Sealed Air has announced plans to expand its manufacturing facility in Nijmegen, Holland as its NewAir I.B. Express system continues to prove a sales success across Europe.Launched in May 2010, the inflatable cushioning system has consistently recorded strong sales due to its high speed performance, versatility and efficiency. Sealed Air, a leading protective packaging solutions and materials manufacturer, has made a multi-million Euro investment in a new NewAir I.B.® Express production line at its Nijmegen facility to increase capacity and meet demand from key markets including Germany, France, Spain, UK, Italy and Scandinavia.
The expansion will create new jobs and lead to double digit rise in annual production of the compact packaging system in Nijmegen. The new line follows the recent introduction of four new Barrier Bubble films, which the NewAir I.B. Express can produce at up to 20 metres per minute.
Alejandro Moralejo, European Supply Chain Director at Sealed Air, commented: “Rising operational costs are causing companies across Europe to search out cost savings and added value throughout the whole supply chain. Companies are reviewing their on-site packaging processes to identify how they can maximise efficiencies.
“The NewAir I.B. Express allows operators to quickly create inflatable Barrier Bubble® at workstations, online or for batching. This delivers significant financial savings for operators as they no longer need to store large amounts of bulky packaging materials on-site. These benefits have been key to the continued sales success of the system.
“Expansion of the Nijmegen facility will be completed in the first quarter of 2012. This will enable us to continually meet the packaging needs of customers across Europe through increased production capacity, which also promotes ongoing product innovation.”
The NewAir I.B. Express can create inflated cushions of Barrier Bubble with finished widths of 300mm and 600mm. Sealed Air’s proprietary film technology not only retains air longer than non-barrier polyethylene air cellular materials but, in testing, consistently out-performs other materials for cushioning, blocking, bracing and overall packaging protection.
