Sika enhances packaging and production capability

Sika, a US provider of innovative construction materials, has announced the installation of a new packaging and extrusion line at its SikaFiber plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said Packaging-gateway.

This investment will significantly boost the capacity of concrete reinforcing fibers by up to 4 million pounds, allowing Sika to meet the growing demands of the market and ensure timely production for its valued customers.

The newly installed extrusion line boasts several advanced features that enhance productivity and sustainability. With a focus on energy efficiency, the line is approximately 30% more energy efficient than the existing lines. This achievement is attributed to higher output and lower energy consumption, effectively reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint.

Sika’s commitment to sustainability is reinforced through the integration of state-of-the-art controllers, energy-efficient motors, automatic temperature controls, and complete insulated ovens with direct air passage.Safety is a top priority for Sika, and the new production and packaging lines are equipped with advanced safety features to ensure the well-being of employees.

The lines feature a completely enclosed guarding system around godet rolls, incorporating safety interlocks. Additionally, thread guide rolls facilitate easy machine startup while preventing access to pinch points. The oven system is equipped with a two-hand safety switch system, further enhancing safety measures. The improvements made to the quench tank also contribute to better ergonomics during thread-up operations.

Sika’s dedication to employee safety remains unwavering, as the company continually enhances these systems to create a safe working environment for all employees.

We remind, Sika has completed the acquisition of MBCC Group after having received all necessary regulatory approvals, said the company. MBCC Group, headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, and formerly owned by an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, is active in the field of construction systems and admixture systems. To close the transaction and to comply with regulatory requirements, Sika sold MBCC Group’s chemical admixtures assets in the UK, the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to the international private equity firm Cinven. The business now acquired by Sika employs 6,200 people and operates in over 60 countries and 95 production facilities.

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Nordic beauty company LUMENE has partnered with paper manufacturer UPM and chemical business SABIC for a new biobased packaging application, said Packaging-gateway.

The company is launching a jar, topped with self-adhesive labels that are made of BioVerno naphtha, a wood-based material developed by UPM in Finland. The biobased material is then processed by SABIC into certified renewable polypropylene, before it is converted into various recyclable cosmetics containers and product labels.

The labels are printed on UPM’s Raflatac Forest Film, which is claimed to be the world’s first film label material made with wood-based biomaterials. SABIC PP & E4PS general manager Lada Kurelec said: “We firmly believe that collaboration and innovation are driving the sustainable transformation of our industry.

“SABIC’s certified renewable materials demonstrate how our TRUCIRCLE solutions can contribute toward our shared goals for carbon neutrality. We are delighted to work with our value chain partners LUMENE and UPM Biofuels as a further step towards creating a more circular and sustainable economy for plastics.”

LUMENE opted to use the renewable biobased raw material in order to reduce its packaging carbon footprint. The materials will reduce the company’s fossil-based plastics usage by more than 60 tonnes per year and cut its carbon footprint by 1.5 million jars every year.

LUMENE R&D packaging and sustainability head Essi Arola said: “By cooperating with UPM and SABIC we are taking the next important step in our sustainability journey and driving transition to renewable resources. LUMENE’s ambition is to have 80% of its packaging made from recycled and biobased plastics by 2025.”

We remind, SABIC participated in a ceremony to announce the first package of Shareek projects involving large companies in Saudi Arabia. The event was held in the presence of several dignitaries, senior businessmen and heads of major companies participating in the program. During the ceremony, SABIC announced a strategic project to manufacture catalysts, aiming to transform Saudi Arabia into a manufacturing hub for specialized materials in line with the national industrial strategy.

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MenaBev can now deliver seven new bottle formats across two PET lines after Sidel completed conversion on its Combi PET lines, said Packaging-gateway.

The plant is said to be one of the largest PepsiCo bottling plants globally, covering 300,000m?. The facility serves millions of consumers in the MENA region and is supported by a local distribution centre.

The collaboration between Sidel and MenaBev ensured that one of the Combi PET line adaptations catered for three new-look formats for the bottled water product Aquafina while the other could run four new formats.

In response to increased sugar taxes impacting the Saudi market, MenaBev also called on Sidel to deliver new formats of the Carolina bottle. Although challenged by market-wide component shortages, the separate Combi PET lines were both adapted in one week.

In addition, the Aquafina line is reportedly capable of running up to 60,000 bottles per hour (bph) compared to its previous figure of 54,000 bph. Meanwhile, the Carolina line has maintained its speed of 48,000 bph.

To maximise the lines’ sustainability, the new design’s technical development included a full feasibility study, laboratory checks and performance tests on the stretch blow-moulding process.

