2016/05/30

Cutting overall operating costs with Loctite Liofol LA 7715/LA 6155

New adhesive system from Henkel reduces waste in the production of flexible packages

Costs are a crucial factor in the production of flexible packages. An effective way to cut overall operating costs and optimize net working capital is to reduce waste in production. With its new Loctite Liofol LA 7715/LA 6155 adhesive system, Henkel has realized key advantages with longer pot life and a considerably reduced risk of ink smearing. In addition, the specialist in food-safe laminating adhesives offers its advice and expertise on everything from adhesive selection, web control and adhesive mixing to analytics and advanced training.

The packaging industry is experiencing mounting pressure on costs, particularly in the area of flexible packaging for foods, including baby food and pet food. Yet many of the factors are beyond the control of packaging material manufacturers and the food industry. The rising cost of raw materials, the steady decline in order volumes, growing demand for product variants, high standards of food safety and workplace health and safety are external factors that impact in some cases severely on margins. A viable and effective way of reducing overall operating costs is to curb waste in production. To do just this, Henkel, the world’s leading solution provider for adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings, has several innovative products.

Reducing losses with LA 7715/LA 6155
In the bid to prevent wastage and loss in production, two factors can be crucial: long adhesive pot life and an immaculate appearance without the orange peel effect, blistering, or ink smearing. Used together with hardener LA 6155, Henkel’s new laminating adhesive Loctite Liofol LA 7715 scores on both counts.

Long pot life
The new adhesive system offers a long pot life in combination with very fast curing – with positive effects not only on overall operating costs. It also enables users to ship out laminated materials quickly and thus improve net working capital. Longer pot life is highly beneficial, for example, when machines are shut down for cleaning or to change the machine set-up. In many cases, rather than having to scrap and write off the adhesive used before machine outages, users can continue to use it, thus reducing overall adhesive consumption.

Immaculate printing results
In times when growing importance is attached to the esthetics of flexible packaging, the risk of ink smearing merits more detailed consideration. “Immaculate printing results are an absolute must. Poor quality in this area is simply not tolerated. What really counts here is the perfect interplay of adhesive and ink,” explains Regina Müller, Marketing Manager Adhesive Technologies at Henkel. “If the ink and laminating adhesive are incompatible, this can cause ink bleeding or smearing and the produced material then becomes costly scrap.”

Added value and advice from experts
Less wastage in production also means that resources are used more efficiently and less material has to be disposed of. Sustainability benefits which, in the case of Henkel’s solvent-free Loctite Liofol LA 7715/LA 6155, are accompanied by easy processing on the laminator and a very fast cure.
But, as Müller states, Henkel also provides valuable services on top of ensuring reliable supplies of efficient laminating adhesives: “We support our customers in a 360-degree approach covering the choice of raw materials, product development and analytics through to technical customer service and toxicological assessments. We also offer professional education via exclusive customer events, webinars, and other training programs.”

Product innovations at drupa
Henkel is presenting its product innovations at drupa from May 31 to June 10, 2016. Under the motto “Henkel, what’s next? Discover adhesive and coating solutions,” experts will be available at Stand B04 in Hall 14 to provide further information.

Loctite is a registered trademark of Henkel and in Germany and elsewhere.

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business units: 
Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions, both in the consumer and in the industrial businesses, with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel employs about 50,000 people and reported sales of 18.1 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of 2.9 billion euros in fiscal 2015. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX.

Contact	Kerstin Paschen	Press Office: Rashid Elshahed
Phone	+49 211 797-4858	+49 89124451397 
E-mail	kerstin.paschen@henkel.com	henkel.adhesive-technologies@emanatepr.com

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Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

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Loctite Liofol adhesive solutions for a huge variety of applications