High performance sacks from thinner film
In addition to providing solutions that deliver high performance levels, bpi.visqueen has become a key exponent of the concept of packaging downgauging.
With a long track record of supplying innovative, high quality and reliable products, UK-based bpi.visqueen has been at the forefront of industrial packaging for over 30 years with a customer base spanning sectors including animal feed, horticulture, building supplies and aggregates.
“As one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of polythene films and high strength bags and sacks, our business has a long history of meeting the packaging sector’s needs,” comments David Khanna, commercial director (construction sector).
“We continue to draw on our experience, expertise and infrastructure to help our customers enjoy ever more capable packaging solutions.”
Central to bpi.visqueen’s continuing success is the advanced machinery and equipment housed at its Ardeer facility in Ayrshire, Scotland. Having undergone an 18-month, £12 million investment project, the site has been transformed into a centre of excellence.
“Among the state-of-the-art technology now at our disposal is a new five-layer wide width film line capable of producing films measuring up to 22 metres across and thought to be one of the widest and most advanced anywhere in the world,” explains Khanna. “These enhanced facilities will allow us to offer products that deliver the highest levels of quality and reach new levels in terms of both overall production volumes and new product development.”
The business has become a key exponent of the concept of packaging downgauging. Drawing on advanced polymers and the latest extrusion technology, the company is able to manufacture packaging that offers all the performance of conventional products from a considerably thinner film profile.
For instance, downgauged films enable customers to create sacks which perform as if they’re made from 150 micron film but using a film that’s actually just 110 micron thick. This ability to create packaging using a thinner film and by virtue, less film by volume, delivers enhanced environmental benefits including a marked reduction in packaging waste; the downgauged packaging is 100% recyclable.
Furthermore, downgauged packaging’s thinner profile allows more film to be wound onto a standard reel, reducing delivery requirements and as a result, associated vehicle emissions. This greater yield of film per reel can also deliver impressive commercial benefits as it allows users to create more packaging with fewer stoppages for reel changes.
bpi.visqueen continues to look for opportunities to add value where possible. One example is the utilisation of industrial packaging as a means of brand awareness.
“In a brand conscious market, manufacturers and merchants have to take advantage of every opportunity to raise their profile,” observes Khanna. “Advances in printing technology can now play a vital role in maximising opportunities for better brand representation. We now offer our customers the benefit of eight colour flexographic printing to give improved aesthetic qualities which help products to achieve greater ‘stand out’ at the point of purchase. The days of industrial packaging acting as merely a functional necessity are fast disappearing,” concludes Khanna.
“Today, it can actually add value and contribute to the success of a business by not only protecting and containing a given product but by doing so in a way that’s efficient, profitable and ‘green’. It is for this reason that bpi.visqueen remains committed to a whole range of next generation products that really push the boundaries in terms of choice, performance and quality.”
bpi.visqueen
T: +44 (0)1294 605111