Country: Czech Republic and Slovakia

Category: Transit

CAUTION: SLIPPERY — Mono-material anti-slip lacquer that stabilises pallets, doubles friction and removes claims
Since 2022 our distribution of secondary packs with very smooth surfaces (high-quality coated board with overprint varnish) was plagued by sliding layers, leaning loads and toppled pallets. Instrumented testing confirmed why: the incumbent duplex anti-slip sheet (paper + PE) delivered a low coefficient of friction, CoF 0.15–0.25, which could not resist the dynamic forces of storage and transport. The result was 50+ pallet damage claims across inbound and outbound flows, extra rework and customer dissatisfaction. In 2025, after deploying our new solution, the number of claims fell to zero. The breakthrough is a recyclable, cost-neutral mono-material paper with a new anti-slip lacquer that consistently raises friction to CoF 0.41–0.42, almost 2× the previous performance, while running on existing lines and automated palletisers.
The project had clear guardrails from day one: stay mono-material for 100% recyclability in paper streams; deliver a cost-neutral switch without adding conversion steps; and make the solution work both inbound and outbound so that the same specification stabilises supplier deliveries and our own finished-goods pallets. We screened lacquer chemistries, built lab panels and ran a stepwise test protocol: measure static and dynamic friction, validate ink-/varnish-to-varnish performance, and confirm sheet handling and stack release. The selected lacquer hit the target window—CoF 0.41–0.42—and showed robust adhesion and blocking resistance. We then transferred the coating to production equipment, manufactured full batches and shipped to the plant for line trials. Quality control on incoming pallets reconfirmed the friction values; packaging and transport tests at Haleone verified that inter-layer slip was eliminated and pallet columns remained vertical throughout simulated distribution.
Operationally, the impact is immediate and measurable. On outbound flows, the higher friction translated into a 30% faster packing process, more compact and stable pallets, and a 50% reduction in anti-slip interlayers. Fewer sheets, fewer corrections and straighter stacks compound into annual savings of ~€200,000. On inbound flows, receiving operations report a stable packaging process with no unplanned stops; pallets arrive compact and upright with no additional costs. Across both directions, the lacquered mono-material replaces duplex sheets, which means less plastic in the system, easier recycling and fewer consumables to manage. Because the specification is applied directly within our normal printing/coating pass, there is no new SKU to stock and no extra handling. The result is an elegant plug-and-play upgrade: existing boxes, existing patterns—simply with a surface that grips rather than slides.