Siegwerk opens new business unit

Siegwerk has established a new business unit dedicated to functional coatings effective April 1, 2024, for the realization of sustainable packaging innovations in the sense of circular economy.

Dr. Nicolas Wiedmann, CEO at Siegwerk, said: ‘In addition to our broad portfolio of renowned printing inks and varnishes, we have also been focusing on the development of functional coating technologies for various substrates, processes and performance requirements for a long time now. Especially in light of the sustainability trend, functional print coatings offer a high potential for the future of packaging. Because by providing specific functional properties that are crucial for the performance and durability of packaging, they play a key role in realizing packaging solutions in the sense of a circular economy.  

Gilles Le Moigne, head of business unit CE Coatings, added: ‘Functional coatings can for example help to reduce packaging complexity or equip renewable materials like paper with functional properties so that they can be used for a wider range of packaging applications. That is why we are increasingly focusing on the development of innovative coating technologies that prioritize recyclability, allowing packaging to seamlessly re-enter the circular economy.’ 

The newly established coating unit will serve as a cross-divisional hub of excellence for circular products, adding specialized functional coating technologies to Siegwerk’s conventional coating offering for the different packaging applications. 

With Le Moigne, the company has appointed an experienced packaging coating expert as head of the CE coatings business, who will lead the formation and development of the new division from April 2024.  

‘I am very much looking forward to this new challenge,’ explained Le Moigne. ‘Siegwerk is already well positioned in the field of coatings, and I am grateful being able to contribute my experiences to take its circular coatings business to the next level.’ 

Siegwerk’s portfolio of functional coatings already covers several water-based and solvent-based technologies for different applications, substrates, coating processes and performances. All coatings are produced worldwide and are always tailored to individual customer requirements, including specific regional regulations and local market needs. 

Siegwerk has collaborated with customers and industry partners on several successful development projects for advanced packaging with improved performance and recyclability. Together with Henkel, Siegwerk for example created an oxygen barrier coating that enables mono-material packaging. Siegwerk and Packiro jointly created a sustainable fiber-based packaging with high protective barrier properties and 100 percent recyclability. By developing the new UniNature Water-Oil Barrier Coating, Siegwerk is said to have launched the first barrier solution with 100 percent natural content enabling the recycling of single-use paper plates through the existing paper recovery cycle. 

‘To continue paving the way for an increasing circularity of packaging, we will expand our cooperation radius to the entire packaging ecosystem going forward,’ said Le Moigne. ‘After all, packaging sustainability is a complex topic, making cross-industry collaboration inevitable for progress.’ 

Rethinking the design of packaging has become crucial. According to the European Commission each European generates an average of nearly 180kg of packaging waste a year and without changing anything this will rise by further 19 percent until 2030, with an increase in plastic packaging waste reaching 46 percent. The Commission has hence agreed on EU-wide rules on packaging to stop this trend. The European Green Deal aims to reduce packaging waste through both reuse and recycling making sustainable packaging the norm. 

‘Here, functional coatings can help to enable the switch from multi- to mono-material packaging and extend the use of renewable packaging materials,’ added Wiedmann. ‘As ink and coating expert for packaging, we are very familiar with packaging design and the latest regulations, including food safety, packaging sustainability and recycling, and know what it takes to create packaging structures for circularity that are conform with all relevant regulations.’