The green plastic revolution

Plastic or climate protection? Why not both? The plastics industry in particular has huge potential for consistently achieving environmental goals. Before every major step toward sustainability there is a technological innovation, before every technological innovation there is an extraordinary idea. Such flashes of inspiration do not come to nerds sitting in solitude, but are generated by a team of highly qualified experts.

It is precisely these experts in the Brückner Group’s research departments and innovation centers who passionately work every day on solutions that really make a difference – in an economic sense, because they increase the efficiency of processes and help to save resources, for example, but also in an environmental sense, because they reduce pollution. Here are a few milestones achieved by the companies of the Brückner Group in the field of green innovations:

Brückner Servtec provides technical modernization services to extend the lives of existing systems to over 40 years in some cases. In addition, the service partner’s specialists convert older systems so that they can produce new, environmentally friendly products.

In-line coating technology is used to apply a thin, even coating during film production. A high barrier effect can be achieved when the film undergoes a further treatment step. This enables the film to reliably protect the packaging contents – food, for example – from external factors such as fumes or gases. What’s more, it is fully recyclable thanks to its thin coating.

The KPI check from Brückner Servtec gives customers to opportunity to check the efficiency of their systems. What is the production output? How sparingly are resources being used? How much energy is being consumed? The specially trained engineers at Brückner Servtec analyze the various criteria and suggest specific optimization measures and potential conversion options on this basis.

“We want to produce laminates from a single type of polymer,” says Benjamin Duerr, Sustainability Coordinator at Brückner Maschinenbau, the world’s leading supplier of films stretching lines. “The films are currently composed of two to three layers, each with different properties and functions. Different types of polymers have been used until now to meet these special requirements. Brückner Maschinenbau is working with partners to develop multilayered films made using just one type of polymer. It is much easier to integrate this mono-material into the recycling process after use.” What else are the researchers at Brückner Maschinenbau currently working on?

One major challenge when recycling polymers concerns the question of how to remove inks from the packaging. In cooperation with partners along the value chain, Brückner Maschinenbau is researching an innovative coating that will make it easier to remove inks during the recycling process.

Brückner Maschinenbau is working on the production of marketable films with a PCR content of at least 35%. PCR stands for “post-consumer recycled” – in this case, plastic that is manufactured from previously used polymer products. These recycled polymers are reprocessed into packaging that meets high quality standards.

Biopolymers have long been part of Brückner Maschinenbau’s portfolio. These are materials such as polymers that are biodegradable and based on renewable raw materials.

PackSys Global, a Brückner Group company based in Switzerland, is known for manufacturing state-of-the-art packaging machines – for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, for example. The experts at PackSys have already been able to make groundbreaking progress, particularly in the field of tube design.

January 2025. PackSys Global presented a resource-saving development in tube packaging at Paris Packaging Week.

Julius Läubli, Head of Research and Development at PackSys Global: “The so-called noSho design from PackSys Global eliminates the need for conventional shoulders and caps. That’s because the cap is directly integrated in the tube head, resulting in a lighter and slimmer tube that significantly reduces plastic consumption (by up to 80%) while also simplifying the production process.”

A completely new kind of tube: The detachable tubes from PackSys Global consist of a wafer-thin laminate tube with a detachable paper layer, reducing the polymer content by up to 67%, without sacrificing the stability or functionality of the tubes.

Separating the paper and laminate layers after use is child’s play, which in turn simplifies the recycling process.

Kiefel, a Brückner Group company, builds machines that can be used to manufacture various medical and pharmaceutical bags. These include infusion bags. The films for these bags are usually 0.2 mm thick. Kiefel has optimized its manufacturing processes and can now also weld IV bag films with a thickness of just 0.12 mm, cutting material use by 40% while maintaining the same high quality.

Rupert Gschwendtner, Head of R&D Medical at Kiefel: “The thinner the film, of course, the more precisely the machine has to work. Saving on material must not be at the expense of quality, but we can do that! That’s because we at Kiefel have built up expertise over a number of decades – especially when it comes to processing very thin films.” And the advantages of these films in terms of sustainability? Less material is needed in the production process, in turn generating significantly less waste.

The NATUREFORMER KFT 90.1 machine is used to produce packaging from renewable and biodegradable raw materials or plant residues.

The machine forms a thin layer of fibers dissolved in water to create products such as packaging trays, beverage lids, and capsules, which are used to package snacks, frozen food, margarine, or coffee, for example.

What projects are coming next? “There are lots of ideas that I can’t yet reveal here,” says Rupert Gschwendtner with a smile. “But this much I can say: We have some very exciting new developments in store to make our industries even more sustainable.”