The third instalment of our Insights series spotlights Wipak Bordi, one of our key manufacturing units located in Caorso, Italy. Boasting a recent major site upgrade, Bordi specializes in the production of a wide range of customized pouches – including stand-up styles and gusseted versions – as well as coffee bags, vacuum bags and plastic bottle caps, with added features like Stabilo Seals.
The plant’s expertise in this field was honed over more than 60 years, operating under the name Bordi Carlo s.r.l. before Wipak acquired it in 2012. Since then, our adaptable services and innovation have received widespread international recognition.
This year has seen the completion of the first phase of an ambitious makeover project at Bordi, which will be the proud home of a state-of-the-art food pouch facility, complete with its very own Packaging Innovation Centre. So, what better time to delve a little deeper into what makes this unit tick? Join us for a whistle-stop tour of the site, with a special focus on its bag and pouch development.
About
Wipak Bordi stands out as a pioneer in flexible packaging, combining know-how, customizability and a wealth of experience to formulate sustainable solutions for any product. We are at the forefront of packaging design, with an industry-leading offering of pre-made bags and pouches. Rapid sealing, a strong oxygen barrier, sustainable material combinations, heat resistance and printability are just a few of the features we can develop and areas in which we can help.
Environmental protection is one of the guiding principles for our daily work. To this end, intensive research into raw materials, energy efficiency and carbon emissions occurs in tandem with manufacturing our sustainable solutions. We work actively on new materials, whilst seeking to optimize existing ones, with the aim of reducing waste and energy consumption. Our own solar facilities generate most of the energy needed for our production line.
Logistical Gains
As with everything Wipak does, benefits are maximized for economic efficiency all the way through the value chain thanks to our circular economy model. You only need to glance at a rigid 3kg tomato can and eight flexible flat pouches to ascertain which is the lighter and preferable option for holding the same volume. This saving on packaging weight could reach 85%, whilst reducing secondary packaging volume by up to 95% when comparing the number of pouches that could be fitted into the same space taken up by cans. Best of all, the product stays just as fresh, for just as long, with the same amount distributed across a greater number of state-of-the-art sustainable solutions. For distributors, one pallet of empty pouches equates to 29 pallets of empty tins, meaning fewer trips for them and fewer carbon emissions for the environment. For producers, our pre-formed pouches undergo quality control tests to ensure the seal is robust enough for the rigours of transportation, as well as supermarket life.
Consumer Benefits
Consumer benefits are so wonderfully varied that they are more than deserving of their own moment in the limelight. Pouch packaging advantages include:
Creative Solutions
Now it’s time to place our packaging features further under the microscope. First up is a versatile barrier, which can protect a product from oxygen, water vapour, aromas, light and bacteria. Factor prioritisation is of course tailored to the product and its shelf life requirements, with protection always our main objective.
Our broad range of functional and stable sealing layers ensure a perfect fit for any application, enhancing protection and machinability for high-speed processing and manufacturing.
Our similarly extensive portfolio of deep-freeze and refrigerator-counter applications caters for hot fillings, microwaving, pasteurization and sterilization, with a temperature range of -50 to 130°C, ensuring optimum safety for any product. These temperature-resistant multilayer films are of a reduced thickness thanks to intelligent and energy-efficient material combinations and production methods, marrying form with functionality to create the best possible solution.
For those more aesthetically inclined, Wipak Bordi supplies premium print design and film printing across flexo-, rotogravure and inkjet digital methods. Specialist surface effects and more intricate designs and textures – including matte, gloss, haptic and tactile lacquers – are all made possible with our revolutionary technology, together with paper-printing and watermarking thanks to our Digimarc brand.
Pouches
So now you’ve heard what our pouches can do, but what about the specifics? Let’s hone in on two popular and fully customizable types: stand-up and spouted.
Wipak Bordi’s stand-up pouches are available in all manner of formats, complete with a bottom gusset and large front and back panel, making them a perfect fit for eye-catching gravure or flexo-prints.
Meanwhile, our spouted pouches act as an extension of our stand-up range, with all of the aforementioned benefits and the added bonus of a screw-cap spout. Tamper-evident options are also a possibility, alongside a whole host of packaging shapes and forms – both heat-treated and non-heat-treated – to complement unique designs and appeal to consumers on the supermarket shelf.
Bags
Much like our pristine pouches, our brilliant bags have a variety of features and options to meet your every need. We’ll be taking a look at two kinds: stabilo and gusset.
Wipak Bordi’s stabilo bags are available with a quad- or four-corner seal, featuring two side gussets for a reinforced structure and improved shape maintenance when filled. They are perfect for heavier or high-volume applications, with a “single lip” option to partially seal the bag top and cater for use on a stand-up pouch filling line.
Last but not least, our gusset bags – as the name suggests – feature two side gussets, a bottom seal and a single seal that can be placed either on the back or side of the packaging. This is particularly useful for keeping coffee beans and dry powders fresh so you can enjoy your morning cup of joe.
Conclusion
So there you have it. An admittedly brief, but nonetheless highly informative, tour of our Bordi plant and the magic that goes into making it the iconic location it is amongst our employees. We innovate. We contribute. We care. Wipak.
