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Agricultural winners at FPA

Two innovative flexible packages merit an 'A' for Agricultural.

An improved bag for Manzate Fungicide (top) increases productivity by 25%. GardenTech Singles (above) were developed with custo
An improved bag for Manzate Fungicide (top) increases productivity by 25%. GardenTech Singles (above) were developed with custo

Source reduction and cost savings were in full bloom in this year's Agricultural/ Chemical category of the Flexible Packaging Assn. competition. (See related FPA stories on p. 34 and p. 42).

Winners hail from as far away as Barranquilla, Columbia, the DuPont manufacturing site of Manzate® fungicide. Used to prevent fungus growth on produce, Manzate is sold to growers throughout the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America, and China through dealers and distributors. Roughly 10 tons of the industrial fungicide is produced by Wilmington, DE-based DuPont yearly, says DuPont senior packaging specialist Paul Knoll.

Although the single-use, two-ply paper/foil pre-made bag DuPont had used to package its 1-kg (2.2 lb) bags of Manzate presented no performance problems during shipping or use, there were some issues regarding sealing. Knoll explains: "In order to get a good, consistent seal we had to keep the seal head temperatures high. Sometimes the outer paper ply would be scorched and leave burn marks." To compensate, and to create a finished appearance, paper bags were folded at the top, via a trimmer/folder/gluer station.

DuPont packaging engineers sought an improved package that would run on existing equipment, while providing comparable barriers, seal integrity, and possibly some cost savings.

The engineers looked at several alternatives. Finally, strategic partner American Packaging (Rochester, NY) presented the company with its Kard-O-Pak® bag. Early in '97, DuPont began implementing the Kard-O-Pak package into its Manzate packaging line.

The Kard-O-Pak package is a preformed, square-bottom bag made of an adhesive lamination of 60-ga nylon/foil/sealant film. Its total thickness is about 3.5 mils. The nylon is reverse-printed flexographically in six colors. Empty, the new package weighs 0.5 oz, considerably less than its 1.75-oz predecessor. Kard-O-Pak not only runs on existing equipment, but it heat seals at a lower temperature, eliminating scorch marks. This creates a neat appearance without the need for a trimming/folding/gluing station.

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