Aluminium packaging: guarantee for freshness and flexibility

Packaging made from aluminium saves space and is light and streamlined. It is very often possible to forego the need for any additional packaging. This saves space and weight. Aluminium thus enables large quantities of product to be transported using only a small amount of packaging, and at the same time reduces the quantity of waste requiring disposal. Photo: © Ardagh Group

Multifunctional requirements for modern packaging

Packaging for foodstuffs, medication and body-care products is subjected to the highest possible demands. This is because we either ingest the packaged products or they come into direct contact with our bodies. Here, aluminium is not only a flexible, multifunctional and lightweight packaging material: it can also satisfy the ever more demanding requirements of product design.

Tasty and fresh – for pure pleasure

Whether it be an Easter bunny, a yoghurt, a ready meal or a drink in a can, aluminium makes sure that the contents stay fresh for a long time and that taste and appearance are not adversely affected. Even the thinnest aluminium foil, six thousandths of a millimetre thick and thus thinner than a human hair, can satisfy these requirements. At the same time, packaging must provide the consumer with all the necessary information about the product. Printed aluminium foil is the ideal material here and satisfies these demands completely. In addition, thermosensitive labels can make additional information visible at higher temperatures. Aluminium is thus multitalented: it protects and informs at the same time. Photo credit: Linhardt

Perfectly hygienic – for your health

It does not bear thinking about what problems fouled or contaminated medication might cause. Modern aluminium blister packaging and tubes ensure the sterility and integrity of medical products. For the health of man and beast. Besides ensuring sterility, aluminium packaging also ensures that vitamins are kept free from germs and protects them against unwanted changes, for example due to exposure to light. Photo credit: etma

Functional and practical – for transport and your safety

Despite its light weight, aluminium packaging is very stable and unbreakable. Moreover, it is normally easy to use and does not require any additional tools for opening because of pre-cutting or perforation. But packaging is not only there to protect the contents and goods during transport.

Special aluminium seals or push-through membranes, for example, offer protection against tampering so that customers can see straight away whether a product has already been opened.

Aluminium creates brand experiences

Products packaged in aluminium also enable brands to present themselves in a high-quality and innovative manner at the point of sale. In addition, unusually shaped packaging, such as is used with cosmetics, conveys perceived value and a brand experience, which is hardly possible with conventional packaging.

This means that in addition to its purely functional properties, aluminium is predestined to be the flagship of modern packaging. Photo credit: Tubex

Packaging in use

as foil: insulating and impermeable to light; as a lightweight container: transport-friendly and versatile; as a beverage can: light and neutral-tasting; as a bottle closure: safe and hygienic; as a tube: space-saving and sterile; as an aerosol can: handy and efficient; as a cosmetic tin: protective and clean; as a sleeve: safe and durable

Ecologically expedient and sustainable

Packaging made from aluminium saves space and is light and streamlined. It is very often possible to forego the need for any additional packaging. This saves space and weight. Aluminium thus enables large quantities of product to be transported using only a small amount of packaging, and at the same time reduces the quantity of waste requiring disposal.

Aluminium packaging is a recyclable material par excellence and can be recycled after use without loss, thereby conserving resources, and then used again for a new application.

Aluminium encyclopaedia

Packaging

Packaging made from aluminium is available in a wide range of forms for numerous products. Benefits are low weight, impermeability and good formability.

Impact extrusion

The manufacture of mostly small hollow bodies, like tubes or aerosol cans, from aluminium by means of a high punch pressure that causes the metal to flow.

Food packaging

Aluminium is widely used as a packaging material for foodstuffs. Compared with other materials, its main advantages are complete impermeability to gases, liquids and light as well as its very good processability.

Fact sheets

Our fact sheets containing information on aluminium packaging (aluminium cans, bottles and foil) are available for downloading.

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Well packed

Modern packaging systems are outstanding technological achievements, not least because the consumer demands the highest possible product quality. GDA’s packaging brochure can be downloaded here.

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