ILLIG at Interpack 2011: Distinctly shaped food packaging with undercuts can now be produced by thermoforming

At the Interpack trade fair held in Düsseldorf on May 12 – 18, ILLIG presents solutions for thermoforming retail packaging containers with distinctly undercut contours.

Previously a domain of injection and blow molding, undercut shapes thus become available in thermoforming to produce packaging of eye-catching design – from cups for jam, sandwich spreads, creamy puddings or fruit yogurts to diverse bottles, e.g., for juice, isotonic beverages or drinkable yogurt products. A BF 70 type forming and punching machine is employed for this purpose. Its concept reflects ILLIG's many years of experience in cup forming and dairy product processing equipment and supports direct interfacing and integration with filling and sealing machines.

In terms of visual appearance, the new undercut thermoformed items are indistinguishable from their injection-molded or blow-molded counterparts. The key difference lies in the molding weight – thermoformed articles are "lightweight", having a mass which may be as much as 40% lower (depending on the application) than that of products made by a competitor process. Given today's resource-saving and cost-cutting drives, this in itself is a huge advantage, especially in conjunction with a distinctive packaging design that ensures high recognition value on the retail shelf. Yet despite this substantial weight reduction, the stiffness and stability required of the packaging in each given application (e.g., top load) is reliably preserved thanks to the high process control repeatability afforded by today's thermoforming technology.