First came jute sacks, then woven polypropylene, multilayer paper and laminated sacks. But conventional packaging for cement does not benefit the environment or the bottom line. Enter the next generation of cement packaging – QuickFill? – that reduces environmental impact and increases profit.
The cement industry in India is, however, still heavily into the usage of woven polypropylene sacks. Only a small percentage of cement production is packed in paper sacks, predominantly three or four ply with perforations. But the perforations, which increase deaeration and enhance filling properties, are also driving converters and brand owners to go for more layers. This leads to sacks that – just like woven polypropylene sacks – leak cement.
In other words, even sacks that are recyclable and biodegradable have a negative environmental impact due to emissions that pollute the air and lead to product waste. The leakage affects both filling, transport and handling and results in potential workplace health issues.
The many roles of packaging
Apart from protecting from dirt, mishandling, damage and deterioration, cement packaging, today even more than yesterday, is a marketing tool to promote the product, increase visibility on the shelf, and provide information to the customer. If you want to challenge conventional cement packaging, you have to re-engineer and focus on improving profitability through more efficient filling, fewer breakages while filling, a possible reduction in sack size, less wastage, lower dust emissions, and enhanced brand value and brand recognition. This is exactly what we at BillerudKorsn?s did when we developed the QuickFill? sack paper.
A sustainable solution
The QuickFill? paper is strong, flexible and porous, which means no perforations are needed in cement sacks. It delivers on all vital parameters that need to be taken into consideration: tensile strength, stretch, tensile energy absorption (TEA) and air resistance.
It is strong enough to allow 50 kg sacks with 2 x 80 gsm ply. High deaeration allows air to escape naturally in filling within the same time frame as perforated sacks. Air resistance is a measurement of the time taken for 100 ml of air to pass through a specified area of the paper sheet. The high porosity of QuickFill means air passes through the paper more quickly, resulting in less time needed for filling.
A profitable solution
Using QuickFill? in sack production gives fast-speed sack production with less paper and glue required per sack, and more energy-efficient operation. The porosity of the paper allows for quick and accurate filling with an increased production speed of up to 25%. It also enables a reduction in sack sizes – along with a cleaner, dust-free environment.
The BillerudKorsn?s sack concept QuickFill? Clean, using QuickFill? paper, optimises these benefits and reduces dust – both during and after filling – by up to 99%. Cement loss is kept to an absolute minimum, while the working environment is kept clean. Thanks to this and up to 10% increase in productivity, every dollar invested in QuickFill? Clean generates up to three dollars in return.
QuickFill? Clean also has high printability allowing for maximum brand exposure of the sacks. Fully compostable, they are also a perfect alternative to woven polypropylene sacks. Not only do they come from sustainable sources, they are also digested by nature.
BillerudKorsn?s AB.
Sack solutions team.
Madhvi.lijhara@billerudkorsnas.com