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A relative newcomer to the world of packaging film, SuperFilm is quickly becoming a force to bereckoned with, thanks to the millions of euros funnelled into its operation by its parent company Sanko.Having significantly expanded its technical capabilities in recent years and moved into hithertountapped niches such as in-mould labelling or biopackaging, SuperFilm seems ready to take the marketby storm. Oscar Del Santo talks to general manager Necdet Kileci and European manager David Haskins.

THE ONE-STOPSHOPFOR PACKAGING FILM

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uperFilm’s ambitions go wellbeyond its native Turkey – as itsstrategically located commercialoffices in Ohio and Luxembourg are thereto prove. Originally focused on BOPP(biaxially oriented polypropylene), it nowmanufactures an all-encompassing rangethat includes BOPET (biaxially orientedpolyester), CPP (cast polypropylene),BOPA (biaxially oriented polyamide)and multilayer barrier films.SuperFilm was established in 1993 as adirect result of the diversification effortinitiated by its parent company Sanko,one of the leading industrial groups inTurkey with more than 10,000 workersand a turnover in excess of

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2 billion.“Sanko was founded in 1904 as a smalltextile company and continued to be sole-lydedicated to textiles until the 1980s,”Mr Kileci says. “Then a major programmeof national and international expansionwas launched and Sanko moved intonovel areas such as construction, utili-ties, IT, automotive and others. I regardSuperFilm as the result of a trulyvisionary effort on behalf of our parentcompany, which was prepared to supportour operation with massive investmentuntil we became the major profit-makingpackaging company we are today.” A quick look at SuperFilm’s historyshould suffice to prove to any doubtersthat ‘massive investment’ is indeed nooverstatement. In 1993 a 35,000m

facil-itywas put at the disposal of SuperFilmto produce high quality BOPP film withstate-of-the-art machinery by Europeanstandards. In 1997 capacity was doubledto reach 30,000 tons of BOPP film and10,000 tons of metalised film per yearafter the purchase of three metalisersand two coating lines.In 2004 Sanko made further largeinvestments into its new offspring. Thethird BOPP line was acquired alongsidethe first multilayer cast line for multi-barrier films. By 2005 the third BOPPline had been brought on stream, thefirst BOPET line had been added and

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Exploiting gaps

The applications of the SuperFilm range of films are manifold and include packaging forfood items such as biscuits, snack, chocolatebars, chewing gum and cakes, or the wrappingof non-food items such as cigarettes, tissuepapers, CDs, and adhesive tapes that are usedat home and at work.David Haskins is excited about the chancesoffered by in-mould labelling technology andbelieves that exploiting this niche may giveSuperFilm the edge over its competitors.“With our advanced technology lines,” heexplains, “we are able to produce an injection-mould designed range of films – like the whiteglossy high yield, transparent solid, matt andhigh-gloss BOPP films in the 50–80 micronrange and CPP films in the range of 82–100micron. All kinds of self-adhesive tape, wrap-around, cut-in-stack and general label applica-tionsare also available. I believe we are offeringone of the most complete ranges of labels withmultiple applications.“We are waiting to be awarded a patent inthese and related films – like the Supguard rangeof multibarrier film in various structures forthermoforming, medical uses or industrialapplications that help to increase shelf lifeand are incredibly cost-effective. We are wellplaced to cater for most needs in an area withtremendous potential.”Mr Kileci, on the other hand, is enthused bytheir new Supereco range of biodegradable films.“The SuperEco films we have developedunder the ‘Nature Pack’ umbrella nameexemplify our desire to be at the forefrontof the growth in biopackaging that is takingplace in Europe,” he points out. “Thesepolypropylene films are rendered degrad-able/biodegradable by a combination of heatand UV as a first step and subsequently theabsorption of micro-organisms naturallypresent in soil. They end up as biomass innature by a degradation process that isentirely non-hazardous.”

A Pan-European approach

This extended product range fits into thecomprehensive strategic plan devised by Sankoto turn SuperFilm into the one-stop-shop forpackaging films in the Old Continent.“Pan-European growth is a key feature of our strategic plan for the next 15 years,” DavidHaskins explains. ”In order to realise our desireto become a major European player we want

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SuperFilm was able to produce up to 94,000 tons of packaging films in a site comprising 85,000m

of manufacturing space.“The almost

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80 million invested in the past year willenable us to move beyond the traditional OPP applica-tionsand into more technical areas,” David Haskinssays. “August 2005 witnessed a bustle of activity in ourcompany with the start-up of our BOPET film line with acapacity of up to 18,000 tons. With our third BOPP linewe have added 40,000 tons to the original 30,000 andintroduced a set of new specifications for not only thepackaging but crucially the label market. Our state-of-the-art multilayer barrier and CPP film line adds 6000tons to the mix and enables us to cater for sophisti-cated needs.”“We may be the new kid on the block in Europeanpackaging,” he continues, “but we are certainly readyto leave our imprint in the world of European packag-ingfilms. We are already employing 514 people andhave a respectable turnover of

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90 million. Once ourenhanced capabilities allow us to increase productionthese figures will grow substantially.”On the technological front, SuperFilm uses the up-to-date gauge system to determine the thickness controlof films. Quality control is carried out in accordancewith ISO 9001 standards in their own quality controllab. A process control policy guarantees that samplesare taken from each lot produced and tested to insurecompliance with standards. Automation is supportedwith a barcoding control system to facil-itate accurate shipmentand delivery.