IC*STAR: New Ways in Woven Sack Production

A stronger sack bottom, material savings, low maintenance requirement – woven polypropylene sacks welded with a sealing band instead of sewn at the bottom bring significant advantages for both producers and users and help protect the environment.

With the IC*STAR sack concept, developed and realised by Starlinger and STATEC BINDER, broken needles, stitch holes and traces of oil on the sack fabric are now destined to become obsolete. Compared to sewing, the IC*STAR process offers considerable material savings in sack production, consequently requiring less raw material – polypropylene, in this case. Sack producers profit from lower costs, and the reduced carbon footprint is good for the environment. Material is saved by the elimination of the seam allowance required for a sewn closure, as well as by the use of lighter fabric made possible by the greater sack bottom strength. Moreover, this type of closure makes IC*STAR sacks completely tight – an important advantage especially for packaging fine powdered goods which tend to sift through stitch holes and form dust, presenting a health hazard in some cases. The oil-free production process makes IC*STAR sacks ideal for packaging foodstuffs.

Welded sacks – the production concept of the future

IC*STAR sacks are produced on the Starlinger sack conversion line multiKON KX. This conversion line is equipped with the sealTEC bottom closure module, jointly developed by Starlinger and STATEC BINDER. Instead of a sewing unit, the IC*STAR concept features a welding device which, in a continuous process, welds a coated sealing band onto the sack bottom by means of hot air – no glue is required. The mouth of the sack remains open and can be closed, after filling on the filling line, either by welding with another sealing band or by sewing. The sealTEC module requires less maintenance than a sewing machine and needs considerably fewer replacements of spares and wearing parts.
Both coated and uncoated IC*STAR sacks can be produced by this new method in an efficient and material-saving process.

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