Customers appreciate Lemtapes’ role as a tape supplier but also as an active development partner. Adara Pakkaus of Valkeakoski, Finland relies on Lemtapes’ expertise in the development of reinforcing tapes for packaging as part of its product development process.
Adara manufactures several million corrugated cardboard packages every year using Lemtapes’ reinforcing tapes. The trend in corrugated cardboard packages is toward more consumer communication. Even a large corrugated cardboard package must be a shipping box as well as a consumer package. This means that demands related to the print, visual look and colors made on a package are increasing.
Thinner tape improved weight of package
“A corrugated cardboard package must increasingly be a means for consumer communication yet it also needs to retain its durability when being carried. Lemtapes’ adhesive tape has been part of our packages for years,” says Development Director Mikko Järvinen and Operations Manager Lauri Valkeamäki.
Because printing requirements on packages are growing, there are also new requirements for reinforcement tape. The tape cannot rise obtrusively from the surface of the package. Adara asked for help from Lemtapes, who accepted the product development challenge.
After a few experiments an optimally thinner tape solution was developed that satisfies the packaging development needs of Adara. “Making the tape thinner has helped to significantly improve the printing result.”
Open-minded innovation
Lemtapes has also developed the melting points of reinforcement tape glues with Adara. Experiments were conducted to find the optimal temperature and glue for reinforcement tape that is melted onto cardboard. “The glue cannot be melted too early. Lemtapes has introduced alternatives, solutions and its own wisdom into our R&D. They are willing to experiment and test”, says Mikko Järvinen.
The basic elements of good collaboration have been closeness and good customer service. The newest development steps which we have started using is a taping device developed by Lemtapes that dispenses tape into the corrugated cardboard machine. “The precision of the adjustment was developed to a high level and the control of the tape improved substantially”, says Lauri Valkeamäki.
Adara is satisfied with the way Lemtapes works; they always want to improve and develop processes and also innovate with an open mind. “We believe that this attitude is Lemtapes’ strength in the European market, too, because they are able to do things which others can’t or which others do not even want to try.”