From:PlasticsToday.com By PlasticsToday Staff Published: October 22nd, 2015 

Constantia Flexibles (Vienna, Austria) has opened its doors to its new, state-of-the-art Competence Center for the research and development (R&D) of polymer films and film laminates for flexible packaging. The Center is located at the company’s second largest production plant in Weiden, Germany.

The Center represents a multi-million investment for upgrading equipment and infrastructure of the existing local R&D facilities. It has 15 experts working on nearly 100 projects every year. Their focus is on supporting product and sales managers by analyzing and testing the composition of the latest film products; on developing new film formulations with our raw material suppliers in order to obtain the optimal quality and meet stringent food contact legislation in a transparent way; and on developing mock-ups of in-house innovations for our customers to meet long-term trends such as more recycling-friendly packaging.

“Today’s opening is a clear signal that we will support our customers around the globe with innovative film products,” said Gerold Riegler, Board Member for Constantia Flexibles. “In addition, we are currently planning our own lab-scale film production line for 2016 with the installment of an extruder.”

About 50% of its Group sales are made with film-based packaging for food, beverage and home & personal care products. Global demand is being driven by the Asian and African continents and Constantia Flexibles expects its share of sales from film-based products to increase in the future.

Film products represent around 80% of the global flexible packaging market and nearly half of overall film consumption is polyethylene-based films. Film-based materials offer exceptional sealability and impermeability to water, mechanical resistance and good printability.