Siegwerk’s water-based DFC barrier coating for paper plates

Siegwerk, a global provider of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels, launched a new product for paper plates and inner coating of food boxes at the IndiaCorr Expo, held from 28 – 30 September in Greater Noida. The water-based DFC barrier coating aims to replace PE and other restricted plastic coatings on single-use paper plates.

Among other products, Siegwerk also has UniCor inks for corrugated packaging, UniPaper inks for premium printing of multicolored coated and uncoated papers, and UniNature sustainable inks with high bio-renewable content (BRC).

Shruti Bhattacharya, manager, application technology, explained the USP’s of Siegwerk’s products, “We all are walking towards sustainability, we are all talking about a circular economy. In Siegwerk, we are also focusing on the circular economy and that’s why we are focusing on barrier coatings that can replace plastic films or PE-substrates. For example, in the case of a paper plate, the general practice is to have the polyester or BOPP printed and then laminated with paper. And then the plates are made.”

“Now the print is done on paper and a barrier coating on the top of it, which protects the paper plate from oil and water when there is food on it. These coatings have to be food-compliant and very limited migration presence so that the ingredients from the ink and coating do not migrate to the food.” This year, the company wants to focus more on such sustainable solutions, which help the environment and the circular economy, she said.

Siegwerk has a series of inks called UniNature. The word ‘UniNature’ itself suggests it is closer to nature, Bhattacharya said, adding it has materials in it with bio-renewable content sourced from nature. The company is reducing the micro-plastic content in the inks and making the printed paper or the printed boards more sustainable. “Siegwerk is an old ink brand known all over the world for its services and existing solutions, UniCor and UniPaper will always stay. But we still want to move a step ahead with the sustainable solutions we have,” she said.

Corrugation industry set to double

Raja Ranga Bupathi Kamani, national sales head, P&B, told Packaging South Asia that the corrugation industry in India is growing. “We are expecting it to double from 2022 to 2028. Corrugation is a very good opportunity to grow for us as an ink supplier. We are a major supplier in the corrugation industry with more than 30% market share.”

In the past year, the white goods market, especially electronics, has picked up in India – driving the corrugation industry, he said. Fruits are also getting packaged in corrugated boxes, moving into automatic machines. These two are the big game-changers for the corrugation industry in the last two years, Kamani said.

Speaking about IndiaCorr Expo, Kamani said it was very well-organized. “We like to participate more often in order to provide the benefit to the customers. The response has been quite remarkable with multiple customers and inquiries.”

“I think it’s wonderful to be here as you can find not only customers but also stakeholders who form an integrated part of the corrugation industry, such as paper plate manufacturers, anilox roller manufacturers and machine manufacturers. In my opinion, everybody should visit and try to learn because we learn together. And together only we can grow,” Bhattacharya concluded.