As of late, innovative Swedish company, PulPac, is making waves in the packaging world with their patented Dry Molded Fiber technology. The technology and its process uses air, heat, and pressure to form almost any three-dimensional shaped object, and according to PulPac, Dry Molded Fiber is perfectly suited for replacing the unnecessary plastic used for single-use packaging applications. With these new patents, PulPac now holds five granted patents on the US market.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted PulPac three new US patents, two of which concern the divisional applications from PulPac's original applications filed in 2016/2017, where one is related to the basic process of Dry Molded Fiber, and the second is related specifically to bottle forming. The third patent concerns the layering of the cellulose web in the Dry Molded Fiber process.
"The patent related to bottle forming is especially interesting," says PulPac's Cheif Innovation Officer, Ove Larsson. "We have a few viable solutions for this. One involves turning the cellulose web into a cylindric shape and then forming the bottle. Another important aspect is to form the bottles in a "seamless" continuous process. And we have filed an application for that. We seek to harness the possibilities of using rolls and a 'forming shoulder' to fold the web, turning it into a cylinder."
Working with cellulosic fiber has many challenges that need to be considered. Ove elaborates: "While developing the Dry Molded Fiber technology, we've learned so much about the complexities presented by this weblike yet rigid material. And when trying to figure out how to turn it into a bottle, we've realized that the web's feeding angles, thickness, types of layers, and how to join them all interfere with obtaining an optimal result. And the solution presented in our patent application features a forming bladder connected to a pressure lance.
PulPac holds 250 granted patents in several jurisdictions, with more underway. During 2023 they've filed 11 new patent applications, with more underway. This means that the company holds a total of 45 patent families.