Over the last years the stand-up-pouch (SUP) could gain significant market share in flexible packaging.
For many liquid, pasty and fibrous filling goods, but also for dry, powdery products the SUP is the ideal package style.
Increasing demands for higher output of SUP filling lines and thus reduced cycle times for dosing the product and sealing the top seam, required new strategies and technologies for safe production of tightly sealed top seams at the end of the packaging process.
It is recognized that ultrasonic sealing technology made a huge contribution to solving this challenge over the last 2 decades.
Out of the niche this sealing method became a standard solution for multiple applications within the packaging industry – the required heat to melt down the sealing layer is generated directly within the sealing layer by high frequent mechanical vibrations.
From SUP for beverages, sauerkraut to ready-to-eat-meals and wet pet food – the demand for robust and safe sealing despite of product residues being present in the seam area can be realized with ultrasonic.
For years hundreds of SUP filling and closing lines with thousands of ultrasonic sealing stations in multi-shift operations produce continuously the highest quality at low operation and maintenance costs.
Future film materials with no aluminum, partially based only on one type of polymer, will introduce challenges to the sealing technologies which can already be solved by ultrasonics as of today.
Robust sealing processes and lowest leaker ratios are the result of an intelligent digital ultrasonic generator in combination with durable sealing tools that grant repeatable sealing quality also under varying production conditions.

The growth of the high performance printed pouch is not in question – what is open for discussion is how you print it ……….and how you laminate it …….
Historically it was only possible to meet the demanding retort specifications by gravure printing with PVC ink technology and laminating with solvent based adhesive but the landscape is beginning to change, latest developments in printing ink technology now opens the door for flexo printing – meaning cost competitive smaller print runs are now possible.
Going forward developments in adhesive technology will also open the door for the possible use of solvent free or even water based adhesive technology which will in turn increase the options and improve the competitive situation for the printer convertor. A little further away but most definitely on the horizon is digital printing for high performance pouches, with the appropriate support products – Primers & Adhesives – it will soon be possible to think about ultra small run sizes and even personalization of this fast growing, but technically demanding area of the packaging market.”

Typical laminated films with different material components can not be recycled materialwise unmixed, or only at great expense. Plastic packaging materials are increasingly in the focus of the sustainability debate. On top the EU legislation requires a fixed recycling rate of materialwise unmixed plastic packaging materials.
The following präsentation shows an approach, as by the use of only PP components, including barrier layer, a solution for the popular application stand up pouches, can be achieved, at least partially.

If 10 years ago somebody would have said to us: “A paper bottle is possible”, we would have a laugh and maybe didn’t see the necessity. Today Carlsberg develops one. If 10 year ago you would have heard all the plastic trays could become paper you at least would have smiled. Today we make a start. I don’t think we should get rid of plastics we should redefine them and bring them in contact with paper. What is the definition of “Biobased”? A tree is build up out of fibres which or brought to us from the soil, the seed and the sun. To me that seems pretty biobased.
At Billerud Korsnäs we are working on the stretch ability and forming of paper. And with the right barriers we ca make an embossable pouch: ´A paper stand up pouch´.