The history and future development of aluminum foil packaging

The history and future development of aluminum foil packaging

Aluminum foil packaging development history:

Aluminum foil packaging began in the early 20th century, when aluminum foil as the most expensive packaging material, only used for high-grade packaging. In 1911, the Swiss confectionery company began wrapping chocolate in aluminum foil, gradually replacing tinfoil in popularity. In 1913, based on the success of aluminum smelting, the United States began to produce aluminum foil, mainly used in packaging high-end goods, life-saving supplies and chewing gum. In 1921, the United States successfully developed composite aluminum foil board, mainly used as decorative board for high-grade packaging and folding cartons. In 1938, heat-sealed aluminum foil was introduced. During World War II, aluminum foil developed rapidly as a packaging material for military products. In 1948, molded aluminum foil containers were used to package food. The 1950s began to develop aluminum paper and aluminum plastic composite materials. In the 1970s, with the maturity of color printing technology, aluminum foil and aluminum-plastic composite packaging entered a period of rapid popularity.
In the 21st century, the trend of market competition and product homogenization stimulates the rapid development of product packaging. In 2002, the global packaging market exceeded $500 billion. The development of aluminum foil packaging and the development of the whole industry basically synchronous. In the Chinese market, aluminum foil packaging develops rapidly, mainly for two reasons: first, the development of China’s flexible packaging market lags behind that of developed countries. The proportion of flexible packaging of daily consumption goods and food is small, which accounts for more than 65% in developed countries, and more than 70% in some cases, and about 15% in China. The proportion increased rapidly in the past two years. Secondly, the domestic aluminum-plastic composite and aluminum-paper composite technologies continue to mature, and the production cost is reduced, which promotes the promotion and application of aluminum-matrix composite materials in China’s packaging market.

Aluminum foil packaging development prospects:

The development of aluminum foil packaging is closely related to the progress of material composite technology. The composite is divided into base layer, functional layer and heat seal layer. The base mainly plays the role of beauty, printing, moisture-proof and so on; The function of the layer is mainly to avoid light; The heat sealing layer is in direct contact with the goods to be packaged, with adaptability, permeability resistance, heat sealing and other functions. With the development of basic materials and composite technology, the function of aluminum foil packaging will continue to improve.

Aluminum foil for medical packaging:

In 2002, the global pharmaceutical packaging industry output value was nearly 11 billion US dollars, with an average growth rate of 4%. China’s pharmaceutical packaging market is worth about $1.8 billion, with an annual growth rate of more than 10%. Aluminum foil is mainly used for blister packaging in medical packaging. Blister packaging is mainly made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheets and 0.02 mm thick aluminum foil. Blister packaging has become the main way of packaging western medicine tablets and capsules. At present, the annual demand for aluminum foil bubble wrap is more than 7000 tons, and it will exceed 10000 tons after 2005. Another important market for aluminum foil is the production of aluminum-plastic tear film (SP). At present, there are more than 1,000 such production lines in China, and the demand for aluminum foil is 3,000 tons/year. In addition, aluminum composite hose for ointment packaging and aluminum composite bottle caps for water agent and injection packaging are also two potential markets for aluminum foil consumption. At present, the total demand for aluminum foil exceeds 1000 tons. There is still a potential market for aluminum foil applications in the pharmaceutical industry, namely aseptic packaging of medicines. At present, only a few domestic companies produce aseptic packaging of health drinks such as herbal tea, and there is no contract to develop aseptic packaging aqua. This new area will be an important potential market for aluminum foil flexible packaging.