Enhancing efficiency and sustainability with monomaterial packaging solutions from Körber

As a solution provider for the pharmaceutical industry, Körber has been gearing its packaging solutions towards saving resources and is already using alternative materials that reduce raw inputs and emissions. Thanks to stringent qualification processes, these materials do not compromise on functional aspects such as breakage prevention and product protection.

With many of the secondary packaging products that Körber develops and manufactures for its customers, plastic elements are increasingly giving way to paper inlays and paper fiber trays. These materials require less energy to produce than plastic and as a rule are 100% recyclable. 

Saving resources, energy and water with alternative materials

More recently, Körber has been using sustainable materials such as grass paper: “This is a 100% biodegradable raw material, made from renewable raw materials. Here, we need just half of the cellulose required for paperboard otherwise,” says Patric Buck, Head of Innovation for Packaging Materials in the Körber Business Area Pharma. The result is a significant drop in the need for wood, water and energy, with reductions of around 95% in CO2 emissions. Regardless of which sustainable packaging solution is chosen, “They are all very efficient in industrial usage, and are suitable for both sideload and topload packaging processes,” says Armin Nef, topload machine expert in the Business Area Pharma.

Recyclable materials for next-generation blister packaging

In addition to the advancement of alternative materials, promoting recyclability is another of Körber’s main objectives. Composites with plastic are still the traditionally used material in the area of blister packaging. In the past, the main advantages of these materials were their barrier protection, great availability and easy workability. However, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to recycle this composite packaging. 

As a leading manufacturer of primary and secondary packaging machines for the pharmaceutical industry, Körber is promoting a more sustainable approach here too: “One of the things we’ve done is to design our flexible, state-of-the-art Blister Expert packaging machine to work with monomaterials as well,” says Henning Fröste, Head of Application Engineering in the Business Area Pharma. This means that composite materials can be avoided, making recycling much simpler. “We’re currently able to offer our customers a mono-PP solution (i.e. polypropylene) that combines several advantages. First, there already exists an established recycling stream for this product material today, meaning that environmental sustainability begins right away. Second, polypropylene is already an established packaging material for blister packs in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly as a base film. And third, Körber has great expertise in handling PP, with a great number of blister machines using PP in the field,” adds Fröste.

Seamless production flow integration and superior functionality

Körber offers a full spectrum of services when it comes to the packaging of pharmaceutical products. Besides the development of new packaging solutions, Körber can also conduct the qualification of packaging processes—regardless of whether its own packaging products are used. And with all packaging solutions, Körber will advise its customers on how to integrate them seamlessly into production processes. Subjecting the packaging to comprehensive functional tests, such as for thermal and mechanical resistance, is also important here.