The Gausepohl Fleisch Group relies on Südpack Films for its Fresh Meat Packaging

Südpack has been supplying Gausepohl's subsidiary "die Thüringer" in Arnstadt with its full range of required films since the early 1990s. These films are used to pack sausages and meat.

12 May 2010 --- The packaging, which the Gausepohl Fleisch Group has been using for its fresh beef and pork since autumn 2009, is literally a shining example: The new flexible films from Südpack Verpackungen GmbH & Co. KG do not only score over the competition with their higher level of safety and easier machinability – they also offer a stronger shine. Thinner but more efficient films are used, preserving both resources and the environment.

The Gausepohl Fleisch Group is one of the top 10 slaughter businesses and meat marketers in Germany. Founded in 1957, the company is headquartered in Dissen am Teutoburger Wald and, like Südpack, is a classic, family-owned midsize enterprise. The group of companies cuts up and processes thousands of pigs and cows every day in its seven production locations. The company exports its products to countless countries in and outside Europe. The Gausepohl Fleisch Group offers a large number of its meat specialities in self-service packaging, which can be adapted individually to different brands and customer products. The packaging is used for fresh beef and pork products.

Südpack has been supplying Gausepohl's subsidiary "die Thüringer" in Arnstadt with its full range of required films since the early 1990s. These films are used to pack sausages and meat – in bulk consumer packaging as well as in individually printed packets for the points of sale. Since 2009, Südpack has also been supplying packaging films for the site in Chemnitz where the group of companies distributes fresh pork and beef in vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging for individual customers. The Südpack films are used as vacuum packaging for fresh storage and maturing packaging.

More performance and less packaging
The Südpack product Multifol GVA 160 NT is used as a bottom film and Multico 60 as a top film. Both films run on conventional thermoforming machines – where they stood out immediately for their excellent machinability. Companies can reap the benefits twice over: The packaging film is less prone to sticking in the machinery than previously used products, which increases production line efficiency, while the sealing temperature can be reduced, which protects the surface of the meat from being burned. In addition, the temperature can be reduced when forming the packaging, which reduces energy consumption and therefore cuts costs and resources.

Multifol GVA is a high-barrier film for thermoforming applications and is equally suitable for deep freezing and pasteurisation. Like the Multico top film, it is characterised by flexibility, a high punch resistance, transparency and excellent gloss. Despite having a minimal material thickness, it offers superb thermoforming properties.

This becomes possible due to world-class high-tech coextrusion technology. The two-digit million investment made by the Ochsenhausen-based company in 2009 ensures the sustainable preservation of resources in several respects: Cutting losses are reduced in production and the film is more efficient, despite the lower volume of material, thanks to the greater number of individual layers (similar to plywood), which also saves on material.

The thinner film means lower disposal costs for customers while offering greater ecological efficiency. This has enabled Gausepohl Fleisch GmbH to reduce the thickness of the lower films in its packaging by some 15 percent. “Südpack offered its new film just at the right moment,” emphasizes Mr Trenkmann, who is responsible for technical purchasing at the Chemnitz site. Malte Rahneberg, Sales Director for Germany and Austria at Südpack, is also satisfied: “The new films have closed a gap in the market,” he says, summing up briefly. “Innovation pays off.”