Companies that produce fragile products could soon be attaching their printed labels to a different type of packaging material.

Storopack, which is based in Germany, has launched a new air-cushion material that is made of co-extruded film for the UK market, European Plastics News reports.

Its AIRmove system is designed to be a competitor for bubble wrap and other padding such as polystyrene chips and corrugated cardboard.

The company said the product is to be produced on-demand and is a single packaging material.

"Making the air cushions on-demand is more cost-effective than ready-to-use air pads or bubble wrap film. One roll of AIRmove can provide as much packaging material as approximately eight rolls of ready-to-use bubble film," a statement added.

Packaging Europe recently reported that Storopack saw an 11 per cent increase in sales in the first half of 2011 after focusing on protective packaging.

The Penticton Western News recently reported that a new kind of technology for packaging of fresh fruit had been developed in Canada, which could mean products will stay edible for longer.

Denny Bros Ltd , 26 September 2011