Packaging
Effective packaging goes beyond protection—Marcote’s coatings enhance durability and efficiency,
keeping your production lines running smoothly.
Packaging Industry Context
The UK packaging industry plays a crucial role across many sectors, like food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. It uses a wide range of materials plastic, paper, glass, and metal and employs packing methods like overwrapping, box building, and filling to meet different product needs.
In the last decade, the industry has seen big changes, with a strong shift toward sustainability. As more consumers become environmentally conscious, companies are turning to eco-friendly materials and innovative, waste-reducing designs, making sure that packaging not only protects products but also supports a greener future.
Marcote Provide Packaging Solutions
The move toward eco-friendly materials in packaging has brought new production challenges, especially with alternatives like plant-based plastics and biodegradable tea bag materials. These materials often behave differently, causing issues like sticking to equipment or more marking during processing, which can slow down production and increase maintenance needs.
To tackle these issues, we’ve developed innovative coating solutions, including custom non-stick, low-friction coatings and plasma coatings for better traction and abrasion resistance. These advancements help keep production running smoothly and allow us to meet and even exceed performance targets.
Examples of equipment we coat that are found across most packaging processes
Heat Seal Bars
Heat sealing equipment comes in all shapes and sizes to handle different packaging needs. These tools are often coated with fluoropolymer to keep packaging materials from sticking to the hot seal bar.
Cold Sealing
For cold sealing, like chocolate or biscuit wrappers, plasma coatings combined with non-stick polymers are used. These coatings give just the right amount of grip to secure the packaging while providing a non-stick surface against the cold seal adhesive.
High-Speed Flow Wrappers
Durable, low-friction coatings are used on high-speed flow wrappers to improve packaging movement and reduce product marking during transitions. This approach also works well for guide rails and dead plates, where these coatings enhance product handling and reduce friction, keeping operations smooth across the packaging process.
Hot Melt Glue
Hot melt glue is often used on packaging lines. This plastic adhesive is dry to the touch when cool but becomes sticky when heated. Applied hot between surfaces—like on a box or carton—it bonds as it cools. However, misfires or drips from the hot melt gun can disrupt flow, as the glue remains hot and sticky when it hits the first feeder guide. With a Marcote coating on the feeder guide, the glue stays on the box or carton as it cools, preventing delays. This same coating is also applied in hot melt tanks for easy cleaning during maintenance.
Dead Plates & Transfer Plates
Dead plates and transfer plates benefit from both fluoropolymer and plasma-reinforced fluoropolymer coatings. These durable, low-friction coatings improve product flow across the line.
Common Printing Components for Coating
- Cold seal guides
- Dead plates
- Feed plates and guides
- Glue applicators
- Glue tanks
- Heat seal tools
- Transfer plates
Overview of Performance Properties
- Glue easy clean
- Low friction
- Non-stick
Get Started with Marcote
Can Marcote help you improve the performance of your packaging lines? Contact Us, and we’ll deliver the solutions that keep your operations running smoothly.
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