Copol International
How do you make steamed vegetables a convenience food? By using a sophisticated package that can take them from freezer to microwave, ready to serve in minutes.
Food-safe packaging film that performs in high and low temperatures, works well with processing equipment, and bonds to itself and other materials, is one of the innovative products made by Copol International, a CPP (Cast Unoriented Polypropylene) film manufacturer in North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Called RP423BX, it’s a three-layer CPP product used primarily as a sealant layer for heat-resistant food pouches and freezer packaging, including freezer-to-microwave.
Working closely with a major customer and its polypropylene resin manufacturers’ R&D groups, Copol developed the product in 2007 in response to growing demand for convenience food packages, especially those that allow microwave steam cooking.
“It’s a sophisticated product,” says David Sawler, Copol’s VP Operations, “as the properties of the material have to stand up at freezing temperatures and cooking temperatures.” But Sawler says they like a challenge and the opportunity to create a specialty product for a customer.
The challenge came in Spring 2007, when PolyCello - an Amherst, N.S. flexographic printer - was looking for exactly that kind of product.
“The direction toward convenience microwave cooking was growing in the market,” says Dawn MacDonald, PolyCello’s Innovation and R&D Manager. “We knew our customers would ask for this kind of packaging, so we started collaborating with Copol to develop it.”
MacDonald says coming up with the right material for the job was the result of a technical collaboration between the two companies. After extensive research and testing, PolyCello chose RP423BX as a vital component of the lamination that comprises the microwave package. PolyCello’s new product line, MicroPack™, was launched in 2008.
“We’re fans of Copol,” says MacDonald. “When you call, the staff are enthusiastic, professional, knowledgeable and very accommodating. And their lead time is well above the industry norm. If we need something fast, they take that seriously.”
Copol has produced CPP films since 1992, growing from a first-year production of one million pounds to 10 million pounds today. Forty-seven people work at their 90,000square-foot, round-the-clock facility in Cape Breton, with an additional seven sales and marketing reps across North America. “Thirty per cent of our business is with Canadian manufacturers and converters,” says Sawler, “and 70 per cent is with the US.”
CPP has a unique set of characteristic - clarity, flexibility, crispness, barrier qualities, printability, heat resistance, and ability to bond to itself and other materials - that make it suited for certain packaging and manufacturing applications. The company produces a broad range of general-purpose and performance films that can be used on their own, or with other materials to get the exact properties clients are looking for.
Food packaging - from bread bags to boil-in-bag pouches to twist candy wrappers - is Copol’s single largest area of operation, making up about 30 per cent of their business, with textile/hosiery packaging and consumer goods packaging each making up about 20 per cent. Medical and dental applications are a potential growth area, with CPP already being used in autoclave sterilization packets.
For items like bread bags, Sawler says CPP has an advantage over the more common LDPE. “Our type of film material gives a much more dramatic finish. It has higher surface gloss, greater crispness.” He says CPP is often used for higher-end breads, like multi-grains. “When it’s printed, the finish really gets that pop-off-the-shelf surface look that the client wants. That’s our real competitive advantage.”
For produce and salad bags, CPP’s gas permeability properties are a plus, extending product life. “For items like fruits and vegetables,” says Sawler, “even a few days extra of product freshness makes a difference.”
Because of CPP’s heat resistance and bondable qualities, Copol has found markets in industrial applications, which Sawler says has been a growth area.
Their HP205 film is designed for “hot fill tar bags” used in roofing. Hot tar can be poured directly into the bag, which is then sealed and let cool. At the job site the filled bags go directly into the heater and melt without effect on the tar, says Sawler.
In the automotive industry, CPP is often used in the headliner area between the mouldable sheeting and a sound barrier, like carpet. “When the layers are heated, our film melts and bonds the materials together,” says Sawler.
Even though the automobile industry is in a state of flux, Sawler is confident this market will reinvent itself. “They will be looking for vendors that can consistently meet just-in-time delivery schedules, deliver a quality product and fulfill smaller lot sizes,” says Sawler, “something Copol can do.”
The ability to focus on clients’ needs and emerging growth areas is one of Copol’s strengths, he says. “We want to continually develop new products and partner with new customers.”
