Dow Performance Packaging, part of The Dow Chemical Company announced this morning that it has overshot its own ambitions in 2012, producing 42 new high performance packaging products during the year – a rate of almost one new product per week. Dow’s innovative approach has created new product lines and expanded existing ones, building on specialist expertise in high performance resins, films and adhesive products. In 2013, the new products are expected to bring in at least 100 million pounds of new business into North America alone, improving Dow’s involvement in higher value applications across the board.

As with all design, packaging is a solution-driven sector, and Dow is committed to be the foremost innovator in the global packaging market, particularly within the food and beverage industries, where its high performance materials and futuristic technologies have created a strong portfolio of products which are set to change the way we preserve and package our food from now into the future.

The company’s accountability extends to the development of end-of-life sustainable solutions for plastic packaging, a must in this new world of environmental concern.

As demand rises for high performance, safe packaging throughout the increasingly food safety conscious world, Dow is leading the way in the advancement of brand new technologies, calling itself the ‘go-to’ choice for the enablement of better and more sustainable packaging innovations.

Some of its new technologies include:

SARANEX™ – barrier films sandwiched between printable polyolefin skins which can be laminated to substrates such as foil, paper, cardboard and others, combining printability, functionality and toughness, as well as excellent protection from gases, water vapor and aromas, amongst other permeations.

SEALUTION™ – a consistently performing peel able seal, provides a solution for easy-open, consumer friendly packages, resistant to splitting, stringing, tearing or shredding.

ADCOTE™ – specially formulated heat resistant adhesives and coatings which can be used in a variety of medical, food and industrial applications, especially for sealing ready meals, sauces and wet pet food.

MOR-FREE™ – fast cure, solvent less adhesives, enabling quick and economic line capacity without volatile organic compounds (VOC) measurement issues, or air handling equipment, and suitable for flexible food packaging applications.

AFFINITY™ – polyolefin plastomers; superior sealants, supplying abuse resistance, ideal for packaging liquids, and exceptional clarity and gloss with excellent optics. Additionally, AFFINITY™ can be used on existing LLDP lines without need for new equipment.

Rapid commercialization of these products is guaranteed by Dow through collaborative solution development with all customer groups within the value chain. Customers are given the opportunity to test out the new technologies in real world conditions and validate new film packaging applications. This customer focus is what gives Dow its competitive edge and is characterized by bespoke packaging applications aligned with regional cultural requirements and preferences. Customers know that they will be catered for in the development of products which are designed specifically for their needs.

Dow’s Film Application Development Center (FADC), in Freeport, Texas, is dedicated to enabling customers to work with the industry’s newest film packaging applications without having to bring their own enterprises offline. The modern, highly equipped facility gives customers the chance to follow the development through concept, fabrication, testing and finalization of the new products.

While the approach itself is innovative, it doesn’t just accelerate the company’s standing within the packaging community and its current customer base. It also increases the creation of new markets for plastic packaging, which in turn leads to further new development and innovation. The FADC has hosted more than 100 companies in 2012 alone, providing its customers and future customers with confidence in its commitment to the development of new products.