For more than 30 years, LyondellBasell has been producing leading polyolefins to address the needs of the expanding collapsible tubes market. The company’s innovative low and high density polyethylene grades are used by customers to meet the most demanding requirements of collapsible tube production.
Addressing the latest trends
LyondellBasell is a leading supplier of polyolefins used in collapsible tubes. The company offers producers high-quality resins, strong support in application development and technical services, extensive market and technical knowledge, and global supply capabilities with local sourcing options.
During the past decade, collapsible tubes have been steadily capturing market share from other packaging segments. Characteristics such as convenience, attractive design options, high shelf appeal, and ease of handling and transport have driven brand owners to select this type of packaging for their products. Collapsible tubes continue to be popular choices for the packaging of personal care products, toothpaste and industrial items, but they also have been finding their way into non-traditional applications such as healthcare and food applications. Although the collapsible tubes market has been affected by the financial and economic crisis, recently there have been signs of improvement. According to industry analysts, the outlook for the future appears positive.
Driving this growth is the development of seamless plastic tubes, which offer cost savings and packaging safety advantages over aluminium and laminated solutions. Another trend in seamless tubes is increased diversification of tube diameters, from 19 mm typically used for eye creams, up to 60 mm for shampoo and food products such as ketchup. A seamless tube consists of an extruded tube body and an injection molded shoulder and closure. Modern extrusion lines support monolayer as well as multilayer tube structures, and are used in applications where enhanced gas barrier properties are required.