Henkel modernisation to accelerate recyclable packaging

Henkel Adhesive Technologies has officially inaugurated its extensively modernised Packaging Competence Center in Düsseldorf.

The comprehensive upgrade creates an integrated, industrial-scale testing ecosystem specifically designed to help food and beverage manufacturers navigate tightening international sustainability mandates and rising demand for circular, consumer-safe packaging.

The packaging landscape is undergoing rapid transformation, accelerated by upcoming regulatory deadlines such as the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

For food and drink brands, the challenge is twofold: they must rapidly transition away from multi-layer plastic structures toward highly recyclable alternatives — such as mono-materials or fibre-based barriers — while ensuring that the resulting packaging eliminates chemicals of concern and completely maintains strict food safety and contamination barriers.

Henkel’s revamped facility addresses these friction points by providing an environment where brand owners and converters can test, refine, and industrially scale new adhesive and coating formulations under real-world manufacturing conditions, significantly reducing time-to-market.

A primary bottleneck in food-grade packaging innovation has been the difficulty of scaling laboratory breakthroughs to high-speed factory lines without causing machinery disruptions or structural failures.

To bridge this gap, Henkel has partnered with Nordmeccanica, a global leader in coating and lamination machinery. The upgraded center features two cutting-edge industrial machines: the Super Combi 5000 and the Super Simplex SL e800.

These systems enable the facility to replicate all standard coating and lamination processes used across the commercial packaging sector. Supported by five flexible application trolleys utilising gearless flexo coating technology and expanded digital infrastructure for systematic process monitoring, food brands can precisely evaluate how new packaging formats perform under heavy operational stress.

The technical setup allows for immediate testing across Henkel’s entire structural portfolio, including:

• Solvent-free adhesives that reduce factory emissions and eliminate chemical migration risks.
• Water-based and solvent-based systems optimised for specific thermal processing demands, such as pet food retort pouches or microwaveable packaging.
• Functional barrier coatings that grant fibre-based paper packaging resistance to water, oil, grease, and humidity while preserving its ability to be safely recycled through standard municipal paper streams.

Beyond mechanical performance, the facility’s direct physical connection to the neighbouring Inspiration Center Düsseldorf and Henkel’s in-house Packaging Recyclab provides food brands with a comprehensive compliance pathway.

In the Recyclab, engineers literally shred test packaging and simulate the industrial recycling process — subjecting prototypes to water pulping, multi-stage screening, and filtration to measure actual fibre yield and check for impurities like “stickies” (polymer residues that can stall paper mills).

Because any packaging that cannot be recycled through standard waste streams faces potential bans from 2030 under emerging PPWR rules, having an integrated laboratory capable of testing according to established Cepi/4evergreen protocols and cyclos-HTP Institute (CHI) methodologies changes the regulatory calculus for food manufacturers. Brands can now design a package, run an industrial-scale test batch, and obtain certified verification of its recyclability and safety credentials within a single innovation loop.

Dirk Martin, head of Henkel Packaging Adhesives and Coatings in Europe, highlighted the long-term impact of early-stage material choices on retail shelves: “The choice of adhesive or coating made today are defining the packages that will reach the shelves tomorrow. With our Packaging Competence Center, we are making sure those choices are the right ones by giving our customers and partners a unique environment to develop, test, and scale the solutions that will shape the future of packaging: faster, smarter and more sustainably than ever before.”