SAES Coated Films

SAES Coated Films @IPACK-IMA 2025

Rethinking Packaging: Innovation and Sustainability at IPACK-IMA 2025.

A conversation with Alessandra Fernicola on barrier coatings, mono-materials, and the role of SCF in the circular transition

At the latest edition of IPACK-IMA in Milan, one of Europe’s most important events for packaging and processing innovation, we had the opportunity to share our vision for the future of sustainable packaging. Representing SAES Coated Films was our Marketing & Sustainability Manager Alessandra Fernicola, who sat down for a video interview to discuss how innovation in functional coatings is helping reshape the packaging industry.

In the interview, Alessandra highlights the role of SAES Coated Films technology in enabling the transition to mono-material structures—a key step towards packaging that is easier to recycle and compatible with circular economy principles. By applying high-barrier, solvent-free coatings on recyclable substrates, SAES Coated Films is redefining what performance and sustainability can look like when they go hand in hand.

But sustainability, as Alessandra points out, is not just a technical challenge. It’s a mindset—one that informs every stage of development, from the selection of raw materials to the end-of-life of the final product.

Whether you're a brand owner, converter, or sustainability professional, this short video offers valuable insights into the tangible steps SAES Coated Films is taking to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving market, while maintaining a strong commitment to environmental responsibility.

🎬 Watch the full interview below and discover how SAES Coated Films is helping shape a more circular future—one layer at a time.

by SAES Coated Films

Video Insight - Recyclable mono-material packaging and processability

Explore the Future of Sustainable Packaging with Our Video Insight!

Switching from multi-material PET/PE structures to mono-PE solutions presents significant technical challenges. To help you navigate this transition, we’re thrilled to introduce our Video Insight developed together with IMA Ilapak: a practical and informative session designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools to succeed.

🛠 What You’ll Learn:

• A hands-on case study: Discover the production process of a high-barrier mono-PE flow-pack.
• Proven strategies: Learn how to maintain exceptional performance and quality throughout the packaging process.

🎙 Meet the Experts:

• Roberto Rocca – R&D Manager, SAES Coated Films
• Gaetano Campanella – Technical Development Manager, SAES
• Davide Paltrinieri – Group Lab Materials Manager, IMA Ilapak

Explore with us these innovative solutions and take a step towards a more sustainable packaging future. Let's collaborate to redefine flexible packaging!

Gain access and stay ahead in the world of recyclable packaging!

Click here to relive the event

by SAES Coated Films

Innovating Packaging Sustainability with compostable solutions

Last December SPRING interviewed Alessandra Fernicola, Marketing & Sustainability Manager at SAES Coated Films, to know more about innovative solutions for sustainable packaging. 

SPRING is the Italian Cluster for Circular Bioeconomy, bringing together networks and value chains of the biobased industry to foster an innovative, competitive, and sustainable industrial and academic ecosystem, representing the community's interests with institutions and promoting synergies at local and global levels.

1. How and why was the coated film division of SAES created?

The SAES group has been active for over 80 years in the invention, design, and production of advanced materials for a wide range of applications and markets: from the historic cathode ray tube of the first televisions to scientific instrumentation, from lamps to consumer electronic devices. The common thread that links SAES's core competencies is gas management in applications where the hermeticity of a closed volume must be maintained. In this context, the application of SAES's skills to the packaging industry was a natural evolution. Packaging as well is a system where the internal atmosphere must be controlled and maintained because it impacts the packaged product, especially if it is food. SAES had the expertise to study the issue and propose solutions for food packaging. In 2016, SAES acquired a Lombard company, Metalvuoto, which had developed high-level skills in coating and metallization technologies. From the synergy between SAES and Metalvuoto, SAES Coated Films was born in 2018, a company today specialized in high-barrier plastic and bio-plastic films for food and non-food packaging.

2. What do you do and what solutions are you working on? During our talk you named COATHINK, a water-base coating improves the shelf-life by protecting the product from the air.

In 2019, we coined the brand COATHINK® to represent the skills that best identify the philosophy of SAES Coated Films: strong and consolidated experience in coating and a scientific approach ("think") in solving technological challenges imposed by packaging. This approach has proven particularly valid in the field of sustainable packaging, where the use of new materials requires a systemic approach, capable of foreseeing and solving the necessary adjustments for real implementation in the industry. Thanks to the experience accumulated in the field, today we are able to provide a wide family of high-barrier films designed for recyclable or compostable flexible packaging.

