Henkel announces the newest generation of Liofol laminating adhesives, which are expected to provide ease of use, speed, safety and enhanced productivity to converters for a better bottom line.

“Henkel chemists have been diligently developing the next generation of Liofol products,” says Doug Apicella, director, flexible packaging marketing, Henkel North America. “These adhesives have arrived and answer the needs of the flexible packaging industry, which has evolved and has become more sophisticated through the years. Customers demand more sustainable products that also meet the performance needs of converters and consumer product companies alike.”

The first new-generation product unveiled by Henkel is Liofol LA7773-21 with Liofol LA6016-21 curing agent, a two-component, solventless polyurethane adhesive for flexible packaging laminating. The adhesive cures to full physical and regulatory compliance levels within 48 hours and is very stable. It has an extremely long pot life, is very easy to use and work with, and provides a level of confidence that the industry has been looking for.

“While we strongly advise users to maintain suggested mix ratios, we are aware that it is quite common that operations are faced with off-ratio adhesive situations resulting from various influencing factors. This new generation is less sensitive to off-ratio conditions and maintains performance characteristics for various applications. This provides a major opportunity to reduce film scrap due to processing issues. Coupled with the fact that this is solventless, is 100 percent solid and has a low carbon footprint, makes it an ideal candidate for many applications where improved sustainability is desired,” says Apicella.

According to Guido Kollbach, technical director, flexible packaging, Henkel North America, the adhesive is designed especially for standard- to medium-performance laminations. It can be used for food packaging laminations, as well as health care, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. “It is an easy-processing system that achieves physical and chemical cure quickly. This is of importance especially if the converter’s production runs on a tight schedule that does not allow for any mistakes,” Kollbach says.

“In fact, the laminate normally can be slit within 6 hours and pouched with zipper insertion in 24 hours if cured at room temperature. We have tested LA7773-21/LA6016-21 very critically together with our OEM partners from Nordmeccanica.”

Rafael Acosta, North American service manager of Nordmeccanica, says, “The new Henkel adhesive has excellent wettability, and its pot-life is impressive. While other adhesives require the operator to clean the machine after 30 minutes of down time, this adhesive performed well even after an hour. Plus, after running the adhesive for an extended period, the machine was very easy to clean.”

Henkel has also released the new coldseal adhesive technology Liofol CS 22-861US1, which can be applied in excess of 1,000 feet per minute (fpm).

“The high demand for speed and efficiency in food packaging operations prompted our chemists to develop this innovative cold seal coating,” says Apicella.

Designed for confectionary, energy bars, ice cream and other snack food applications, this adhesive adheres well to many substrates, including barrier films and surface-treated films for monoweb and laminated structures. In addition, Liofol CS 22-861US1 coldseal coating provides clean wipe, low foam, high bond strength, long shelf life, good shear stability, and compatibility with release films and lacquers.

According to Apicella, this adhesive has been formulated to further optimize the coldseal coating process by reducing application issues and scrap. “Operators running coldseal coatings at high speeds often face foaming in the pan, coagulation at the blade and build-up on the cylinder,” he says. “They are forced to clean up overflow from the pan, or worst yet, to stop the extruder and address those issues. This Liofol adhesive runs at line speeds up to 1,000 fpm without those problems and produces quality finished goods. Coating weights are more consistent and streaking is virtually eliminated. And with an extended shelf life of up to six months for drums and totes, scrap from expired product is minimized.”

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: Laundry Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies. Henkel employs about 50,000 people and reported sales of $18.86 billion and adjusted operating profit of $1.84 billion in fiscal 2009.

Henkel Corporation
(866) 443-6535
www.henkelna.com