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Three Timely Trends Evident at PACK EXPO Connects

Flexible packaging's move to monolayer, paperboard can handles, and remote monitoring/access were evident in all corners of the online event.

Matt Reynolds1

Though our methods were different this yearβ€”covering a virtual event instead of an in-person expositionβ€”PMMI Media Group editors once again divided and conquered to collectively take in as much of PACK EXPO Connects as possible.

There were and still are (visit this page to see how to take advantage) 2600-plus demos in total, so we couldn’t get to all of them, but I’m confident that, at least in aggregate, we were able to get our fingers squarely on the pulse of what’s new, evolving, and trending in packaging in a topsy-turvy 2020.

After sorting through all of these individual reports from a dozen respected PMG journalists, three trends have emerged as particularly notable.

March toward mono-material flexible packaging. The shift away from multi-material laminations and co-extrusions continues to gather momentum. This trend isn’t meant to diminish the critical multi-layer material applications that will always prove indispensable, and they perform essential services as Sterling Anthony lays out in his column. But the demand for materials that more simply fit into existing recycling streams is growing, and converters and materials suppliers are coming up with new ways to offer the functionality of multi-layer materialsβ€”usually with an assist from a thin-as-can-be layer of EVOH for barrier purposesβ€”in constructions that are for all practical purposes mono-material. Amcor Flexibles’ AmPrima PE Plus, ITP’s Monoflex, Toppan USA’s GL Barrier films, Clysar EVO recyclable shrink films, and the β€œGreenLution” project between Saentis, wipf, and Optima are just five off-the-top-of-my-head new projects that exist to make mono-material solutions more available to brands.

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