The following article originally appeared in a print edition of 'The Canmaker.' You can also click here to read it.
US can coatings manufacturer PPG has released an enhanced version of its non-BPA internal coating. Called Innovel PRO, the new formulation is said to offer better wet applicability than previous versions of Innovel, which was first launched in 2014.
"We had to figure out which component in the formulation was best to alter and work around it. I will say that the resin backbone, and what the industry loves about Innovel in terms of its ability to hold beverage and not migrate into the contents, that remains the same," says senior vice president for packaging coatings Amy Ericson.
She adds that the formulation "still has the lowest migration for any non-BPA offering". According to PPG, Innovel PRO was designed to make coating application easier for canmakers: "Non-BPA coatings are not harder to apply, but the application is different. People have been applying epoxy coatings the same way for 40 years, so the good thing about Innovel PRO is that we didn't have to retrain people to use it. It is applied exactly the same way as any epoxy-based inside spray"
Innovel PRO is currently manufactured in the US, the Netherlands and Korea. Many North American customers have already converted their coating lines to run the new formulation, says Ericson: "As the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) put even more stringent restrictions in place for 2024, we expect European clients to completely convert their lines as well."