3. What is your intervention strategy? I understand that you build strong partnerships with complementary players along the supply chain. Is this a consolidated methodology?

SAES Coated Films produces films for lamination. Our clients are therefore converters, who transform the films into finished packaging. Our barrier technology is different from more traditional solutions because it is a surface coating. This is advantageous because the barrier material ultimately impacts only 1% of the total weight of the packaging, which is very interesting from the perspective of lightening structures and using fewer resources. On the other hand, it is a new solution for some converters. Experience has taught us that a fundamental piece of innovation is operating in a collaborative supply chain. The exchange of information and participation in homologation processes are important moments to understand the difficulties and applicability of new materials and accelerate the implementation of new projects. It is precisely thanks to a collaborative supply chain that in 2020 we contributed to the realization of the first compostable barrier packaging introduced to the market.

The packaging is made by a paper external layer, laminated with our compostable bioplastic high-barrier film. Thanks to our surface treatment, the pack protects in an optimal way the product from oxygen and humidity. Our film, as well as the finite packaging, are certified by TÜV Austria for industrial compostability according to European Standard EN 13432.

To achieve this result was possible only thanks to the commitment of the whole supply chain in pursuing what seemed, at the time, utopic: having a sustainable solution that features high-quality performances, without trade-offs.

This is a winning model when you make innovation: you need to believe in it and to be open to collaborations.

4. What projects are you working on, what are the most advanced research areas, and what are your "dreams in the drawer"?

Today we are working on expanding our line of compostable products: we already have several barrier functionalities, but we want to expand the "sustainable functionalities" as well. We are therefore working on the development of solutions that have home compostability. In this case too, a joint effort is necessary: we can modulate the properties of the barrier coating, but we must work together with all the actors, from the granule producer to the film maker, to the converter, to be able to create an industrializable and certifiable solution.

5. From a skills perspective, do you find what you are looking for on the market in terms of partners and collaborators, or do you prefer to build the necessary skills internally?

Over the years, SAES Coated Films has also transformed and renewed its internal skills. We have learned a lot from the market and have made sure to keep up with the skills our clients need. In some cases, there has been an internal evolution of the necessary skills; in other cases, we have acquired new collaborators who combine field experience with a strong inclination for innovation.

6. From a regulatory perspective, what difficulties do you encounter, what bottlenecks, and what rules do you see as potential opportunities?

Today, all attention is focused on the new European PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) and especially on the delegated acts that will follow and specify the sustainability guidelines in packaging and the areas of use of compostable packaging. There have been many months of uncertainty that have slowed down innovation and investments in the entire industry. Today we have a somewhat clearer vision of what the new regulatory framework will be, and we hope to experience a renewed momentum towards new sustainable solutions. Our vision is clear: sustainability in packaging is a necessity, and compostability represents an excellent interpretation of it. We think, for example, of small-format packaging, such as stick-packs and sachets. Even if they were designed according to the strictest recyclability criteria, today in most plants they would not be recycled. This is because one of the first steps in the process is sieving: it serves to remove most of the food residues and non-plastic contaminants that would interfere with the recovery of the polymer of interest. Now, a small format (less than 5 cm wide) falls through the sieve and is therefore excluded from the material stream that goes to recycling. How advantageous would it be instead to design the same packaging but in compostable material! In this case, the dimensions do not preclude "recycling": it would be organic recycling. The use for the consumer remains unchanged; they will only have to dispose of the packaging after use in the organic waste bin. With a barrier material like that of SAES Coated Films, compostable and certified, it would be possible to maintain the packaging performance unchanged, thus without shortening the product's shelf life. This, in our opinion, is an important development area for biodegradable and compostable materials in packaging, and we believe that the European Commission is also becoming aware of it.

Read the interview in Italian on SPRING website: CLICK HERE

by SAES Coated Films

SAES Getters: An Italian Excellence in Sustainable Innovation

The revolutionary packaging of SAES Coated Films is part of the MIMIT's exhibition: 'L'Italia dei Brevetti'.

Roma, 18 November 2024 – SAES Getters, a global leader in technological innovation and sustainability, celebrates a significant milestone with recognition at the exhibition “L’Italia dei Brevetti - Invenzioni e Innovazioni di Successo”. With over 80 years of history and a portfolio of patents that have revolutionized various sectors, the company has been selected among the 100 most deserving Italian entities to showcase its technologies at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) in Rome.
The event, hosted in the historic Palazzo Piacentini and open to visitors until March 2025, celebrates the excellence of Italian innovation. SAES Getters was chosen for its OXAQUA patent and COATHINK technology, pioneering solutions in the field of recyclable and compostable packaging.

