LG, Reifenhauser Combine on MDO Push

South Korea resin producer LG Chem and the extrusion machine builder Reifenhäuser have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further develop and market competitive machine direction oriented (MDO)-PE blown films and flat films for recyclable packaging.

The partners are building on a successful track record: In May 2024, the companies had presented the world's first MDO-PE film only 18 micrometers (μm) thick, which had been produced on an EVO Ultra Stretch blown film line from Reifenhäuser with specially developed PE materials.

EVO (short for Evolution) is a novel MDO that’s installed between the haul-off nip-roll assembly and turner-bar system, which Reifenhäuser maintains is an ideal place for stretching and flattening because the film is still warm and more malleable.

Concerning the MOU with LG, Bernd Reifenhäuser, CEO of the Reifenhäuser Group, says: “The demand for flexible monomaterial packaging is growing rapidly. But MDO-PE films must be stable and economical to produce in order to make the leap from a niche to a broad market. With LG Chem and Reifenhäuser, we have found the perfect match of raw material, extrusion technology and process know-how that will pave the way. For the first time, processors will be able to produce recyclable MDO-PE films at competitive production costs in a stable process that can be optimally further processed.”

Adds Dr. Lee Choong Hoon, vice president and head of NCC/PO Business Unit at LG Chem: “We are very pleased to have found an experienced technology partner in Reifenhäuser to successfully combine sustainability and profitability. Our combined technology has achieved unprecedented records in downgauging MDO-PE film — and that was just the beginning. We will continue this path together to accelerate the recyclability for flexible packaging.”

The two companies are also working on further reducing material consumption by downgauging toward the level of conventional PET-PE laminates, which would make the production of MDO-PE films more profitable. Technically, this is achieved due to the different densities of PET film and MDO-PE film by replacing the standard 12-μm PET film with a 16 to 17-μm MDO-PE film. With the reduction to 18 μm, the partners are already very close to achieving this goal.

However, the experts see further potential: “The downgauging limit has not yet been reached,” says Christoph Lettowsky, technical sales manager at Reifenhäuser Blown Film. “Thanks to the patented position of our MDO Ultra Stretch unit directly in the line's haul-off, the film is stretched from the first heat. This makes the process particularly stable, which is otherwise often the limiting factor for material reduction. We therefore see even more scope, which we will use in combination with further recipe developments for even thinner films in the future.”