Exclusive: Brueckner highlights inline coating for monomaterials at Interpack

The shift towards recyclability is driven by both global legislation and brand owner demand. The sentiment among converters has evolved from basic capacity expansion to the technical enablement of a circular economy.

Markus Gschwandtner, CEO of Brueckner Maschinenbau observes that the transition from the 2023 cycle to the current market is defined by the industry's need to meet strict regulatory thresholds, such as Europe's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which mandates that non-monomaterial components must not exceed 5%.

“When we talk about enabling circularity, we are diving into monomaterial structures. The discussion today is how films on a PE base can be made to fulfil the needs on barrier properties while running into circularity,” says Gschwandtner.

The engineering of monomaterial barriers

A significant technical challenge in moving away from multi-material structures is maintaining the oxygen and moisture barrier performance required for shelf life. Brueckner is addressing this through the implementation of inline coating technology.

Traditionally, high-barrier properties for water vapour or oxygen require a separate, off-line coating process, which adds a production step and increases costs. Brueckner’s approach integrates this into the film stretching line.

“We are using a coating technology inline,” Gschwandtner explains. “We save a process step and prepare for later metallisation processes to ensure extremely good bonding. This leads to a high barrier function for water vapour and oxygen while staying within a monomaterial structure.”

The Indian market: Beyond entry-level

The Indian plastic industry is increasingly perceived as one of the most demanding globally. Gschwandtner dismisses the notion that Indian promoters look for entry-level models, stating that the expertise in the region consistently drives Brueckner’s R&D toward state-of-the-art technology.

Prominent players such as Dhunseri Polyfilms and Cosmo First are opting for world-record speeds and high-output lines to boost efficiency and reduce production costs. “Indian promoters never go for entry models,” says Gschwandtner. He continues that they would not expect anything but the best. “Our activities in R&D are driven by Indian promoters in a way to boost efficiency, increase quality, and improve uptime,” he adds.

This growth in India is characterised as a dual-track development: A technical drive to meet advanced global standards and a capacity race to maintain domestic market share. To support this, Brueckner has deepened its local footprint through its Mumbai office, which has been operational for over 20 years. The company’s strategy involves performing all major service activities locally with Indian staff while deepening a supply chain that sources materials directly from India.

Balancing new lines with retrofits

As the industry redesigns for sustainability, the demand for retrofitting existing assets has grown. Brueckner Servtec reached a milestone of 1,000 upgrades in 2024. However, balancing the sale of new high-speed lines with the demand for upgrades requires a distinct two-entity strategy.

New machines offer lower production costs and higher efficiency, which existing assets often cannot match in high-volume commodity segments. However, older lines remain viable for smaller, specialised volumes.

“We have an entity for the new business and R&D, and we have a separate entity which only takes care of utilising that new development into existing assets,” Gschwandtner says. This allows converters to adapt older lines for technologies like BOPE without the capital expenditure of a completely new installation.

Legislation versus consumer demand

While government regulations like the PPWR in Europe and plastic waste management rules in India are evolving rapidly, Gschwandtner believes the entire value chain dictates the company's R&D programme.

“Finally, what the brand owners need on packaging goes all the way back in the value chain to the equipment supplier,” he says. While legislation has recently kicked into the process, Brueckner maintains its R&D focus on the requirements of end-users and the brand owners to ensure the final package is both green and functional.

For the remainder of 2026, Brueckner intends to focus on completing R&D strategies that fulfil these shifting global demands. Gschwandtner concludes that Interpack provides the critical opportunity to learn from all major players—from raw material suppliers to brand owners—to understand the next phase of the packaging value chain.