Press release

Sihl is considered a pioneer on the path to greater sustainability. As part of the ESG strategy, Sihl is now bringing two more products to the market based on sustainable inkjet film (90% Post Consumer Recycled BOPET) for creating product labels. In doing this, Sihl is expanding its product range to a total of seven sustainable products.

Sihl continues to lead the way in FACESTOCK, creating products and solutions that make the best possible use of available resources. The range is continuously being expanded and converted to include more sustainable products. Both new products from the PICOFILM series are 7066, a white 58 μm FACESTOCK PET film with a shiny coating on the front, and 7097, a silver 57 μm FACESTOCK PET film. Both are durable FACESTOCK films for high-quality applications in the oil & chemical industry, home & personal care and beverages. As such, Sihl is expanding its range to a total of seven PCR-based products. The products have the same mechanical properties, making them easy to process. So, just like the rest of the range, they are easy to work with and offer identical benefits: Fast drying, with high colour brilliance, sharp-edged prints and good water resistance.

A sustainable assortment

The FACESTOCK range includes BOPP and PET films in various sizes and colours. Combined with the right adhesive, they support recycling efforts, be it through the option of mono-packaging or automatic sorting during recycling.

To reduce CO2 emissions, many of the products are available with DUAL printing technology. This reduces inventory along the entire logistics chain, as only one product is needed for at least two printing technologies, such as inkjet and laser.

Sihl also saves resources through carefully considered selection of materials and offers water-based inkjet products with reduced weight. Compared to the corresponding PET or BOPP grades, the total weight is reduced by up to 40%. This increases productivity by 30–50% more labels per roll.

Sihl FACESTOCK coatings combined with print-on-demand printing technology make it easier and more affordable to produce exactly the amount of labels needed while meeting customers’ personalisation requirements. This reduces waste and CO2 emissions enormously.

Find out more here: https://sihl.com/en/facestock/

On 29 November 2022, the Sihl Group acquired the business activities and assets of the US company Visual Imaging Products.

Visual Imaging Products (VIP), based in Ontario, California, distributes bond paper, signage media and reprographic media. With the integration of VIP into the Sihl Inc. facility in Corona, California, the Sihl Group is taking the next step to becoming one of the leading high-end print media suppliers in the US. The West Coast business in particular will be strengthened by even better service and portfolio quality.

„The acquisition of VIP is another step in our ambition to become the leading provider of wide-format graphic materials in the US. VIP‘s product range is an excellent fit with the Sihl portfolio, and we look forward to serving VIP´s customers, as well as all our US customers, with an even more comprehensive choice of products,“ said Peter K. Wahsner, CEO of Sihl Group.

His special thanks go to VIP‘s founder, Kevin Osborne, for his great support during this process.

Sihl is considered a pioneer on the path to greater sustainability and takes this role very seriously: As part of the ESG strategy, the first inkjet film based on 90% Post Consumer Recycled BOPET for creation of product labels was already launched at the beginning of the year.

Sihl continues to lead the way in FACESTOCK, creating products and solutions that make the best possible use of available resources. The range is continuously being expanded and converted to include more sustainable products. A total of five PCR-based products are currently available: Two transparent inkjet films (7054/7858) with 50 and 80 μm thickness, one transparent film for laser printing with approx. 60 μm thickness (7063) and one white and one silver inkjet film with 80 μm thickness each (7809/7854).

The products have the same mechanical properties, making them easy to process. So, just like the rest of the range, they are easy to work with and offer identical benefits: Fast drying, with high colour brilliance, sharpedged
prints and good water resistance.

A sustainable assortment
The FACESTOCK range includes BOPP and PET films in various sizes and colours. Combined with the right adhesive, they support recycling efforts, be it through the option of mono-packaging or automatic sorting during
recycling.

To reduce CO2 emissions, many of our products are available with DUAL printing technology. This reduces
inventory along the entire logistics chain, as only one product is needed for at least two printing technologies,
such as inkjet and laser.

Sihl also saves resources through carefully considered selection of materials and offers water-based inkjet products with reduced weight. Compared to the corresponding PET or BOPP grades, the total weight is reduced by up to 40 per cent. This increases productivity by 30–50% more labels per roll.

