"Our ability to adapt to changes, to the new regulatory and technological framework, will represent a great opportunity."
Rotor Print offers all types of flexible, sustainability-oriented packaging for various sectors, with a focus on pharmaceuticals. All manufacturing processes take place in cleanrooms with ISO 8 environmental conditions. Santiago Olivares explains the latest innovations.
As head of innovation, what areas is the research focusing on?
Flexible packaging has undergone a rapid transformation in recent years, driven by new regulations, pressures from brands, and advances in materials science.
As a result, the flexible packaging sector currently faces many challenges; one of the main ones, undoubtedly, is the evolution of current material specifications towards recyclable structures. Some packaging companies started down this path some time ago and have made significant progress, but there is still a long way to go for a segment of the market; solutions are not always easy, given the need to guarantee functionality with existing equipment without jeopardizing the profitability of the processes.
We're not just talking about films, but also inks, varnishes, coatings, laminating adhesives… All the players involved are working very actively, offering the market new materials with improved performance; we must be able to introduce them quickly, bearing in mind that the approval processes by the packaging companies can be lengthy.
A key point is collaboration with our clients, making these alternatives available to them as soon as they become commercially available, and assisting them during the homologation processes.
In pharmaceutical packaging, some of the main innovations are occurring in medical devices. Is prioritizing patient adherence to treatment and ease of use?
The packaging of medical devices is currently optimized in three key aspects: sterility, safety, and functionality.
Historically, these types of materials have been designed almost exclusively from a technical standpoint: to enable sterilization, ensure physical integrity, and comply with regulations. However, in recent years, another reality has gained importance: many devices are used not only in the operating room or hospital, but also at home by patients or non-expert caregivers. Since packaging influences how a person opens, understands, prepares, and uses a device, it is no longer just a wrapper, but rather an integral part of the usage system.
The user doesn't interact with the device itself first, but with its surroundings; poor packaging design can hinder use, increasing the risk of mishandling and potential contamination. Therefore, it's not enough for the packaging to simply be functional; it must also help the patient understand what to do, in what order, and with what precautions.
When faced with two devices that may appear technically similar, ease of use and the perception of quality and safety can provide a competitive advantage.
Another avenue of research is developing more sustainable packaging for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals. What are the main challenges they face?
It's important to remember that the packaging industry has operated for many years with structures that were perhaps not sufficiently optimized, without considering their environmental impact. These structures focused on achieving the necessary barriers to protect products, ensuring performance on packaging lines, and maintaining reasonable operating costs. The landscape has changed, and previous standards are no longer sufficient. Traditional combinations of materials in multilayer complexes are no longer an option, as they are not considered recyclable.
It's important to note that regulations don't affect all sectors equally; cosmetics and nutraceuticals are heavily impacted by regulatory changes, but pharmaceuticals are not. This situation creates certain inconsistencies, as a nutraceutical product might also require very high barriers to entry without any alternatives on the market. For this reason, I believe we should consider whether the regulations imposed in the EU are adapted to the needs of all markets and all product categories. Couldn't some procedures be simplified to expedite the transition to sustainable structures? I'm thinking of eliminating patents or facilitating changes to health agency registrations.
As a result of the regulatory obligations of the pharmaceutical sector, the processes of validation and registration of alternatives to existing structures are usually complicated and very long in time, so agility is lost, compared to other product categories.
It is key to continue protecting products adequately, but do we know what adequate protection is?
When there is a virtually absolute barrier, this point is not a cause for concern, but now we have to decide on alternatives that, in many cases, offer lower levels of protection; in pharma, this possible reduction is a difficulty, in some cases, insurmountable.
It's also important to consider that, at the time of use, the consumer is very likely to lack the tools to open the packaging, making easy opening a key issue for this category. With traditional materials, this has been resolved, but the shift to recyclable structures presents an added challenge, as performance is not the same. Choosing the right materials becomes essential, with polymer molecules oriented either machine-oriented or bidirectionally, depending on the type of packaging. Alternatively, pre-cuts can be added during the manufacturing of multilayer complexes or during the packaging process. These can also be good options.
Rotor Print has been awarded precisely for the sustainability of its pharmaceutical packaging, such as the 100% PET blister pack and the recyclable mono PO stick. Will they present other single-material solutions that improve recyclability?
The case of the recyclable polyolefin stick is an evolution already consolidated in many product categories, not only in the pharmaceutical sector; a possible improvement in recyclability may go in the direction of implementing single-material solutions.
Based on this, we will present small modifications adapted to the needs of each client, just as we have been doing with conventional materials; for example, we can talk about the evolution to mono PP, considered to be more recyclable, or the modification of current materials to improve their machinability characteristics (sealing, thermal resistance, tearing related to the orientation of the film).
