When a major global packaging group like Amcor chooses Vetaphone surface treatment equipment for its flexible packaging plant in Belgium, it can be considered a massive testimonial to the quality and reliability of the Danish manufacturer’s technology.
Amcor’s Gent production facility is a giant, housing gravure printing in up to nine colours, digital printing, solvent and water-based coating, lamination, coextrusion, both cast and film up to nine layers, and Vision Systems for conversion and extrusion. It all began back in 1925 with the production of cellophane, which was the first plastic material used for food packaging. In 1950, the plant became the first to extrude in Europe, and by the 1960s Amcor Flexibles was making strides in the pharmaceutical, films & packaging, and chemical sectors, with the establishment of a strong R&D culture.
Expansion strategy
Throughout the 1990s the Group expanded with numerous acquisitions including Danisco, A&R, Rexam, and Tobepal, with extruded volumes being consolidated at Gent and the UK plant in Ilkeston. 2008 brought a major €17m investment programme at Gent with four new extrusion lines and the construction of a new production hall, while the acquisition of Alcan in 2010 saw conversion and extrusion separated at Gent and in 2019, with the addition of Bemis, the group became a major global leader in package print production.
Today, the Gent plant has a broad product range including peel and barrier packaging that serves all sectors. PE, PP, PA, and PETg are extruded in up to nine layers and on the converting side, gravure and digital printing combine with lamination, coating, and slitting. Both extrusion and converting sectors are monitored by Vison Systems to assure quality.
It was into this production environment that Vetaphone set about selling its surface treatment technology, as Dirk Den Haese Sales Manager of Vetaphone Benelux explained: “The challenge of working with a large and diverse group like Amcor is knowing where to start! But I knew that the company valued its reputation for quality very highly, and that the accuracy of much of the packaging it produced was critical, so there was clearly no room for any weak link in the production chain.”
Supplier since the 1990s
Beginning in 1990, Vetaphone has supplied a diverse range of corona technology to the Belgian plant that ranges from 1400 to 2300mm in web width and generators from 2 x 6kW for extrusion lines to 2 x 10kW for different lamination lines. For its food and pharmaceutical work, Amcor is using exclusively Vetaphone VP2 ceramic rollers to ensure no contamination from the silicone sleeves, vulcanised and aluminium backing rollers. This has become a standard item for Amcor Flexibles in Gent, where the treaters have performed well, drawing praise for their low maintenance requirements and easy access, and reliable performance that provides the consistently even treatment essential for a quality end-product.
Speaking for Amcor, Andries Van Nieuwenhove, Plant General Manager at Amcor Flexibles Conversion Gent, said: “It is key for us to have good partners who support us in our journey to be the reference supplier of specialty peelable and barrier laminates”
Amcor is very proud of its customer engagement that takes a bespoke approach to the challenges of modern-day packaging. “From concept to prototype and onto production and recycling, the company works hard at being innovative,” according to Commercial Director Johan Van Wesemael. “Using our in-house pilot line and all the analytical assets and expertise we have gathered we can speed up developments and through real-world testing deliver validated solutions.”
Attention to detail
Proof of this attention to detail is the number of international quality recognition awards held by Amcor, including ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 50001, along with ISTA, Ecovadis, and BRC accreditations. They are, in fact, no more than one would expect from such a major player in the market, but are now the basic requirements for the food, pharma, and industrial sectors that Amcor supplies on a regular and global basis.
To put that size into perspective, Amcor employs 42,500 people across 220 locations in 43 countries – its packaging products are used by more than 4000 brand owners – it holds 3700 patents, trademarks, and registered designs, spends over €100m on R&D each year, enjoying an annual sales turnover of US$14 billion. As Dirk Den Haese concluded: “If Vetaphone technology is good enough for Amcor, by association it makes us a global leader too – and it’s something we are very proud of! I estimate we have now installed more than €1m’s worth of our technology at the Gent plant, making Amcor one of our largest customers in the Benelux region.”
Caption: Vetaphone VE1C-C (C6) 1520mm corona station fitted to a Cerutti laminator at Amcor Flexibles in Gent