Kamboo Marketing is not one to blow a good opportunity and Hosokawa Alpine was one of the finest, says director Jacques Human. The two companies recently shook hands across the ocean to finalise a collaboration that will see one of the leading brands of blown film extrusion machinery refocus on South Africa after a long absence.

JACQUES HUMAN predicts that this absence will have made the hearts of local converters fonder. ‘The Hosokawa Alpine brand is one of the market leaders in its field and offers world renowned German precision engineering and leadership,’ he states.

German-based and Japanese-owned, Hosokawa Alpine is a leading machines and systems manufacturer whose core competences are mechanical process engineering, with equipment for the preparation of powders, granulates and bulk materials, and film extrusion, with systems for producing and finishing blown films from one to 11 layers for various applications, including lamination, high barrier, heavy duty sacks, stretch hood and bio films. Alpine lines are also excellent in processing regranulates.

A new orientation

‘We initiated talks a few years ago to assess how Alpine saw its future in South Africa, having not been active for some time. The agreement took a while to conclude, but it was time well spent, as local converters will now enjoy the benefits of the company’s entire blown-film range. We are very excited about the Alpine-pioneered machine direction orientation (MDO) technology hitherto not actively promoted to the local market,’ Jacques reveals.

The wider world, however, is no stranger to the concept, as it has been stretching the boundaries and properties of film for more than two decades.

The proven MDO technology is a key element in manufacturing high-performance single-material laminates based on polyethylene (PE).

It is only by monoaxial orientation that outstanding film characteristics such as high stiffness, increased oxygen transmission rate, excellent optical properties and reduction of film thickness can be achieved, Jacques points out. ‘These allow PE film structures to substitute PET or BOPP films. These properties are also fundamental for the lamination and printing of full PE packaging films.

‘Full-PE packaging solutions also make great environmental sense. Unlike their multi-material laminate counterparts, they can be completely recycled after original use and reused in the circular economy for optimum sustainability and resource conservation.’

Several companies worldwide can attest to the favourable performance of MDO, including Grand-Master, a Russian producer of twist wrap, breathable films and shrink films. The company had long prioritised sustainability and the move to full PE, says sales manager Mikhail Ryazanskiy. ‘The future belongs to such technologies and we didn’t hesitate to include full PE solutions in our portfolio, which made us a pioneer in Russia. Alpine’s five-layer blown film line with MDO was the best possible choice for this.’

A flexible mix

The Alpine collaboration joins Koenig & Bauer Flexotecnica, Fife, Kohli Industries and XL Plastics among the names that make up the Kamboo product portfolio.

‘We want to maintain a good mix of premium brands,’ Jacques explains. ‘The partnership with another market leader in Hosokawa Alpine gives us a large range to grow our market and offers our customers the latest international advances and solutions.

‘Our agency support team, which is highly experienced in extrusion technology, will continue delivering the backup the market expects.’

The partnership reflects the Kamboo philosophy that being open and responsive to change is a prerequisite for growth. ‘We change and grow primarily through extensions to our agency business,’ Jacques continues. ‘‘Our legacy business, newspapers and commercial print, still forms a very important part of our offering, but we realised some years ago the crucial need to diversify into flexibles for sustained growth.’

Co-director and Kamboo founder, Hannes Kritzinger, adds that the company has strived in recent years to establish relationships in the packaging sector so that customers loyal to established favourites are receptive to alternative solutions. ‘We’re very excited about the prospects for Alpine, with technology such as its patented X-die, TRIO system and ICB Tower Monomer Collect that has proved itself a winner globally,’ he confirms. ‘Having made the decision to refocus on South Africa, the company looks forward to building a solid customer base here to continue the tradition of market dominance established on continents such as North America, Asia and Australia.’

Although the Kamboo-Hosokawa partnership extends to neighbouring African countries, the initial focus will be on promoting the Alpine brand on home turf and on the company’s blown film extrusion technology as the premier element of its product range.

Alpine representatives will be in South Africa early in the new year to meet prospective customers in person following online engagements held during 2021.

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