Patents have been granted in Europe and the USA for a plastic coating that can be used in packaging material both for liquid and dry food stuff cartons. Called Ensobarr, the new barrier coating created by Enso Paperboards is said to give packaging board superior protective qualities than conventionalplastic-based barrier layers and has comparable performance to aluminium foil. It is also reported to make the packages easier to recycle than conventional packages made of thick polymer or aluminium laminates1. The coating, now available for a range of packaging applications also meets the latest German monomaterial criteria that suggests a maximum limit of 5 per cent weight of other than the main material2.

"The Ensobarr coating has only three layers instead of the normal four or more. This means a lower overall weight and more of the coating can be concentrated at the actual sealing," says Tapani Penttinen, Development Manager at Enso Paperboards in Karhula, Finland. "The result is a more effective gas, aroma and grease tight coating. This extends shelf life and improves hygiene of the product. The sealing properties of the coating also make it suitable for sterile packaging applications."

Protective barrier
This new sealable barrier has been developed to improve the protective qualities of a variety of packaging types. As a result, the Ensobarr range offers the ability to match a coating thickness and associated quality of paperboard tailored to the particular packaging requirements. Ensobarr, for example is suitable for use in packaging juice, soups, water, wine, yoghurt, cooking oil and liquid detergents.
Dry ingredients such as spices, candies, pastries, food and even cosmetics can also benefit from this sealing system. For such applications where the coating thickness would be up to 30 microns, the Finnish supplier would normally use a stiff, lightweight paperboard such as Enso Performa. For liquids ingredients, where coatings of over 30 microns are recommended, the associated paperboard would be Enso Natura.
Tapani Penttinen points out, "The thickness of the barrier can be adapted from less than 15 to more than 60 microns." He says that use of the new coating would half the size of the protective layer while retaining or even improving the protective properties when compared with traditional plastic coatings such as low density polyethylene.

Technical explanations:
1) The coating is not recyclable, but the Ensobarr coating improves the recyclability of the packages compared to the alternatives due to lower coating thickness.
2) Explanation for the interpreter: A monomaterial should consist of at least 95 per cent of one material. General rule, not only for paper packages.

Captions
1. Ensobarr, a coating for packaging liquids has been granted patents in Europe and the USA.
2. The Ensobarr construction has only three layers. This minimises weight while still preserving the quality of liquid contents in packages.


For further information, please contact:
Enso Marketing Co. Ltd.
Enso House, New Mill Road
GB-ORPINGTON, Kent BR5 3QA
Tel: 01689 836 911; Fax: 01689 829 732

Yrjö Aho
Enso Oy, Enso Paperboards
FIN-55800 Imatra, Finland
Tel: +358 2046 224; Fax: +358 2046 24767

Tapani Penttinen
P.O.Box 25
FIN:48601 Karhula, Finland
Tel: +358 2046 26755; Fax: +358 2046 26774

Enso (Middle East)
P.O.B. 61265, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
tel. +971 4 836 819; fax +971 4 836 826
(Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen)

Enso-Eurocan Hong Kong Ltd.
Rm.1406 14th Floor, World Trade Centre
280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, HONG KONG
tel. +852 2895 2063; fax +852 2576 1480

Enso-Eurocan Hong Kong Ltd.
Beijing Office, Rm. 808 Scitech Tower
22 Jianguomenwai Avenue, BEIJING 100004, China
tel. +86 10 6515 7178; fax +86 10 6515 7179

Enso-Eurocan South East Asia Pte. Ltd.
Representative Office
Block 154-2-11
Kompleks Maluri, Jalan Jejaka, 55100 KUALA LUMPUR
tel +60 3 981 8122; fax +60 3 987 3122

Enso-Eurocan South East Asia Pte. Ltd.
360 Orchard Road
# 11-01 International Building, SG-SINGAPORE 238869
tel. +65 235 3485; fax +65 737 4278

Enso-Eurocan Far East Co. Ltd.
KM Nishiumeda Bldg.
20-1, Fukushima 7-chome, Fukushima-ku, J-OSAKA 553, Japan
tel. +81 6 455 6811; fax +81 6 455 8811

Eurofinn Services
N.A. Krokidis-N.D. Tsoliakos Ltd.
44, Amalias Avenue, GR-10558 ATHENS, Greece
tel. +30 1 323 4828; fax +30 1 322 2169

Enso Italia S.r.l.
Piazza S. Camillo de Lellis, 1, I-20124 MILAN, Italy
tel. +39 2 670 871; fax +39 2 669 7516

Fins Verkoopkantoor
P.O.B. 9030, NL-1006 AA AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
tel. +31 20 667 6200; fax +31 20 619 8205

Enso International, Inc.
281 Tresser Blvd., 15th Floor, STAMFORD, CT 06901, USA
tel. +1 203 978 1755; fax +1 203 978 1237

Enso International, Inc.
2550 Leavenworth St., Suite 2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133, USA
tel. +1 415 567 1295; fax +1 415 567 1281

Enso Interamericas, Inc.
8750 Doral Boulevard, Suite 270, MIAMI, FL 33178, USA
tel. +1 305 716 9799; fax +1 305 716 5441

T.S.P. Inc.
2 Main Street, CHATHAM, New Jersey 07928
tel. +1 201 635 3530; fax +1 201 635 1680

Paper Agencies (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
554 Burwood Road, HAWTHORN, Vic. 3122 tel. +61 3 9819 4911; fax +61 3 9819 4250

Paper Agencies (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
Suite 5, 102 Alfred Street, MILSONS POINT, NSW2061
tel. +61 2 9957 3177 ;fax +61 2 9957 1505

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