Brückner Servtec, service partner for the entire film stretching lifecycle, has achieved another huge milestone in the company’s history, by celebrating its 1000th completed upgrading project. A successfully installed inline coater (ILC) on the 5-layer BOPP film stretching line of the Indian customer SRF Limited marked this pivotal moment and strongly demonstrated the upgrade capabilities of the service company, founded in 2003, according to the company’s press release.
“The whole project was completed successfully, ahead of schedule, and the advanced inline coated film was produced on the same day. Thanks to this technology, we are quite confident to be able to supply film for the circular economy in the near future,” states Dinesh Bhatt, vice president and Unit Head at SRF.
Markus Gschwandtner, managing director Brückner Servtec, says, “We are proud to reach this significant milestone with an upgrade for one of our most loyal and valued customers. It is the result of our daily efforts to continuously improve our services which have always been customized long-term solutions for ensuring maximum availability, performance and efficiency of film stretching lines.”
An upgrade contributing to circular economy
Highly valued Inline Coating ILC Technology delivers a wide range of improvements for sustainable film production Photo Bruckner ServtecThe ILC is an upgrade solution highly valued by customers since it reliably delivers a wide range of improvements and benefits that contribute to a sustainable film production. As the key component, Brückner’s Inline Coating Technology has been fully integrated into the existing film stretching line, applying a thin, wet, water-based, chemical coating before the film is stretched and dried in the transverse direction orientation (TDO). SRF Limited benefits from improved barrier properties, high metal adhesion, long-term stability, and optimized printability in their BOPP film production, and is able to extend its portfolio with high barrier inline coated films.
Sustainable solutions on the rise
Brückner’s press release states, “The 1000th upgrade not only shows technological development, it moreover demonstrates how sustainability has become a key part of today’s film production, increasingly requested by customers. In response to this demand, Brückner Servtec offers a wide range of solutions, such as heat recovery systems, line conversions to recyclable mono-material BOPE films, or direct drives for energy savings. These solutions enable customers to contribute to recyclable packaging and circularity.”
When Susanne Bluml interviewed Reinhard Priller, Brückner’s director of Sales in March 2021 for Packaging South Asia, she asked him, “Does an Indian customer have to invest more in the preparation of such an upgrade – if the upgrade is done later?”
Prillers answered, “At Brückner, numerous specialists support our customers in this decision. This can be pre-equipment so that the machine is a little longer to dry the applied coating liquid or to produce even better structures for mono-materials already in the extrusion process. Then it is up to the customer to decide whether he can already launch such innovative products in the market. The pre-equipment may well mean additional investment of 10 to 15%, depending on which options are already planned in advance. A customer being faced with price pressure will think carefully about which options to pack into the machine.”
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film business for Brückner
– despite crisis
Bluml followed up by asking, “How many customers from the Indian market bought these preparations in their machines in 2020?” Prillers clarified in the same interview, “About 10% of the lines in our new deals have pre-equipment for inline coating or options for mono-material extrusion. But our lines can be equipped with upgrades during their lifetime, adapted in performance or even in the complexity of the manufacturing process. This is a part of our business at Brückner Servtec that should not be underestimated. About 30% of the business there concerns adaptations and retrofits of existing plants.”
Brückner Servtec is a member of the family-owned Brückner Group Germany, a worldwide leading supplier of tailor-made technical solutions and services for the plastic and packaging industry, with over 2,900 employees in 18 locations worldwide. The company offers a wide range of service and upgrade solutions for film stretching lines of any type, handling their whole lifecycle.