This approach was applied to the 330ml, 500ml and 1.5L Aquafina bottles. The new Aquafina design has delivered a lighter-weight 330ml bottle, benefitting from a 10% reduction in raw materials.

Sidel service manager Karim Abdel Wahed commented: “Our ability to adapt and convert existing Sidel lines enables customers such as MenaBev to rapidly respond to global changes and market needs.”

We remind, Yili Group, Asia’s largest dairy company, received support and expertise from Sidel to install a versatile Aseptic Lab filler, which has been designed primarily for research and development and is situated in Yili’s specially constructed facility. It will enable the regional market leader to launch new products and adapt existing bottles, further enhancing its reputation for innovation.

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Azelis, a leading innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Sirius International (“Sirius”), a well-established distributor of specialty chemicals in the Benelux market, said the company.

This acquisition complements Azelis’ lateral value chain in home care and industrial cleaning with an attractive portfolio and aligns perfectly with Azelis' ambition to become a world-leading innovation service provider. Pioneering in the formulation of sustainable cleaning products from biodegradable and/or recyclable chemical raw materials and with expertise in green chemicals, Sirius will reinforce Azelis' best-in-class sustainability program and enable it to offer innovative environmental solutions to its customers in the EMEA region and beyond.

Founded in 2004 by current CEO Leo Verboeket, Sirius is a distributor of environmentally friendly chemicals for the detergent, personal care and water treatment markets in Europe. Based in Baarn, the Netherlands, this team of experienced professionals has an established market position and longstanding relationships with its principals, providing innovative products to European customers.

We remind, Azelis, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Gillco Ingredients (“Gillco”), a leading specialty ingredient provider in the food & nutrition market in the USA.

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Global software and technology leader Emerson is helping the Swedish cleantech company HaloSep to optimize their unique process that turns hazardous incinerator flue gas residue from waste-to-energy plants into usable materials, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Emerson’s control technology and software is being deployed at HaloSep’s plant for optimization, research and technology (PORT) in Gothenburg, Sweden, to manage an innovative chemical separation process that recovers valuable salt, metals and minerals from fly ash. By providing an alternative to landfill disposal, the HaloSep process increases the sustainability of the waste-to-energy industry.

Recovering materials from difficult waste streams is an important contribution to greater circularity. There are over 2,600 waste-to-energy plants worldwide, with a disposal capacity of approximately 460 million tons of municipal waste annually. About 2-5% of the incinerated waste becomes flue gas residue known as fly ash, which is a hazardous material containing contaminants such as heavy metals, chlorides and sulfates. Millions of tons of fly ash are currently transported to landfills by truck, rail or sea, which is both costly and unsustainable.

"Due to the irregular nature of household waste, fly ash produced from incineration has varying properties requiring different separation processes. Our PORT plant will analyze fly ash samples from around the world, test specific separation processes and demonstrate circular economy benefits to potential customers,” said HaloSep president Staffan Svensson. “Emerson’s technology and expert advice on implementing automation throughout the plant has played a vital role in optimizing these processes, which when deployed, will help increase the sustainability of the waste-to-energy industry.”

Emerson designed and implemented a scalable control system architecture at the PORT facility and worked closely with HaloSep to develop unique separation sequences to efficiently recycle fly ash with variable compositions. Emerson’s DeltaV distributed control system is ensuring the safe and efficient operation of the separation processes. In addition, DeltaV Live software is providing high-performance human machine interfaces for operators, with key performance indicator-led dashboards providing intuitive reporting and management and supporting optimized decision-making and operational performance.

“Emerson is committed to helping our customers in industries such as plastics, lithium-ion battery manufacturing and waste-to-energy generation, to meet today’s growing industrial, processing and energy demands through sustainable innovations that minimize environmental impact,” said Nathan Pettus, president of Emerson’s process systems and solutions business. “Emerson’s technologies and expertise are designed to handle the complexity of HaloSep’s recycling process.”

HaloSep, a subsidiary of the Stena Metall Group, provides an on-plant solution that can be built locally at a waste-to-energy plant or placed at sites where fly ash from smaller plants is consolidated, eliminating long-range transportation costs and emissions.

We remind, LANXESS has selected Emerson, a global software and technology leader, as a Global Alliance Partner for automation technology, enhancing its existing long-standing relationship. By upgrading its control and safety systems, and digitally transforming its production facilities, LANXESS aims to optimize operational performance and support sustainability targets. The companies have signed an initial five-year global agreement. Emerson will help drive the adoption of advanced automation technologies and enable more efficient project implementation that will allow LANXESS to achieve shorter time-to-market for new products.

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