7-layer film locks taste in toothpaste tube. (Extrusion).

The injection molded shoulder of a toothpaste tube isn't typically barrier protected like the rest of the tube, so the shoulder scalps flavors, which are the most expensive ingredients in toothpaste. A new approach solves this problem by inserting a seven-layer barrier film into a compression molded tube shoulder. Starting this month, Essel Propack Ltd., headquartered in Mumbai, India, will begin making toothpaste tubes for Procter & Gamble at a new plant in Danville, Va. The coextruded and laminated barrier film is an asymmetrical combination of polyolefins, aluminum, and metallocene copolymers. Essel imports the film from its own plants in India and China. Barrier film is inserted into the tube shoulders using equipment from KMK Maschinen AG, a unit of PackSys Global Ltd. in Rueti, Switzerland. This is said to be the first such machine in the U.S. Essel: [phone], www.esselpropack.com; KMK: [phone], www.packsysglobal.com