Spills Are Out with New Spout
- Published: June 01, 2002, By Nsenga Byrd Thompson, Staff Editor
Totani equipment and a successful collaboration lead to Kapak's no-spill flexible pouch.
Kapak Corp.'s new Smart Spout flexible pouch, featuring Seaquist Closures' SimpliSqueeze dispensing technology, is said to mark the first commercially available flexible package that combines state-of-the-art shaped pouches with a no-spill drinking/dispensing spout.
Kapak, a privately held company founded in 1961, is a leading converter of flexible packaging materials. Specializing in a variety of preformed pouches and rollstock, the company's expertise includes a wide array of flexible packaging structures, custom shapes, spout fitments, resealing options, and high quality rotogravure graphics.
Kapak also specializes in both solid and liquid product applications for a variety of markets including food, beverages, coffee, medical, industrial, pet foods, health/beauty aids, agriculture, and chemical.
Pouch Machine Opens Doors
Kapak's new quest in flexible packaging, the Smart Spout flexible pouch, is being produced on a Totani BH 60 pouchmaking machine installed in September 2001 for the purpose of adding more in-line shaped pouch capacity, reports Rick Luftman, Kapak's director of sales and marketing.
The Totani features in-line die-cutting capability and operates with low-cost cutting dies said to provide fast and inexpensive die turnaround times. The machine also has an automatic tri-removal system, allowing the pouches to come off the machine in finished form.
The pouch unit can cut materials to eight mils thick at line speeds to 100/min. Its ability to handle complex shapes and angles opens the doors for marketers to explore more elaborate shapes, according to Luftman.
Collaboration Results in Spout Design
The most significant hurdle for Kapak in developing the package was the spout design. Luftman explains, “We have worked very closely with Seaquist, combining their injection molding expertise with our spouted pouch know-how to bring this technology to flexible packaging.”
Seaquist Closures is a designer of innovative, dispensing closures and dispensing closure systems for consumer packaged goods for the food, beverage, personal care, household, and over-the-counter pharmaceutical markets. The company and its international affiliates manufacture and distribute products worldwide.
“This is our first collaboration with Seaquist,” says Luftman. He says Seaquist was using the SimpliSqueeze technology in PET bottles and wanted to partner with pouch expertise. “Their research led them to Kapak.”
Adds Walt Peterson, sales manager of the beverage market at Seaquist, “We see this as a unique opportunity to marry Seaquist Closures' state-of-the-art SimpliSqueeze dispensing technology with Kapak's leading-edge pouchmaking capability. As a result of our joint effort, we are pleased to be able to offer the market the first commercial introduction of SimpliSqueeze in combination with a flexible pouch.”
The SimpliSqueeze dispensing assembly features a three-piece design consisting of a polypropylene overcap, a PP base fitment with a spout, and a silicone valve. The patented system enables dispensing in two ways: The flexible pouch can be squeezed to evacuate the product through the spout; or the consumer can place his or her lips around the spout and, through suction, draw the liquid up through the valve.
If the pouch is inverted without either of those two actions taking place, the valve holds the product inside the pouch with “no spill, no leaks, and no drips,” says Luftman. Additionally, the pouch reduces in size as the liquid is removed.
Gary Bell, president and CEO of Kapak, reports, “This development is a result of trying to find a commercially viable alternative for beverage and other liquid applications that require a low-cost, no-spill, dispensing system that can function on high-speed filling lines.”
Alternative with Many Applications
After the pouch is made, the SimpliSqueeze fitment assembly is applied via Kapak's newest Hensen Packaging Concepts spout inserting/seal machine. The fitment is adhered to the pouch through a heat seal process, which applies a heat source on two opposite sides of the material/base assembly. (When the pouches are pre-assembled, filling takes place through the spout and valve.)
In the beverage category, the pouch is being positioned as an alternative to single-serve PET bottles. Because Seaquist Closures can customize the spout with more than 70 different valves, customers have the option to use this dispensing system with a wide range of product applications.
Some of the variables that go into customizing the valve to each specific application include product viscosity, pouch size, and desired dispensing characteristics.
Kapak reports applications include products in the following categories: food (syrups, edible oils, vinegars, sauces, etc.); beverages (isotonics, health drinks, power ades, nutritional supplements, etc.); health and beauty aids (shampoos, body washes, etc.); and household, agricultural, and industrial chemicals (cleaning solutions, detergents, etc.).
No spills, many uses. That really is a smart spout!
SUPPLIER INFO
Seaquist Closures, Mukwonago, WI; 262/363-7191; seaquistclosures.com
Totani/Amplas, Green Bay, WI; 920/496-0525; amplas.com
Hensen Packaging Concepts, Bremen, Germany; +49 421-2425 28
