We develop groundbreaking paper-based solutions for tomorrow’s world

Koehler Innovation & Technology’s pilot coating machine (SMV) is the only one of its kind in the industry. A replica of a standard production line machine, it is used solely for the purposes of development. When upscaling production, for instance, laboratory tests can be run using the pilot coating machine prior to the first production test runs. This gives the development team the flexibility to address any problems, make adjustments to the product, and test new solutions without taking up valuable capacity on the main production line. The pilot coating machine is equipped with proven drying technology and also the latest coating technology. It has a working width of 50 cm, a maximum roll diameter of around 1.30 m, and a curtain coating system for multilayer coatings, meaning it is exceptionally well set up for all kinds of coating tests.

The Dixon laboratory coating machine provides an intermediary step between laboratory testing and the pilot coating machine. Unlike the pilot coating machine (SMV), it can be used to coat laboratory test pieces on a much smaller scale. This allows developers to produce representative paper samples, e.g. for user testing, without using large volumes of raw materials. That means they can work more flexibly and effectively because the preparation time is much reduced. The Dixon coating machine has a working width of 30 cm and a maximum roll diameter of 50 cm. It is primarily designed for doctor blade coatings.

The Sumet coater is part of our laboratory equipment set-up. One of its key advantages is that it allows us to reproduce the same coating on individual pieces of flat A4 material. This increases the level of automation in the laboratory and enables us to reproduce the same process over and over.

The machine uses a doctor blade coating technique where the coating is initially applied by hand. The blade then moves automatically across the surface at a constant – and adjustable – pressure, before the coated material is passed into the drying unit consisting of an IR heater and a downstream circulating air dryer. The power of the IR heater is adjustable in percent, as is the temperature and circulation rate of the downstream dryer. The advantage of this is that the drying process with the Sumet coater accurately replicates the drying process with industrial coating machines, which makes the process of scaling up to the pilot coating machine and ultimately production much easier. The drying results are more representative of industrial processes, meaning the design and development process is much more effective.

The laboratory sheet former is another of our pieces of laboratory equipment. It is used to prepare representative samples of wet paper pulp sheets that are very close to the results achieved with larger industrial systems later down the line. The sheet former enables us to test the coloring of products such as decor paper, so that we can adjust the color tones and find the perfect formula.

The multipurpose reactor was designed specifically for micro-encapsulation so as to test experimental processes before they are implemented at the production-scale level. The unit is extremely versatile, as it has several storage containers for raw materials and allows developers to set up very specific reaction conditions. This ensures excellent reproducibility while also providing a high degree of automation.

The centerpiece of the multipurpose reactor is a double-wall stainless steel pressure vessel (<6 bar, variable temperature control) with a capacity of 230 l and a dual agitator with variable speed settings. The control system also has a visual user interface, which developers can use to monitor batch processes and also control the dosing of solid and liquid raw materials from the three double-wall stainless steel storage containers (with variable temperature control and agitator).

The laboratory reactor can be used as an intermediate step when taking pure laboratory research and scaling it up to pilot-scale processes, and accordingly delivers valuable information regarding a product’s scalability. It is a highly automated system in which a large number of process parameters can be adjusted as necessary, making it particularly useful for formulation and even synthesis processes. The big advantages of the laboratory reactor are its versatility and high reproducibility.

The laboratory reactor enables developers to produce samples in batches of up to 5 kg and helps them define initial parameters (such as agitator speed) during the initial laboratory development stage, ready for upscaling during the pilot and/or production phase. The laboratory reactor can also be used to replicate complex manufacturing processes thanks to the different mixing devices with variable speed settings, the flexible reactor temperature settings (-45 to +230 °C), and the option to fit glass apparatus with ground glass joints. The PC user interface, once again, allows developers to input complex formulas and reproduce these with a high degree of accuracy.

Our synthesis laboratory researches and classifies new functional chemicals for functional surfaces. The findings give Koehler Innovation & Technology’s expert development team a better understanding of the physico-chemical properties of the chemicals and allow them to identify the influencing factors associated with either the raw materials themselves or the overall value chain for the raw materials. They can therefore approach their research with a broader understanding.

Because they understand the structural properties of the raw materials, they can control the interactions between them during the synthesis process and produce components that meet the stringent market requirements in terms of technological, regulatory, and environmental standards. In other words, they can produce top-quality paper made from top-quality components – guaranteed.

Process engineering is another important element of our laboratory and pilot work. This includes analyzing raw materials and prototype materials to see if they are compatible with processes under different conditions and making sure that processes are still effective when upscaled to production. Through this research, the Koehler Innovation & Technology development team ensures that raw materials are fit for their intended purpose.

Digital microscopes allow us to produce images at up to 100 times magnification, as well as take 2D and 3D measurements and generate topographic images. This technology is typical of Koehler Innovation & Technology’s forward-thinking and professional approach and provides us with a really accurate picture of our paper quality.

In addition, we use FT-IR microscopy to identify and map (by area/line) localized contamination measuring as little as 10x10 µm.

Our X-ray fluorescence device (XRF) is a valuable material analysis tool, which we use for both quantitative and qualitative analyses of coatings and a wide range of pigments and fillers.

This state-of-the-art device enables us to conduct detailed analyses of coatings and their structures. The image definition is exceptional and the images can be magnified up to 5000 times. There is also an EDX mapping function and option to produce cross-sections, so we are able to verify our paper quality in the minutest detail.

We use photometry technology to take color measurements, define environmental parameters, and conduct quality control checks.

Modern gas chromatography is a valuable tool for trace analysis and for examining complex samples with numerous analytes, such as odor-influencing monomer components. It’s also an extremely versatile technique, with uses ranging from VOC measurements and pyrolysis GC-MS to migration analyses and mass spectrometry.

We take OTR, WVTR, and HVTR measurements and use this data in combination with sensory panels to identify and characterize odor and flavor deviations.

In the past, the in-house printing plant was used to check the printability of our fine and carbonless paper, but it is now responsible for testing our thermal paper, particularly its abrasion resistance. Dozens of thermal printers run around the clock to make sure that our new (and updated) products continue to deliver the same exceptional quality. The in-house printing plant works closely with colleagues from Koehler Paper, which manufactures the thermal printers, to test each new product prior to its market launch.

In the recycling laboratory, Somerville fibre fractionators are used to apply the common assessment methods (Cepi and PTS) to evaluate papers and product concepts in terms of their recyclability. In addition, we directly apply the latest findings from the cross-industry alliance 4evergreen here. In this way, we can ensure that the final packaging solutions are recyclable.