New tear strip for clean and safe opening and re-sealing

Packaging Solutions

Walki is supporting its customers in the development of innovations that deliver precisely sustainability and ease of use. One example is a combined folding box concept with a special tear off strip embedded in the cardboard and an intelligent folding mechanism for re-sealing. Originally developed for packaging fish fingers, the innovation can be used for a wide variety of products thanks to the barrier coatings specially adapted to the product.

The tear off strip Walki-Tear-Strip is not punched out of the cardboard through perforation in the usual way, but embedded in it. But this embedding of a polyethylene strip is not a minor innovation. It must be stable enough to open the packaging reliably, but also thin enough that it does not impede production. ‘The tear takes place so accurately and cleanly that no cardboard fibres come loose and enter the product,’ explained Stefan Erdmann, technical service and development manager Barrier Board at Walki. ‘Because the Walki Tear Strip uses no perforations, the barrier surface remains completely intact, which guarantees safety. The visual appearance of the imprint and finish is also not interrupted.’

Two packaging sections are created when opening with the tear strip, which can be sealed again easily by folding at the side and inserting the sections into each other. ‘The mechanism is easy to understand. In practice, we have noticed that the consumers identify the slight grooves on the sides of the packaging folding point, which enables the two sections to be inserted into each other when actuated,’ explained Stefan. ‘This saves resources, as the consumers no longer re-package the products into plastic bags, for example, to keep everything in an orderly fashion, but can simply leave them in the sealed packaging.’

With cardboard as a renewable and recyclable base material, the packaging has a high sustainability value. The re-sealing feature means that it can be reused multiple times, which saves resources and helps to prevent waste. As a secure primary packaging with no additional shell, Walki-Pack also reduces the packaging quantity for the benefit of the environment and costs. ‘Whether frozen foods, fresh produce or dry goods like cereals, salt or animal foods, right through to household goods and pharmaceuticals – the concept can be used for practically any product thanks to the barrier coatings individually adapted to the product,’ said Stefan. ‘The solutions provide protection from water, water vapour, grease or aroma diffusion, for example.’