ANTWERP, Belgium, March 23, 2012 -
Topchim succeeded to develop an ecological alternative for paraffin/wax used in water resistant corrugated board production. The TopScreen and TopCorr water barrier coatings improve recyclability and biodegradability of water repellant corrugated fruit and vegetable boxes. The successful introduction of this innovation allows Topchim to significantly expand its business in South America in the coming years.
The past five years TopChim has been fully dedicated to the development of barrier coatings out of renewable source for paper and board packaging materials without affecting recyclability or biodegradability.
Today, mostly corrugated boxes used for fruit and vegetable packaging are treated with crude oil based wax or paraffin to increase wet strength. This makes recycling of these boxes almost impossible. In some cases even burning is not an option due to heavy pollution. TopScreen and TopCorr green barrier coating solutions are specifically developed to replace ecological harmful wax emulsions or paraffin with equal barrier performances to water and moisture in the production of corrugated cardboard packaging for fruit and vegetables.
Both products allow standard recycling from the corrugated packaging. The TopScreen ED grade has a very high degree of renewable source and has no negative impact on the compostability or biodegradability of corrugated board packaging.
The industrial application of TopCorr or TopScreen is exactly the same as applying both wax emulsions and paraffin, so it doesn’t require any modification of the production process.
South America is an important market for fresh fruit and vegetable packaging. Topchim’s innovative green barrier coating concept has been presented to the corrugated board producers in Brazil and Chile and is received with great enthusiasm. Industrial scale-up tests have been successful.
This achievement has been the trigger for TopChim to expand its business and operations in South America in 2012 with local production, sales and technical support.
About TopChim
TopChim is an established research-driven chemical company, specializing in paper and card board coating technology, based in Belgium and Brazil, operating in Europe and Latin America. The company applies the latest technologies in chemical science to develop high-performance ecological coating solutions for the paper and cardboard industry. Its pioneering work is the result of active collaboration with European institutes and universities involved in fundamental research in chemistry. TopChim is committed to continuing its search for solutions for optimal paper and paper coating production that are both environmentally friendly and economically attractive. The research efforts of TopChims’ Biopolymer science department have been translated amongst other things into the industrial-scale production of Biopolymer pigments.
Press contact TopChim:
Leo Vonck
+32 3 350.08.40
press@topchim.com |
