Push Packs from Romaco Siebler – Sustainable packaging technology made in Germany

Andreas Detmers, Head of Technical Solutions, Romaco Pharmatechnik GmbH writes about how Romaco Siebler and Huhtamaki are adopting new approaches to primary packaging for pharmaceutical solids with innovative push-through strips

CLIMATE-FRIENDLY, material saving, affordable, customisable and ultra-thin – Romaco Siebler’s Push Pack manufacturing technology for push-through four-sided sealed strips heralds in a new era in primary packaging for solid pharmaceutical products. The leading global supplier of strip packaging machines got together with Huhtamaki, the Finnish film and foil specialist, to develop its Push Pack product family. Romaco Siebler is currently the only machinery supplier in the market with the capability to process the new, ultra-thin, PVC-free Huhtamaki foils into safe and absolutely tight pharmaceutical packs.

The push-through strip packs in the Push Pack product family are Romaco and Huhtamaki’s alternative to the established blister packaging forms presently available in the market. Push Packs provide equivalent barrier properties to blisters and are opened in the same way: you simply press the tablet out of the Push Pack with your thumb just as you would normally do with a blister. Push Packs are also similar in appearance to conventional blister packs: for example, the standard Push Pack version can be combined with transparent foil for an unobstructed view of the contents.

Up to 60 per cent cost saving compared to aluminium-aluminium blisters

Since Push Packs are sealed all round with two foils, far thinner aluminium barrier layers can be realised than with cold-formed blisters, namely between 9 and 25 μm depending on the primary packaging’s barrier specifications. With aluminium-aluminium blisters, on the other hand, the fact that the aluminium is deep-drawn means that very thick foil is inevitable. That is why a cold-formed aluminium-aluminium blister weighs more than twice as much as a high-barrier Push Pack produced on a Siebler strip packaging machine.