FDBusiness.com

The pouch: an ideal solution for consumer goods

Volpak is a company built on sturdy technological foundations, specializing in form-fill-seal solutions for the pouch-type packaging industry. Pouches are one of the most popular types of packaging for consumer goods and come in two types: flat or stand-up. Both are extremely flexible and can be used to package solids and liquids, in different sizes and materials, with a guarantee of extended shelf life over time. Pouches are also a sustainable solution, offering tangible advantages in terms of line footprint, high productive efficiency (energy costs for packaging in pouches is one of the lowest in the market), reduced logistics costs, and for the end user easier disposal due to reduced volume. The shape of the packaging is also ideal for conveying promotional messages, to the benefit of marketing strategies for client companies, also offering various seal systems to meet the most diverse needs. Pouches are used in many industries, to package liquids like juices, milk and oils, but also solids such as snacks, chocolates or pet food. Geographically, the pouch is particularly popular across the entire American continent (in Latin and North America) and in Europe, but is rapidly expanding into countries such as China and India.

One company, two brands: the story

Founded in 1979, Volpak merged with the Coesia group in 1996, subsequently benefiting from its expertise and the solidity of what is now one of the biggest and most important packaging groups in the world. In 2001 Volpak acquired Enflex, a company specializing in the design and sale of medium-speed horizontal flexible packaging machines, further expanding its portfolio of solutions. Today, Volpak and its Enflex brand offer the market a range of automatic machines operating at low, medium or high speed, able to form and fill pouches of various types and sizes. These pouch packs are very popular with the market and include the Brickpouch, a sturdy, stand-up type offering excellent sealing features, and Duopouches, which fit a straw and a special opening system, designed specifically for beverages. The company’s offer is further complemented by a wide range of solutions for secondary packaging, which allows Volpak to meet the demands of the various stages of packaging, from pouch forming to its assembly inside cartons.

Strategic and competitive advantages

In the flexible pouch packaging sector, Volpak vaunts the unique know-how that comes from constant technological research and over 40 years of experience. This translates into the ability to handle various packaging materials and the possibility of customizing solutions to suit the product to be packaged, whether it be solid or liquid, and with different levels of viscosity and density. Technical staff work in tandem with customers, from the preliminary design stage to machine run-off and the subsequent installation of equipment. Post-sales is considered particularly important and the company’s engineers will travel to sites anywhere in the world for maintenance and optimization of production lines. There is also the ARA – Advanced Remote Assistance system, fitted to all the latest generation machines manufactured in Barcelona, with qualified personnel providing “virtual” support 24/7.

The strength of Volpak lies not just in technology but also in the team of people working within the organization. Today the company can count on the expertise of 220 staff, based mainly in the Barcelona headquarters, a plant of 12,000 square metres where products are designed, manufactured and marketed. The company also has a second production site in Pune, India, and a sales network covering the globe, present in over 34 countries. The close rapport with the specialized CEC – Coesia Engineering Center – makes it possible to share innovative packaging and industrial solutions developed by the group and its 15 companies, expanding the technological know-how available to customers who seek optimal solutions from Volpak/Enflex for retaining leadership in reference industries.