In the case of the 100% PET blister pack, there are certain technical aspects that need to be improved to ensure the correct extraction of the product (push-through) while maintaining the seal of the assembly and, therefore, the levels of protection; it is a difficult balance to achieve, and we are working, applying different technologies, to optimize it.
Can you explain why flexible doypack packaging is more sustainable than rigid packaging like an HDPE container?
First, I would like to point out that packaging materials and types cannot be considered inherently good or bad; each type of packaging has characteristics that must be evaluated based on each specific case and its particular needs. This evaluation must be carried out using rigorous technical methods. In the case of environmental impact, it is essential to conduct a life cycle assessment by accredited organizations.
In one of the projects we have worked on, analyzing the packaging of 350g of a powdered product, and comparing a rigid container with a doypack with a zipper, the carbon footprint data, expressed as grams of CO2 equivalent, are very revealing.
The first aspect to consider is the consumption of raw materials; the weight of the rigid container is 67,34g, while the weight of the doypack is 9,6g; both the extraction of raw materials and the transformation costs are multiplied in the comparison.
Logistics also has a considerable impact. In the case of rigid packaging, transport from the manufacturer's facilities to the packer's is highly inefficient, as a large amount of air is transported; this is not the case with doypacks, since a single 2.000-meter roll allows for the production of almost 15.000 packages, drastically reducing transport requirements. The cost of distributing the final product is also affected, although to a lesser extent.
Adding all these concepts together, we achieve a reduction per package from 232 to 35 grams of CO2 equivalent, which represents a decrease of more than 85%.
What other packaging solutions stand out for their sustainability and why?
To reduce the environmental impact of packaging, work can be done at several levels.
First, if the structure is already considered recyclable by design, a simple action would be to reduce its thickness and weight. With the same composition, lighter packaging represents an improvement in sustainability..
Secondly, the composition must be considered, taking into account not only the films themselves, but also, as previously mentioned, the other components. In the ranking, we begin to consider polyolefin combinations (polyethylene and polypropylene) as recyclable; single-material structures (only polyethylene or only polypropylene) are considered more easily recyclable. A minimum content of these films is required to ensure their recyclability.
Thirdly, the packaging as a whole must be considered; elements that are recyclable separately may not be when put together in the same container; let's think of a rigid container made of a certain material that is sealed at the top with a flexible film; if both are of a different nature and are not designed to be easily separated by the consumer, the residues that may remain after consumption will hinder (or even prevent in some cases) recycling.
Finally, and no less importantly, the structural design of the packaging must allow for its correct identification and separation in sorting plants using optical sorters; without good separation, mechanical recycling is not possible.
The development of new barrier solutions (coatings), both for polymers and for cellulosic structures, may offer environmental improvements in the future.
It is important to note that waste separation and recycling technologies are evolving rapidly; as, for example, chemical recycling capacity increases, structures that cannot be considered recyclable today, or post-consumer waste, will be able to be recycled efficiently and cost-effectively in the future.
What are the main challenges when it comes to achieving sustainable and innovative packaging specifically for these sectors?
The first challenge, as I mentioned earlier, is to define the appropriate structure, taking into account aspects such as barriers, puncture resistance, bursting resistance, friction coefficients, rigidity, ease of use, etc.
Once the new specification is established, we face perhaps the main challenge: ensuring the material works on the existing machines at the packaging facilities, maintaining process speeds and waste levels, and producing packages with a perfect external appearance on the shelves. A reduction in speed or an increase in waste has an immediate impact on profitability.
In the outer layers, we must use materials with adequate heat resistance to ensure sealing operations without deformation; in the intermediate layers, we must achieve suitable barriers with the minimum possible thickness to avoid hindering recyclability; and in the inner layers, we must use materials with a low sealing start temperature. It is essential to stay closely informed about new developments from material manufacturers to offer the best solution at any given time.
On the other hand, it is crucial not to reduce the shelf life of products. Doing so has significant implications, as it could lead to smaller production batch sizes, increased line changeovers and therefore downtime, and consequently, higher costs.
The veterinary category is growing in pharmacies, in parallel with overall growth in the sector. What packaging solutions are you working on?
The packaging sector for this category is responding with the same solutions we already have in pharmaceuticals, but adapted to the particularities of the animal product; we are talking about migration towards recyclable structures (basically replacing polyester, aluminum and PVC).
It is important to use materials with a light barrier (UV radiation) for those cases in which protection of the active ingredients is required.
