with submitting our packages to the Association of Plastics Recyclers, we’ve also been working to make our films and fitments more lightweight. We’re working to develop more modern film structures that still have excellent barrier properties and fitments that use less raw material so that we’re putting less strain on our environment.

MK: We’re trying to design technology and develop films without sacrificing productivity. Our technologies are centered around solving problems and improving our client’s productivity while remaining sustainable.

Has the pandemic changed the way people think about flexible packaging?

JO: More and more customers are looking to switch from plastic bottles or rigid packaging in general to flexible packaging. I think something that was definitely shown throughout the pandemic is that consumers are more open to flexible packaging than people had originally thought—as seen in the exponential growth of boxed wine and pouched products.

What kind of opportunities will you have to network and learn more about Scholle IPN?

 JO: We are hosting a happy hour at our booth on Monday, the 27th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, where SinnovaTek will talk about their innovations in the aseptic spouted pouch market. We’re also hosting a customer event on Monday evening. For more information on this, you can contact us at hello@scholleipn.com.

We hope to see you at the show!