Over 100 participants from Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) joined Bobst and other leading experts from different facets of the silicone coating and barrier film industries, for a two-day Coating Technology event, which was organised by Bobst Italia, in San Giorgio Monferrato Italy.
The occasion also marked the presentation of two Bobst CO 8000 latest generation coating lines designed for the market segments. Detlef Merklinger, Head of the Coating Product Line, Bobst Italia illustrated the layout of the dedicated coating technology centre currently under construction, which will house an innovative coating pilot line equipped with several different process technologies and systems.
’We are committed to delivering value in its broadest sense to our customers’ process, which is something that goes far beyond the engineering of high-performance machines. This is why the aim of this event was not only to present two of our CO 8000 machines but also to bring together the strengths of leading companies in these two segments of the coating market, which are projected for continuous growth and fast-paced technological evolution,’ said Merklinger.
On the subject of silicone coating applications and processes, chemical company Evonik spoke about UV curing silicone release coatings; free radical UV curing and cationic curing, their respective advantages and fields of application, anchorage, stability, and food and skin contact legislation.
UV lamp manufacturer IST Metz highlighted the advantages of light curing and how inertisation with nitrogen enables better crosslinking and safety in terms of barrier to migration and its implementation on converting equipment for board and film.
Chemical company Dow Consumer Solutions gave an overview of the silicone-related coating market in terms of application technologies, thermal silicone applications and processes, and tackled industry challenges such as reduction of platinum dependency, down-gauging of materials and silicone migration.
Gianni Zanatta, Product Manager Coating, Bobst Italia presented Bobst’s silicone coating technology and equipment, as well as the configuration of ITASA’s high-performance CO 8000 silicone coating machine, specified for paper and film release liner applications, on show.
BOPP film manufacturer Treofan shared information relating to the evolution of coated films to fulfill evolving market demands and developments, as well as the functionality of coated films in preventing mineral oil contamination of packaged products.
Water-based coating manufacturing company Michelman discussed the major market trends that the company has identified as driving the market in the next five years. The main focus was on a water-based coating formulation that enables fragile AlOx coatings to undergo further printing and converting processes without damage, which very much intertwined with the two BOBST presentations on the subject. The development was as a result of collaboration between BOBST product lines and Michelman to bring to market an industrial solution for AlOx barrier products.
Different systems and solutions to process challenges were illustrated in the course of the sessions and experienced up close by the visitors. Although the two lines on show addressed different types of applications, market sectors and process technologies, both stem from the CO 8000 platform, reflecting the Bobst strategy to have a basic platform which can be customised by adding specifically developed units for each customer’s specific application requirements.
