It’s far too easy to forget the critical role of packaging machinery to achieve sustainability initiatives. We’ve all heard about alternative feedstocks, biopolymers, light-weighting and down-gauging to achieve sustainability.

But the voice of packaging machinery suppliers was heard from the wilderness at the fourth annual Sustainable Packaging Conference in Denver.

ELAU global marketing manager John Kowal contended that there is a collaboration gap between materials suppliers and OEMs in North America, and he referenced the soft can as evidence. A European collaboration between Huhtamaki for the film structure and design and Optima for the machinery to form and ultrasonic weld a can-shaped flexible package. Called Cyclero, it was the buzz at the last interpack fair in Dusseldorf.

“We need to do more of this kind of collaboration, up front, here in the U.S.,” according to Kowal.

“Much of the technology exists today,” Kowal asserted. “Instead of controlling bottle capping torque to +/- 20%, today’s technology can control torque to 0.02%. That kind of precision makes a huge difference in the ability to down-gauge without creating waste.”

Packaging Automation magazine conducted a followup interview to draw out more specific information about machinery sustainable packaging than the panel arrangement afforded.