“This recognition rewards our unwavering commitment to innovation and sustainability,” stated Jiabril Gigli, Managing Director of SAES Coated Films. “Our COATHINK technology represents a significant step forward in the packaging sector, offering recyclable and compostable solutions that comply with European regulations and contribute to a more sustainable future. It’s a breakthrough in mono-material packaging that combines performance excellence and sustainability. The water-based coating developed by SAES enables the production of high-performance recyclable packaging without requiring modifications to existing industrial infrastructures, demonstrating how innovation can be both accessible and scalable. This approach not only facilitates compliance with new European standards but also creates value for our customers and the entire supply chain, strengthening our position as a leader in the sector.”

A concrete example is the new European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), set to enter into force in 2025, which establishes strict requirements for reducing packaging waste while promoting recycling and environmental sustainability across the European Union.

Alessandra Fernicola, Marketing and Sustainability Manager of SAES Coated Films, added: “The PPWR is not just a stringent challenge for the industry but also an opportunity to enhance innovation efforts and contribute to a more sustainable supply chain.”

With an increasingly strong international presence, SAES Coated Films reaffirms its role as a key player in the transition toward sustainable packaging solutions. The global packaging market, valued at $1.14 trillion in 2024, is expected to grow to $1.38 trillion by 2029, with a CAGR of 3.89%. In Italy, the sector contributes not only to the national GDP but also to environmental sustainability, providing solutions that reduce waste and consumption.
Thanks to its innovative technologies and ability to anticipate regulatory needs, SAES Getters positions itself as a strategic partner for companies aiming to combine high performance with sustainability, turning global challenges into tangible opportunities for growth and innovation.

by SAES Coated Films

Mono-material, recycled, high barrier and food grade: what more could you want?

Joeplast, Masterpack and SAES Coated Films have joined forces to develop packaging with a 'circular' story.

A zippered pouch is the packaging format chosen to demonstrate the feasibility of flexible packaging that fully meets the criteria of the circular economy and supports the industry on its path toward European targets for recyclability and use of recycled plastic.

The selected structure is a polyethylene mono-material with high gas barrier properties and a plastic content from post-consumer recycling equal to 30 percent of the total packaging weight, including the zipper. An additional and enabling aspect is the recognition of suitability for food contact, made possible by the special engineering of the recycled film.

The pouch was produced thanks to a collaboration between Joeplast, SAES Coated Films, and Masterpack, who decided to combine their technological expertise to produce a solution that would demonstrate the feasibility of a properly circular structure and serve as a goad to dismantle the mistrust of the attainability of the targets set by the European Commission.

In light of a proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation that requires mandatory use of recycled plastics and recyclable packaging design, and a Plastic Tax already in place in countries such as Spain and the UK but with an evolving framework, the solution presented by the three companies gains prominence in demonstrating how packaging sustainability is implementable, thanks to technological expertise and scientific approach.

Read the full article

by SAES Coated Films

SAES technology COATHINK® approved by Recyclass for recyclability

SAES Coated Films high-barrier solutions can be used to replace multi-material barrier structures and achieve mono-material packaging. The proprietary coating technology, COATHINK, has been proven to be compatible with the recycling stream of  printed PE films according to the Recyclass Recyclability Evaluation Protocol for PE films. Mono-PE packaging structures consisting of MDO-PE film coated with COATHINK and laminated with LDPE as the inner layer show gas barriers with OTR values as low as 1 cc/m2.day and WVTR as low as 4 g/m2.day. With this approach, it is possible to achieve recyclable flexible packaging that can preserve the quality of products such as coffee, pet food, cheese, dry  fruits, cereals, savoury snacks, powdered products and cold cuts.

Read the press release.

by SAES Coated Films

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS PACKAGING: FIRST COMPOSTABLE STICK PACK MADE OF BIO-BASED RAW MATERIALS

We are proud to be part of the #innovation that led to the first #compostable high #barrier stickpack for micronutrient powders. Our COATHINK® #technology is at the core of the new #sustainablepackaging solution to preserve the quality of the valuable product. Under the identity of a shared vision, the development of the new product has been pursued through #collaboration with DSM - Talking Nutrition, Gualapack S.p.A., Novamont, Ticinoplast. From October 19, you can learn more about the new barrier solution at K - The World's No. I Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber (Dusseldorf) at the Novamont booth A58 in Hall 6.

Read the press release

by SAES Coated Films