Spartech’s sealable PET could push PVC aside

Flexible plastic packaging processor Spartech Corp. (Clayton, MO) has developed a range of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films, dubbed EnviroSeal, which it predicts could grab some market share from clear, rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging. Key to the new range is that these PET films can be radio-frequency (RF) welded and heat-sealed to film or cards. The film is available with pre- or postconsumer content as well, enabling customers to gauge how green they want to go.

According to Jonathan Cage, director of Packaging Development for Spartech, “The EnviroSeal line meets a broad cross-section of PVC applications. It is specifically designed to suit individual manufacturing processes, requiring no tooling or capital expenditures. This product is the drop-in solution to many packaging needs, including PVC replacement.” Its physical properties are comparable to PVC, and the processor expects to see the material specified for applications such as blister packaging, clamshells, produce containers, and display boxes and containers. It offers three custom-designed products—XP20 and XP30 films, which are U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved for food contact, and XP40.

In answer to questions from MPW, Cage added, “Our EnviroSeal PET materials have been specifically designed as solutions to RF-welded PVC. Each material, XP20 and XP30, has specific properties enabling the products to perform in bar and tear seal applications.” He would not give specifics on the PET film’s pricing as compared to PVC films but allowed that Spartech recognizes “that there are specific price points that have to be met in order for these products to be considered as a PVC replacement” while also noting that PET’s sustainability and the new films’ ability to be recycled in standard recycling streams adds to their attractiveness.

Spartech in September 2007 acquired custom thermoformer Creative Forming from Mason Wells, a Milwaukee-based private equity firm, for approximately $61 million plus changes in working capital. That acquisition significantly added to Spartech’s PET film capacity and also meant the firm required no new capacity to introduce the new EnviroSeal films. —[email protected]