Sihl FACESTOCK coatings combined with print-on-demand printing technology make it easier and more affordable to produce exactly the amount of labels needed while meeting customers’ personalisation requirements. This reduces waste and CO2 emissions enormously.

For more information, click here: https://sihl.com/en/facestock/

Management consultancy Munich Strategy conducted the “Innovation Champions 2022” study on behalf of business weekly WirtschaftsWoche and selected the 100 most innovative SMEs in Germany. After 2021, Sihl GmbH is in the top 30 again this year too.

“Innovation is part of our DNA, it’s something that we live and breathe every day and being recognised as one of
Germany’s most innovative medium-sized companies is a major accolade for us,” comments Peter K. Wahsner,
CEO of the Sihl Group, about the Group’s success.

Innovation is an important part of Sihl’s company strategy. With comprehensive technology and market scouting, new opportunities are being developed, for example in the area of personalisation with the PERIGON joint venture. The core business is still dynamic too and products are always being further developed, especially in the areas of sustainability and recyclability, in order to look after the environment for future generations.

100 innovation champions chosen from 4,000 companies

For the study, Munich Strategy looked at and evaluated 4,000 German companies with a turnover of between EUR 10 million and EUR 1 billion. Finally, it selected the “TOP 100 Innovation Champions 2022” from 400 finalists that distinguished themselves as industry leaders and through innovations.

The basis for the final selection was an “innovation score”, which is calculated as two-thirds innovativeness and one-third company performance. To determine innovativeness, Munich Strategy examined the extent to which companies are characterised by continuous innovations (innovation vitality), whether they are considered innovative by the market and competitors (innovation perception), and whether they invest in innovations on a sustained basis (R&D and tech power). Performance is calculated on the basis of sales growth, earnings ratio and EBIT growth over recent years.

“When it comes to innovation, one thing that all 100 champions have in common is their ability to deliver solutions for multiple needs and challenges that we are facing at this time. The cornerstone for lasting success is cemented by their comprehensive understanding of innovation and alignment of their business model in accordance with this,” explains Barbara Siegert, innovation expert and author of the study.

The overall ranking with the 100 “Innovation Champions 2022” can be found on the WirtschaftsWoche
website: https://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/mittelstand/exklusives-wiwo-ranking-die-100-innovativsten-deutschen-mittelstaendler-rang-1-bis-50/28590970-3.html

With ARTYSIO it is possible to produce stand-up pouches using two different production methods: Once for all plannable runs in the production “print&pack“, or completely flexible on demand in the production “pack&print“!

One Stand up pouch – two processes

CONVENTIONAL “PRINT&PACK”

For plannable runs, the ARTYSIO film is first printed cost-effectively using aqueous inkjet printing and then made into stand-up pouches on the line.

REVOLUTIONARY “PACK&PRINT”

The ARTYSIO film is first processed on the line into unprinted stand-up pouches, which can then be individually printed later as required using aqueous inkjet.

The premade stand up pouch

The so-called pack&print variant is suitable for all small, highly flexible customer orders of up to 10,000 pieces and represents a completely new benchmark in the industry.

This ARTYSIO variant significantly shortens the delivery time of the current digitally printable stand-up pouches. Customers do not need own pouching equipment, nor do they place production orders. Just order the premade bags and print directly as required! It couldn’t be easier or faster!

Properties and benefits of the ARTYSIO „pack&print“ solution

Due to the oval welded bottom, the bag remains upright and offers an attractive product presentation at the point of sale. The pouches offer plenty of space on the front and back for an appealing and personalised design and information on ingredients and additives. The immediate drying of the inks enables seamless further processing.

Unfilled stand-up pouches can be stored efficiently and in a space-saving manner due to their practical flat shape, resulting in low storage and transport costs compared to other types of packaging.

ARTYSIO films are manufactured according to GMP guidelines and are therefore qualified as flexible, primary packaging for food & non-food applications where particularly high barrier properties are required to protect the freshness, aroma and appearance of the products.

By using different closure options, such as zippers or spouts, the liquid, pasty or granulated products are optimally offered and remain fresh for a long time due to the reclosure.

The prefabricated stand-up pouches can now be ordered for the filling quantities 100 ml, 250 ml and 500 ml. Contact us quickly and easily at artysio@sihl.com!