MultiFlex™, a new paper-based barrier packaging material, will make its debut this month at Pack Expo Las Vegas. The patented, US FDA-approved substrate from Stevens Point, WI-based Stora Enso Global Specialty Papers Group (www.storaenso.com) is an aluminum-free packaging solution for lidding, pouch and oil- and grease-resistant (OGR) applications.

An international team of paper scientists at Stora Enso spent more than three years developing MultiFlex with the goal of creating a sustainable paper-based barrier material as a viable alternative to films and foils. Designed to preserve food freshness by building a strong barrier to moisture and oxygen, MultiFlex also reportedly seals in natural aromas and flavors as well as complies with all FDA requirements for direct food contact. Being a metal-free solution, MultiFlex improves post-fill inspection for metal contaminants, says Stora Enso.

The substrate is said to accept any print method and needs no additional coating or surface treatment. MultiFlex reportedly provides lidding converters with a clean seal and peel layer. For standup pouch applications, it can improve on-shelf appearance by increasing package strength and integrity, along with print quality, and does not suffer the pin-holing typically experienced with aluminum-based laminates, Stora Enso says. MultiFlex OGR also offers a new fluorochemical-free alternative to conventional grease-resistant papers for applications such as pet food and bakery goods.

A leader in many horticultural industries, Israel is on the cutting edge of managing irrigation, nutrients and even wavelengths of light to optimize floral and vegetable production. Negev-based converter Polysack's (www.polysack.com) AlumiNet (right) provides shade and temperature control for greenhouses in the punishing desert sun, and its ChromatiNet (above) lets horticulturalists fine-tune the light that enters greenhouses, plant rows or orchards.

The products are the result of close collaboration with compatriot converter CLP Industries, Inc. (Negba, Israel). CLP supplies extrusion-laminated film to Polysack, which incorporates a proprietary resin to protect Polysack's metallized, high-density polyethylene film. Rolls of the extrusion-laminated web are then slit and woven by Polysack to create various nets. "[Polysack] uses our know-how on the bonding of the coating to its oriented HDPE," says Rani Stern, CLP chief technical officer. CLP Packaging Solutions is the company's US subsidiary in Fairfield, NJ (www.clppackagingsolutions.com).

When cellphone maker Motorola wanted to more definitively position its Original™ line of premium accessories, it knew that the typical plastic clamshells or carded blister-packs were far too passé. Motorola found its solution in the new InSight Slider™ package from converter AGI/Klearfold (www.agiklearfold.com).

Combining a printed, scored plastic sleeve with a foldover, vacuum-formed tray, the Insight Slider provides on-shelf differentiation and satisfied Motorola's aesthetic requirements while also adding product protection and tamper-evidence. The sleeves are flexo-printed in nine colors and screen-printed in one color—all in one pass. Rather than using hot-foil stamping, AGI/Klearfold employs a metallic-silver flexo ink, along with pearlized inks. The locking tray conforms to the accessory shape and reportedly secures the product inside without the need for radio frequency, heat or sonic sealing.