DuPont™ Surlyn® Takes Terra Chips® to New Heights

When Brooklyn, New York-based Dana Alexander, Inc., wanted to expand distribution for its Terra Chips® products to the U.S. West Coast, there was only one thing standing in its way - high altitudes. 

When Brooklyn, New York-based Dana Alexander, Inc., wanted to expand distribution for its Terra Chips® products to the U.S. West Coast, there was only one thing standing in its way - high altitudes. That's because the bags the company was using to package its low-fat vegetable chips didn't fare well shipping over the mountain regions west of the Mississippi River. Depending on the altitude, air pressure changes caused some of the bags to burst at the seams, especially during the heat of the summer months. In its quest for a bag that would seal tight but still peel open easily, Dana Alexander worked with its packaging converter, Printpack, Inc., to evaluate several different sealant materials, including a simple polyethylene formulation and metallocene polyethylene. "We were looking for a sealant material that would provide hermeticity while offering excellent bond strength to the barrier layer," explained Ken Smith, marketing/product development manager for the Snack Foods Division at Printpack, Inc. "Surlyn® was the only material that could meet this challenge," Smith noted. Based on evaluations and Printpack's positive experience with Surlyn® in similar applications, the company selected a multilayer package structure consisting of an oriented polypropylene (OPP), low density polyethylene (LDPE), high-barrier metallized PP and Surlyn®. According to Alex Dzieduszycki, vice president of Dana Alexander, Surlyn® forms a durable seal that keeps the bags in top shape, even at high altitudes. "We're now able to ship product to the West Coast with confidence," he said. "As a result, we've seen a significant increase in sales." In addition to providing a strong seal, Surlyn® has helped Dana Alexander improve other aspects of its packaging operation, as well. "We experienced hot tack difficulties with some of the sealant materials we tried, especially when we ran our equipment at speeds above 30 bags a minute," Dzieduszycki explained. "Since switching to Surlyn® we're now filling bags 50 percent faster than before and achieving speeds of up to 45 bags a minute." Available in 13 different flavors, Terra Chips® are packaged in bags that range in size from 3/4-oz. airline servings to 12-oz. foodservice and club store portions. The bags themselves have garnered a great deal of press recently, having received a prestigious Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) award for their striking graphics and outstanding shelf appeal.