Robert Hogan is director of sales and marketing for Zip-Pak, a division of Illinois Tool Works, a US$ 10 billion company encompassing more than 600 businesses worldwide that produce materials for the food and beverage, automotive, construction, and manufacturing industries, among others. Mr. Hogan is a member of the ITW Patent Society and holds several patents in resealable packaging technology.

Today, Zip-Pak is the leader in developing new resealable packaging technologies. The company’s closures help retain freshness or containment for products ranging from shredded and chunk cheese to tortillas, produce and frozen vegetables; from pet food to potting soil. Zip-Pak’s packaging can be found in nearly every aisle of the supermarket as well as in a host of foodservice, medical and industrial applications. Recent innovations include Powder-Proof Zipper, ZIP-PAK RETORT, ZIP-PAK SLIDER, Perf Cap Zipper Tape and QUICK-ZIP SLIDER.

Indian Printer and Publisher— Packaging as a whole and flexible packaging is growing in double digits in India. And so is organised retailing. What are the convenience technologies for packaging that may interest the Indian market?

Robert Hogan Our technology, resealable zippers for flexible packaging applications is viewed as a value-added convenience product. For multi-portion packages, it offers the consumer repeated use of the package, retaining freshness and containing the product without the need to transfer to another container. Within our line of products we offer specialty products, such as Powder Proof for granular and powdery products, High Temp zipper for retort and microwave applications and Zip-Pak Slider the most recent and easiest to use zipper product.

Are these technologies appropriate for food packaging? Do they work for liquids too?
While some applications are for non-food items such as wet wipes, razor blades and cotton balls, most of our customers around the world are packagers of food and pet food. Our major markets are shredded cheese, sliced luncheon meat, pet treats, produce, fruit, frozen foods, cereal and powdered drink mixes. Many of our profiles are liquid resistent, and some applications are liquid or moist products.

Are special materials or flexibles needed or are they part of the normal family of laminates that are used?
Our products can be incorporated into a wide range of film types, from mono-layer LDPE and PP to a variety of laminate structures, including metalized barrier films.

What are the decoration or printing techniques used. Are there any special precautions?
Our zipper products are not printed, however we offer a Colorline as a trademark of Zip-Pak.

What is the cost of implementing these technologies?
We offer several different technologies with various value added features. For a typical six inch wide package, the price for the zipper, depending upon features, would cost between US$.005 to US$.04 per package. (From half a cent to four cents per package.) Compared to adhesive labels, zipper technology is very affordable.