“As the demand for AD*STAR cement bags is very high in China, our focus at Chinaplas will be on the production technology for them – starting with our tape extrusion lines and winders as well as the lamiTEC coating technology, which, among others, is crucial for AD*STAR block bottom valve bag conversion”, describes Hermann Adrigan, Sales Director of Starlinger & Co GmbH, one of the company’s highlights at the trade show. The coming into force of the Chinese Standard on cement packaging has led to an ongoing demand for AD*STAR sacks in China during the past two years. The new standard permits only three types of sacks for packaging cement in order to improve sustainability and resource conservation and must be implemented without exception by March 2022. AD*STAR block bottom bags, developed by Starlinger and made of coated polypropylene tape fabric, feature a favourable carbon footprint, an extremely low breakage rate, and protect the cement against humidity. The accurate conversion process on the Starlinger ad*starKON sack conversion lines guarantees smooth filling of the sacks on the most modern filling lines.
Starlinger’s machine range also includes a new circular loom: the RX 6.0pro scores with high production speeds of up to 1140 ppm, new shuttle and take-off design, as well as frequency-controlled motors. The innovations ensure easy handling, less maintenance, longer lifetime of the wear and tear parts, and improve energy efficiency even more. The RX 6.0pro is designed especially for the production of high-strength lightweight fabric which is also used for AD*STAR sacks.
“Also this year the colleagues from the Starlinger Taicang facility will take care of our customers at the trade show, as it will be very difficult for the Austrian Team to participate due to the strict COVID-19 measures in force in China”, says Adrigan, who always attended Chinaplas in the years before. “We will do our best to provide support from Austria during the trade show and are going to be available for our customers as usual by means of virtual communication.”
Market with growing importance for plastics recycling
Starlinger recycling technology will put the spotlight on PET recycling and odour reduction for post-consumer recycled plastics at Chinaplas. “China is one of our most important markets in Asia. The reprocessing of PET bottles as well as the re- and up-cycling of other post-consumer plastics such as PE and PP are topical issues in the area of plastics recycling”, says Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of the business unit. Due to the fact that the use of recycled PET is not yet unrestrictedly permitted for food contact applications, the bottle-to-bottle market is still in its early stages of development. “Currently only a limited number of companies are producing rPET for food packaging – using, amongst others, Starlinger technology”, explaines Niedl. “We hope that the conditions will change soon – China has huge potential in bottle-to-bottle recycling.”
