For Brilliant Polymers, the case for solvent-free lamination is becoming increasingly straightforward: sustainability has to make commercial sense too. The company is therefore focusing on technologies that can help flexible packaging converters reduce environmental impact while also improving process economics.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 13th Specialty Films & Flexible Packaging Global Summit in Mumbai, Gaurav Talwar, managing director, Brilliant Polymers, outlined the company’s approach. “Sustainability will make sense when cost saving and sustainability go hand in hand. That is the win-win, which can be easy to adopt in the market,” he says.
Brilliant Polymers supplies both solvent-based and solvent-free laminating adhesives, but the company is putting increasing emphasis on the latter. Talwar points to potential energy and carbon-impact savings of 30–60%, along with significant savings in adhesive cost, as key drivers for adoption.
The argument is particularly relevant as the packaging industry works on several fronts to improve sustainability, from mono-material structures and PE-based solutions to compostable packaging. Talwar believes there is also a more immediate opportunity – making the structures already being produced more efficiently.
“In the meanwhile, what we are laminating today should be laminated in the most sustainable fashion possible,” he says. That thinking has been behind the development of Max Cure, Brilliant Polymers’ range of high-performance advanced-cure adhesives. Introduced three to four years ago, the range is designed to enable solvent-free lamination in applications that were traditionally considered more suited to solvent-based technology.
These include foil applications, bulk packs, seed packaging, cement packaging and paper-based structures. The objective is not necessarily to create entirely new packaging structures, but to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their manufacture.
The company has also added another product to the Max Cure portfolio. Introduced alongside the summit, M5411/M599 is designed with a broad application window, allowing converters to use one adhesive across multiple applications. “It is one product that can replace many adhesives in one,” says Talwar. Commercial sales have already begun, with the company now looking to expand its market reach.
Technology, however, is only one part of the transition. Talwar believes technical support at the converter level is equally important, particularly when moving from a familiar solvent-based process to solvent-free lamination.
Solvent-free products now account for 74% of Brilliant Polymers’ business. To increase that share, the company combines sales and technical-service support across its markets. In India, the model extends across states and towns, while export markets receive similar technical support.
He sees India’s highly competitive packaging market as a natural environment for such technologies. Cost pressures encourage converters to evaluate changes that deliver a measurable return alongside sustainability benefits.
For converters and brand owners, therefore, solvent-free lamination is less about creating a new packaging proposition and more about improving the economics and environmental footprint of existing production. “It immediately gives them access to better sustainability and better cost. Those are two things that everyone is looking for,” Talwar says.
Brilliant Polymers expects the solvent-free share of its business to continue rising. The company is also planning additional manufacturing capacity to support its growing domestic and international business. Its Ambernath facility has become a key production base, and further investment is planned as demand expands.
For Talwar, the direction is clear – sustainability will gain wider acceptance when it comes with operational and economic benefits. In flexible packaging, solvent-free lamination increasingly fits that equation.
