MAUSER Group, a worldwide leading company in industrial packaging, presented its new skINliner™ barrier technology during a recent customer event in Heidelberg, Germany.
The MAUSER skINliner™ barrier technology combines the advanced barrier performance of multilayer plastic film technology, e.g. against hydrocarbons and/or oxygen, with the logistical and lifecycle benefits of rigid packaging. The new modular packaging design provides best-in-class reuse and recyclability.
“To date, the integration of flexible liner solutions into rigid industrial packaging and their separation after use has been quite cumbersome,” explains Dr. Detlev Weyrauch, Head of Innovation and Processing at MAUSER Group, “Especially when used in combination with Rigid Composite IBC (RIBC), liner geometries do not always fit well into the rigid inner receptacle. Today’s solutions are difficult to install and often get damaged during the phase of use. With our innovative skINliner™ technology, we managed to overcome these obstacles. Based on a newly developed welding technology we created a ‘perfect fit’ geometry.”
When, for example, placed in a Rigid Composite IBC, the MAUSER skINliner™ is applied like an inner skin to the IBC’s inner receptacle. It is semi-permanently fixed to the inside of the rigid bottle and therefore no longer subject to any intensive mechanical stress during filling, handling and emptying of RIBCs. The same applies to other packaging types like plastic drums.
The new skINliner™ barrier technology has gained full UN-approval for dangerous goods and enables MAUSER to expand its comprehensive IBC product offering. In comparison to known blow-molded multi-layer EVOH-barrier IBC bottles, the MAUSER skINliner™ barrier IBC provides the same functionality with less material. Moreover, it adds barrier functionality to large volume packaging like IBC bottles where it is needed most – closest to the filling good on the inside of the container.
“At MAUSER we strive to provide our customers the most sustainable packaging solution for each of their individual applications,” states Klaus Peter Schmidt, Head of Product Development and Sustainability Management at MAUSER Group. “Within the framework of our ECO-CYCLE™ approach, we do not only look for the most technically feasible and efficient packaging solution. We also try to manufacture the best and most effective full-lifecycle solution. As part of our reconditioning activities around washing, remanufacturing and recycling of rigid industrial packaging we have experienced the advantages of modular packaging designs like composite IBCs.”
The new MAUSER skINliner™ adds a new level of modular design to rigid industrial packaging. It allows customizing advanced features like barrier functionality or light protection within standard industrial packaging in the most effective way. Positioned inside of the container and closest to the filling, it not only protects the contained material but also prevents the migration of substances to the container wall. Easily to be removed and separated from the IBC bottle, it enables mono-fractional recycling of non-contaminated polyethylene IBC bottle material.
Consistently designed for reuse and most effective material recycling, the MAUSER skINliner™ IBC incorporates state-of-the-art barrier performance without any compromise on the container material recyclability. This is why it represents future-oriented innovation in industrial packaging for a circular economy.
About MAUSER Group
MAUSER Group, founded in 1896, is a worldwide leading producer of industrial packaging with more than 5,500 employees. The company has influenced the international market through innovative packaging technologies. A subsidiary of Stone Canyon Industries, MAUSER serves a portfolio of customers in the chemical, agrochemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as the food and beverage industries. MAUSER products include plastic packaging, fiber drums, steel drums, Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) and reconditioning services through the National Container Group (NCG), a MAUSER holding. MAUSER provides sustainability-oriented, full-cycle services – from production to recycling (ECO-CYCLE®). With more than 100 Mauser/NCG sites and multiple joint ventures in Europe, the Americas and Asia – plus two partner networks for plastic and steel packaging – the company is a presence around the globe. For more information, visit www.mausergroup.com.
