QENOS ALKAMAX® DELIVERS LIGHTER, TOUGHER ICE BAGS

Cold conditions can be a challenge. Plastic ice bag film needs to deal with cold, high impact and rough handling all while resisting unintentional breakage. Ice bags are just one PE film product that has been made better, with new metallocene PE technology helping plastic film products to be lighter and tougher.

Locally manufactured and supported, Qenos Alkamax mLLDPE uses latest generation metallocene catalyst technology. The material properties from this cutting edge technology allow for improved processability and product performance with down gauged (thinner) PE films. This combines value adding and cost saving.

Following extensive development and product evaluation, Qenos Alkamax® metallocene catalysed polyethylene grades are now in increasing use in the Australian PE film market. The key features of PE films made from Qenos Alkamax® mLLDPE include: excellent sealing properties for lamination and form, improved Form, Fill and Seal processes; favourable stiffness versus toughness for heavy duty applications; and excellent processability for high throughput and thin gauge films. Qenos Alkamax® mLLDPE offers a unique balance of stiffness versus toughness, with the potential to further optimise the existing film structure for challenging applications.

The practical requirements for PE film used in ice bags include the need for the bags to resist breakage in cold conditions. Ice bags made from Alkamax® mLLDPE have excellent stiffness and resistance properties. The PE film was also able to be down gauged while still improving the performance characteristics. Importantly, because the ice bag is thinner it uses less material to produce and consumes less fuel to transport, and there is less packaging waste by weight, reducing overall environmental impact.

PE film customers know that sealability of the film is critical – so the film can run effectively and efficiently through form, fill and seal packaging lines. Here again the performance of PE films made from Qenos Alkamax® mLLDPE is excellent. Technically the exceptional sealing performance is a result of high seal strength and superior hot tack performance as well as a broad hot tack sealing window. Importantly for customers the end result is excellent seal integrity.

As a local supplier, Qenos has a long history working with the Australian food packaging industry to meet local needs even in cold, tough and rough handling applications, like ice bags. Alkamax® PE with its purpose designed polymer architecture delivers a thinner, down-gauged film, with excellent clarity and lower overall cost. Less is more when it comes to the latest plastic films.

Alkamax mLLDPE Grades