September 27, 2021 marked the Grand Return of all players to Luxe Pack Monaco. At last!
Following this “service interruption” due to the unprecedented global health crisis, the entire Altus Coating team experienced and savored the moment, that of the pleasure of meeting up again, of discussing, of sharing, of discovering, of taking part with all the actors in a fast-developing sector.
To experience this unparalleled event is – in the general opinion of the Altus Coating stakeholders gathered in Monaco from September 27-29, 2021 – a genuine opportunity to position themselves at the heart of the innovation process and of the ecosystem that makes up the world of luxury packaging.
Our reunited team seized this perfect opportunity to meet up again with all our customers and future customers, and with manufacturers and their customers. The latter groups demonstrated a keen interest in the continuous development program set out by Altus Coating, both with regard to innovation and to corporate social and environmental responsibility.
Looking first at innovation aspect, the AlSafe® solution – the result of R&D efforts to address the problems of anti-bacterial and antiviral hygiene and health and safety solutions – was unveiled to the assembled press in attendance and to the informed audience attending Luxe Pack.
More than curiosity, it was the proof of this solution which impressed everyone. This suggested it would now be widely adopted.
The evidence of this, moreover, is coming via the first publications appearing since the salon was held.
Emballage Magazine
Industries Cosmétiques
Luxe Packaging Insight
Premium Beauty
Moreover, it is worth recalling that the AlSafe® solution also respects the environment more. The AlSafe ® solution would also significantly reduce the use of disinfectant products, which have been proven to play a role in the release of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the atmosphere. This technology is compatible with the use of bio-sourced varnish.
The active ingredients of AlSafe® do not contain nano-particles. These ingredients meet regulatory requirements and are listed in the Biocidal Products Regulation, BPR (REACH). They do not contain SVHCs and are not endocrine disruptors. They are considered Food Contact Substances (FCS) by the Food and Drug Administration (USA).
Packaging treated with AlSafe® can follow its normal processing/recycling cycle.
In the context of its agile innovation program, Altus Coating will work with each manufacturer and customer to look for ways to adapt this new AlSafe® technology to its own packaging techniques (lamination, flexography, screen printing) and to various substrates (plastics, metals, glass) with various finishes (gloss, mat, etc.). In-situ testing carried out at the customer’s premises is an integral part of the company’s quality approach.
With regard to Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility, Luxe Pack Monaco was an opportunity for a fresh presentation of the bio-sourced products that were nominated LuxePack Green in 2019
The entire Altus Coating ecosystem is involved in its CSR program
Depending on the company positions held by our audiences, we have seen that:
• Those in top management with our customer businesses were very receptive to bio-sourced Altus Coating products, and to solutions for recyclability and eco-design,
• Applicator representatives were very inspired to continue manufacturing with the reduction in VOCs initiated by Altus Coating, because the DREAL (Regional Environmental Directorate) is monitoring for discrepancies and values manufacturers who are exploring sound solutions,
• Buyers are a lot more aware these days – as legislation requires – of pursuing responsible purchasing and local sourcing, while maintaining sound economic performance.
Altus Coating is able to satisfy everyone in that regard, as the company has products, solutions and production sites. This encourages the whole team to pursue the agile approach it has already embraced, and to take further steps in the innovation offered. Ever less VOCs, ever more bio-sourced UV varnishes for new bio-sourced materials.
The mindset that inspires the R&D team is at work in discussions on passive coating protection, and in the research being conducted on functional varnishes for product safety.
Lastly, in regard to CSR, CEO Éric Pertus spoke at the conference dedicated to CSR Performance: Towards a necessary revolution in the brand/supplier relationship.
Moderated by Gérald Martines, the conference also featured Isabelle Lallement (Groupe Pochet), Romain Lacombe (Parcome New York) and Nadine Serfaty (Infinity Global).
The purpose of the conference was to identify genuine synergies to be implemented between the parties, to ensure that the sector was properly positioned to take on the environmental challenge. In the eyes of the organizers and participants, this will involve a fairly dramatic revision in the power relations (transparency, co-creation, co-investment, etc.) between the various actors.
For Éric Pertus, this conference was an ideal opportunity to remind his audience of some key points in that regard.
Here are some selected highlights:
The term CSR encompasses both the societal and the environmental. The societal, that’s Humankind. Humankind is behind all innovations: Today, the weight of the human dimension within a company is becoming increasingly important (you have to motivate teams, and provide them with a pleasant work environment) and CSR cannot avoid the question. »
“It is undeniable that the price of raw materials is shooting up, beyond their availability, and it is important that everyone plays the game and accepts these new economic constraints.”
“It is important to gather in numbers around the table to create innovation, to find new ideas, new solutions, it’s necessarily by sharing that reflection is triggered, above all when you are working on a solution that doesn’t exist, where you need several brains to create it, to free up innovation.”
“We are chemists, and we have a special awareness of environmental balance, and particularly of the human being, because we are ourselves a formidable chemical machine and we know how much all that is fragile.”
“The aim is to have ever safer products, closely matched to the regulatory constraints, and we are always trying to innovate by bringing the cleanest possible products, and above all ones that do not impact recycling. Even if you use a film just a few microns thick, that can upset the regular cycle of recyclability. Very particular attention is paid to this. It’s something we question every day, in order to truly adhere to all these European and international directives that are driving us to innovate constantly.”
“We integrate bio-sourced materials – substances originating from secondary waste from agriculture and being used to replace oil-based products and allow synthesis from resins.
The percentage of bio-sourced resins tends to increase, even if the available product line is still relatively modest. Physical-chemical performance is massively improved. For all that, there are still a number of steps to be achieved.”
“These materials are extremely important for the future, for those of us who specialize in UV chemistry: UV resins react to the light in a matter of seconds, which is also a way of saving the environment, as you use less energy, less VOCs. It’s a cleaner technology that is gradually replacing conventional technologies.”
