Dow Adhesives to Present Groundbreaking Results in Sustainable Flexible Packaging Lamination

The Dow Chemical Company along with coating and laminating equipment manufacturer Nordmeccanica Group will reveal trial results in new, sustainable flexible packaging at the Converting and Packaging Printing Expo in Las Vegas, October 5-7. Nancy Smith, commercial development manager for Dow Adhesives and Functional Polymers, and Giancarlo Caimmi, vice president of equipment supplier Nordmeccanica, will present samples and data from the groundbreaking sustainable packaging lamination demonstration trial conducted jointly on Earth Day 2009. Expo attendees will see the high-quality sustainable lamination the companies produced during a production-scale trial combining environmentally advanced bio-based substrates, Dow Mor-Free™ solventless adhesives, water-based inks and low-energy-consumption Nordmeccanica Super Simplex Laminator equipment. "We'll also detail how to run flexible packaging applications with lower greenhouse gas emissions at competitive cost and good performance," Caimmi adds. "Cooperation between leading companies in this industry is key to fully realizing our goal of flexpack applications that produce no greenhouse gas emissions." Prominent industry sources identify sustainability as a hot trend that continues to gain momentum in the flexible packaging market.

Dow's sustainable product and technology choices enable flexible packaging customers to reduce carbon footprints. The company offers a broad range of solventless adhesives under its Mor-Free™ brand, including its breakthrough Mor-Free™ 75-168 with 55 percent bio-based content for general purpose use. Dow's life-cycle inventory (LCI) analysis process shows that solventless adhesives comprise the lowest global warming potential and energy impact of any laminating adhesive type on the market, making this technology a sound choice for sustainable flexpack structures. The Mor-Free line also features Mor-Free™ 75-164, a high-performance fast-cure product for challenging hot-fill applications, and Mor-Free™ 225 for retort applications. Dow also recently supplemented its acrylic, water-based Robond™ family of products with Robond™ L- 430, which exhibits higher green strength and improved wetting on low-energy films. "Water-based adhesives are sound, sustainable choices as well," explains Julie Gouveia, marketing director for Packaging and Converting, Dow Adhesives and Functional Polymers. "LCI analysis confirms that adhesive laminations - using solventless, water-based, or even solvent-based adhesives - use less energy and have lower global warming potential than other flexible packaging lamination technologies."

Bolstered by its April acquisition of Rohm and Haas, Dow anticipates augmenting its sustainable adhesive portfolio on a regular basis. "We've combined Dow's historical technology base with Rohm and Haas's historical formulating expertise - we have the power of two market leaders working as one," notes Brad Jacobs, global research manager for Dow Adhesives and Functional Polymers. "Match those assets with our close ties to customers and high throughput R&D methods and we believe our potential is second to none. Stay tuned for further revolutionary adhesive solutions that are high performance and environmentally smart." Learn more @ go.rohmhaas.com/dow/sustainablepackaging.