Application News
Application News ‘Organic Plug’ made from Bio PA The fischer group of companies of Waldachtal, Germany recently presented its first prototype of an ‘organic plug’. The material of the fischer Universal Plug UX consists of polyamide by DuPont which is mainly made of renewable substances. UX with staying power The fischer UX Universal Plug made of conventional nylon has been established in the market for many years, giving users the feeling of reliability and safety. With every turn of the screw, the plug tightens more and more – until it is safely expanded inside the drill hole or knotted inside the cavity. A true all-rounder, the plug gets a perfect grip in any wall, whether in plasterboard, solid bricks, perforated bricks or concrete. Same retaining power as the standard plug The ‘Organic Plug’ is made of the Zytel ® RS polyamide by DuPont, 58 % by wt. of which consist of renewable base materials. “Extensive tests and long-term trials have shown that the UX made of this new material has the same values as the tried and tested product made of conventional nylon”, says Rainer Fischer, head of synthetics development at fischer. In continuous tests, the ‘Organic Plug’ consistently shows the same retaining values as the conventional UX. Investigations involving the performance at high temperatures also show the same temperature resistance for both plugs. The UX Plugs recently shown at FAKUMA, a German plastics trade fair, are the first prototypes presented to a wider public. “Our aim is not only to demonstrate that we can make plugs from sustainable and renewable materials”, says Rainer Fischer. “We also want to fathom out the market acceptance because the ‘Organic Plugs’ can currently not be made with the same cost structure as the standard plug”. www.fischer.de www.renewable.dupont.com Gourmet Canadian Packaging A Canadian company, Nature’s Farm, is going to wrap its range of gourmet pasta products in NatureFlex NE from Innovia Films. Founded in 1987 in Steinbach, Manitoba, Nature’s Farm is a family-owned business with a poultry operation producing eggs. In 1993 after several years of careful research and some time as a ‘designer-egg’ wholesaler, they introduced Nature’s Pasta, which now appears on the menus of some of North America’s best eating establishments. The farm’s fresh free-range eggs (from hens fed an allnatural vegetarian diet) go through a stringent quality inspection before being shipped to the nearby pasta-making facility. Strict adherence to old-world, small-batch production methods has created gourmet pasta that is setting new standards in taste, texture, and quality. The products are packed in-house on a Bosch Terra 25 VFFS machine set up to run at 15ppm. According to company founder, Hermann Grauer, NatureFlex is an ideal packaging choice, “We are committed to ecological sustainability and stewardship. NatureFlex has fitted into our production line process with only minimal adjustment required. The reaction of our customers’ to the packaging has also been very positive and enthusiastic.” “NatureFlex is a very versatile product,” stated Christopher Tom, Innovia Films’ Account Executive, Canada, “we are delighted to support Nature’s Farm by providing packaging that aligns with their environmentally and socially responsible values.” For a packaging like a pasta bag, a good sealability is important. NatureFlex NE was used in this application as it offers the best seal performance in the NatureFlex range of products. www.innoviafilms.com www.naturesfarm.ca (Photo: fischerwerke) 36 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/09] Vol. 4