There is a clear trend towards premium formats, in line with the "premiumization" of everything related to the pet world.
We're seeing a trend toward pre-configured packs by weight to avoid dosing errors, and more precise information with species-specific instructions, which reduces mistakes and makes life easier for both veterinarians and pet owners. The easy opening of these single-dose containers is an important point to consider.
In the legislative sphere, how are you affected by the changes imposed by the new regulations on waste and packaging?
The main legislative change is the new European regulation PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), which replaces the old packaging directive.
In our sector, this is having and will continue to have a major impact, as its requirements are often not aligned with solutions widely used in the packaging industry.
First, the reduction of packaging waste, starting with 10% in 2030 and reaching 20% in 2040, based on 2018 data. Although part of the sector already began reducing weight years ago, it remains a huge challenge in the current context, as consumption has grown and e-commerce has driven up the use of packaging.
It is necessary to re-evaluate the empty space that the packaging contains inside (head space), reducing it as much as technically possible, to contribute to that overall reduction.
Film manufacturers are launching increasingly thinner films to meet this requirement; however, the impact on reducing certain mechanical characteristics of the packaging, such as rigidity, must be evaluated, as this may give consumers the perception that the product quality is being reduced.
It is interesting to note that this also presents an opportunity for our sector, since products traditionally packaged in rigid containers can be switched to flexible packaging, which is much lighter, as confirmed in the case explained above.
Secondly, the requirement that packaging be recyclable, an objective already extensively discussed in this interview, makes it necessary to review all the specifications of each packager, propose alternatives in case of non-compliance, and validate them on the packaging lines.
Third, the use of a percentage of recycled material. Mechanical recycling is a good source of supply in some cases, such as for bottled water in PET bottles, but its availability for other applications is very limited, practically restricted to post-industrial recycling (cuts and process waste that never became packaging with the product inside); for food and pharmaceutical applications, it remains unfeasible at this time in terms of economies of scale. Chemical recycling would address this problem, making it possible to recycle post-consumer materials, even for multilayer structures that are not mechanically recyclable. However, currently, the availability of chemically recycled polymers is negligible (between 0,3 and 0,5%), and of these, only half are used in packaging.
Finally, the restriction on the use of certain substances has an impact on the formulation of inks, adhesives and barrier coatings, which again implies technical validations in the printing and lamination processes, to ensure the robustness of the solutions.
In general, these regulations are having a cross-cutting impact on the entire packaging sector. However, the pharmaceutical sector presents some important particularities, as in many cases it is exempt or subject to stricter regulatory requirements regarding safety, which limit the direct application of some of these measures, especially concerning the use of recycled materials or changes in packaging structures.
Even so, we must continue to actively work towards the same sustainability goals, collaborating with pharmaceutical customers and suppliers to develop optimized solutions that reconcile regulatory compliance with product safety.
You have extensive experience in packaging. How do you see the current state of the sector? What is the global standing of Spanish companies and Spanish research?
The sector in Spain generates around €1.500-1.600 billion; it is a highly fragmented sector comprised mostly of small and medium-sized Spanish family businesses (although there are exceptions), and subsidiaries of large multinationals. There is also a high degree of geographical concentration, with Catalonia and the Valencian Community as the main hubs.
Spanish companies produce very high-quality printing, both flexographic and gravure, and are excellent at implementing customized solutions. I believe one of our main strengths is our close relationship with our clients: we know how to listen to them. Furthermore, I think we also excel in flexibility, adapting quickly to requirements. Part of this flexibility is our ability to handle not only long print runs, but also medium and short ones.
With a few exceptions, we have a high degree of technological dependence, since most of the innovation in materials comes from large international chemical groups; one could say that we are much stronger in conversion than in basic chemistry.
And what about sustainability?
We are well positioned in the areas of sustainability, eco-design and recyclability, offering solutions to our clients' needs; in this regard, it is worth highlighting the collaboration of companies with technology centers, which gives us a great capacity for specialized industrial transfer in environmental impact and collaborative models.
The research is closely linked to industry, allowing the development of directly industrializable solutions, and enabling almost immediate plant validation.
We can say that Spanish research in flexible packaging does not lead in the development of new disruptive polymers, but it does lead in how to better use existing polymers, how to make them recyclable, how to adapt them to regulations and how to bring them to market.
It is worth noting that, in our business ecosystem, we also have cases of some companies that have developed technology centers, with a large, highly specialized workforce; this allows innovation to be not only scientific, but, fundamentally, operational.
In conclusion, we could say that we are at a key moment where our ability to adapt to changes, specifically to the new regulatory and technological framework, will represent a great opportunity for our companies.
