Meeting Performance and Regulatory Standards for Packaging Applications

Nexeo Plastics offers commodity and specialized thermoplastics for multiple packaging applications including film, consumer packaged goods, cosmetics, medical, personal care, industrial and more. Beyond logistics, we can support you wherever you are in your production cycle. From design to commercialization, our technical experts work with you to understand application requirements including regulatory, sustainable, process and performance requirements.

Delivering Quality Thermoplastics

We work closely with our suppliers to help ensure materials adhere to applicable regulatory and performance-based standards, including:

  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation (UPLR)
  • Coalition of Northeastern Governors (CONEG)
  • Antimicrobial efficacy
  • Recycled/bio-based content
  • Off-spec content

Material Expertise:

Whether it’s material specification, part design, troubleshooting or assistance during manufacturing tests, we can help tackle your packaging challenges. Our skilled Technical Support Representatives and Application Development Engineers (ADE) have specialized technical expertise in the rigid and flexible packaging market. Our TechConnect Center can help you understand material information, regulatory standards and discover material alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some applications that use thermoplastics in the packaging industry?
Thermoplastics find extensive use in the packaging industry due to their versatility. They are employed in various applications, including bottles, containers, films, and bags, commonly using materials like polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET. Thermoplastics are also essential for blister packaging, caps and closures, and protective packaging solutions like bubble wrap and foam sheets.

What are common plastics that can be used for packaging applications?
Common plastics for packaging applications include Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and Polystyrene (PS). These plastics offer diverse properties suited to various packaging needs, from flexible bags and bottles to rigid containers and protective packaging materials. The choice of plastic depends on factors like product type, desired protection, and sustainability considerations.

What are some features of packaging plastics?
Packaging plastics offer versatility in shape and size, lightweight properties for cost-effective transportation, and excellent barrier capabilities against moisture and gases. They are often transparent, customizable, and chemically resistant, making them suitable for various products. Some packaging plastics prioritize sustainability, and they can incorporate safety features like tamper-evident seals for consumer protection.

Flexible Packaging

Flexible Packaging

What is required for plastic materials used in flexible packaging?

Flexible packaging offers a significant advantage due to its wide range of manufacturing processes available. It can undergo blown film extrusion, cast extrusion, or calendering. These diverse methods make it possible to utilize nearly any thermoplastic resin for creating flexible packaging.

The flexibility in resin choices enables flexible packaging to provide:

  • Effective Oxygen and Vapor Barrier, ensuring the long-term preservation of products.
  • Transparency, allowing consumers to see the contents clearly before purchase.
  • Printability, facilitating effective marketing of your product.
  • Strong water resistance to keep its contents dry.
  • Adaptability to tailor the packaging for long-term product protection.

What plastic materials are typically used on flexible packaging components?

The multitude of manufacturing processes available for flexible packaging enables us to work with a variety of resins, with LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, and, when a barrier is required, PA (polyamides), being among the most commonly used resins.

For flexible packaging, we offer thermoplastics for food, non-food, shrink, stretch and industrial markets. We also supply resins for a variety of manufacturing processes, including injection molding grades for caps and closures, and flexible grades for biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and biaxial-oriented polyamide (BOPA), blown, cast and film lamination applications, with various properties, including high clarity and extensibility.

Rigid Packaging

Rigid Packaging

What are the benefits of using plastics in blow-molded rigid packaging?

The primary advantages lie in the ability to utilize various resins, with weight being the foremost consideration. Compared to our competitive materials, such as glass and steel, plastics are significantly lighter. This results in the capacity to transport less of your product in the same truck, container, or similar, since glass and steel are 20 to 25% heavier. Consequently, you can mitigate transportation weight limitations and reduce freight costs.

Furthermore, plastics offer enhanced durability, displaying higher impact resistance and greater tolerance to transportation handling. This translates to reduced breakage and minimized losses during transit.

For rigid packaging, we can deliver materials that meet stringent performance requirements, including food and medical grade thermoplastic resins for melt strength, barrier, processability, dimensional stability, optics, impact resistance, tamper evidence, reseal ability, sustainability and safety.

Related North American Suppliers

AFC Ecoplastics Plastic Distributor
Braskem Plastic Distributor
Earth Renewable Technologies Plastic Distributor
Envalior Plastic Distributor
ExxonMobil Plastic Distributor
Highsun Plastic Distributor
INEOS Styrolution Plastic Distributor
INVISTA Plastic Distributor
LyondellBasell (LYB) Plastic Distributor
Nexeo Plastics - HIVAL Plastic Distributor

Related European Suppliers

Borealis Plastic Distributor
Ecoplast Plastic Distributor
Invista Plastic Distributor
Ivict Europe GmbH Plastic Distributor
Stora Enso Plastic Distributor
Trinseo Plastic Distributor
Have a Question?