For its ‘Flex SafePack’ for the cement industry, Uflex recently received a Silver Award at the 27th DuPont Packaging Innovation event. An excellent example of packaging innovation, Flex SafePack is specially designed to keep away moisture and water from entering into the bag, helping the cement withstand harsh environments and maintain its full functionality over an extended period of shelf-life.
The cement industry in India is the second largest in the world and has been facing a chronic problem of moisture entering into the bag due to which the product deteriorates during transportation and storage. An estimated 3% of all cement packaged and sold by the industry is lost due to moisture and associated lump formation.
In developing the SafePack, Uflex addressed two conflicting requirements: providing de-aeration holes required for air to escape during filling and prohibiting moisture from entering into the bags during storage and distribution. Uflex has been able to achieve this by producing a hermetically sealed flat-bottom woven polypropylene (WPP) bag. The bag laminate structure is put through a special nano embossing and finishing operation after extrusion coating the inner surface of the bag. SafePack can be printed with high quality graphics comprising up to 10 colors using high-definition reverse rotogravure printing imparting a premium look to a commodity product.
Commenting on the award, Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director of Uflex, said, “It is a humbling moment for Uflex that SafePack has been awarded for technological innovation by none other than DuPont. This award is a further acknowledgement of Uflex’s continued commitment towards innovation and value addition to clients’ businesses. I would like to congratulate the entire team involved in the development of SafePack for developing such a revolutionary product that has been able to curb the serious challenge that the cement industry has been grappling with.”
