Extrusion coating and lamination grade creates innovation opportunities and value for converters

20-Oct-15

A new grade for for extrusion coating and lamination applications creates innovation opportunities and value for converters and brand owners in a range of applications including drink cartons, lamitubes and flexible packaging. ExxonMobil is extending its portfolio of Exceed™ metallocene polyethylene (mPE) resins with the introduction of a new globally available grade, Exceed 0019XC, for extrusion coating and lamination applications. When processed alone or in a blend with autoclave linear density polyethylene (LDPE), Exceed 0019XC offers a combination of attributes that deliver overall package sealing performance. This includes a wide sealing range and broad hot tack window. Through careful resin design, optimum sealing performance is achieved without compromising overall processability and extrusion, while the grade also delivers a lower coefficient of friction (COF) than competitive grades. Sealing solutions provided by this new grade can optimize package integrity to help reduce package leakage and increase package fill rates. “The packaging market continues to drive towards convenience and on-the-go solutions. This new grade allows converters to customize a solution: a blend or coextrusion layer to meet the required packaging attributes, while remaining easy to process on high-speed coextrusion and lamination lines,” said Brad Kramer, market development, ExxonMobil. Through collaboration with converters, Exceed 0019XC has been found to be effective when used in combination with a tie layer that offers adhesion to a base substrate, such as foil/ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) in drink cartons or lamitubes, to deliver a new solution for performance packaging. This grade also produces a tougher coating than LDPE, particularly on paper or raffia substrates. "The value chain is looking for ways to minimize material usage, either through downgauging or optimizing production steps. This product provides customer value and opportunities to simplify a solution or potentially reduce external purchases through coextrusion coating,” said Kramer.