2023-05-25 19:03:55
One of the main suppliers of flexible plastic packaging for major consumer brands in the Brazilian market, Packseven developed, together with Gerdau, the first commercial stretch film in the world that has graphene in its composition. Considered the “material of the future”, but still in its infancy commercially as an additive that enhances other materials, graphene is light and ultra-resistant. Its addition to the plastic formulation made it possible to reduce the thickness of the polyethylene (PE) film, while doubling its strength.
In the initial tests carried out by Packseven and Gerdau, the “stretch” with graphene demonstrated a capacity to stretch without breaking (stretch) 120% greater than that of the common film. In addition, as it is more resistant, it has increased cargo security and enabled the consumption of smaller volumes to pack pallets.
Gerdau itself is using a plastic film enriched with 1% graphene to package the nails it manufactures, which has reduced the volume of damaged packaging by 40% – the tips of the nails can lead to loss of packaging. A company in the new business arm of the steelmaker (Gerdau Next), Gerdau Graphene has been developing different solutions from the nanomaterial composed only of carbon and, recently, announced an agreement with Sumitomo for the distribution of polymers with graphene in Japan.
The final version of the turbocharged “stretch” film, which is in the final testing phase, should hit the market within 60 days, Packseven president Kléber Ávila told Valor. “The flexible packaging market is commoditized. With the addition of graphene, the film ceases to be a commodity and becomes top of the line”, said the executive.
According to Ávila, the company continues to analyze new plastic packaging solutions, innovative but also with a focus on circularity. Product launches and entry into new markets should accelerate Packseven’s revenue growth, which totaled approximately R$ 500 million in 2022. For this year, the expectation is for a 20% expansion.
In addition to graphene film – the traditional “stretch” was already the company’s flagship product in sales -, Packseven is launching itself into another market, that of plastic bags, with an investment of R$ 5 million. Conversations with large retailers, potential customers, have already started.
“We want to demystify plastic”, said Ávila, referring to the villain status that the single-use material has worldwide. Consumer education and circularity are central words in this project and Packseven’s goal is to have post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) inside the house, already used in some products in proportions ranging from 20% to 30%. Since January, for example, the Heineken group has used Packseven’s film with 30% recycled content in its “shrink” packaging, which includes cans of Devassa beer.
With two manufacturing units, one in Manaus (AM) and another in Mogi Guaçu (SP), Packseven imports 100% of the polyethylene it uses to produce flexible packaging. To protect itself against oscillations in resin prices, it pegged its sale price to the Platts reference.
Article originally published in the newspaper Valor Econômico, on May 19, 2023 – By Stella Fontes
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