Constantia haendler & natermann has created a remarkably thin neck foil label for chang beer which uses an 8.8µm, soft tampered, aluminium foil alloy. The thickness of neck foil has been reduced, over time, from something like 13µm to 10.5µm and most recently down to 9.5µm. This not only offers material savings, but also downstream advantages during the recyclingreuse process.
This leads to lower emissions of hydrocarbon and thus less heat dissipation from the washer but also has a positive impact on wastewater treatment, as the aluminium foil completely dissolves in the caustic bath and extending the caustic wash efficiency by up to 10. The foil is one side lacquered and rotogravure printed, embossed and partially deembossed, perforated and then diecut into individual labels. Inks and coatings also dissolve in the caustic solution without any residuals.
As sodium hydroxide needs to be replaced regularly to maintain cleaning effectiveness, any extended use is a critical cost factor for breweries. In addition, the thinner foil generates more labels per batch, reducing transport and storage costs.
