Experience Expertise: 

Can paper replace plastic for packaging? With Jan, it can! Jan Herberg has nearly 25 years of experience as a coatings specialist. He visits packaging producers and shares his technical expertise to develop paper solutions that are sustainable and offer a wide range of value-adding functions. Every paper is different. Every coating impacts materials in specific ways. And Jan knows how to find the best combination to swap plastic for paper packaging!

There’s not much Jan Herberg doesn’t know about coatings. As an application engineer, he’s spent almost a quarter of a century analyzing how different coatings affect various materials. He brings that expertise to Henkel’s customers in the packaging market and helps them implement sustainable innovations for key trends and challenges in this industry.

Right now, Jan’s daily work often involves working closely with packaging producers to support the switch from plastic to paper. It’s a common topic in this industry – but the difficulties and demands are unique for every application. With his deep knowledge of coatings, Jan is a powerful partner who quickly understands each customer’s needs.

Creating the Optimal Packaging Solution

Paper is often biodegradable. It’s also easier to recycle than plastic. That makes it an attractive choice for packaging producers seeking to lead the transition to a more sustainable future. Applying coatings to the surface of paper or cardboard can add functions like moisture resistance or durability. But Jan knows it’s more complicated than that…

Coatings behave differently on different types of paper. Is the paper compressed? Has it got a pretreatment on its surface? How far can the coating penetrate the paper? By working with Jan, Henkel’s customers in this market can answer these questions – and plenty more too. He then joins together with customers to create the optimal packaging solution.

Making Packaging Easier to Recycle

Beyond paper, Jan’s work also involves supporting packaging producers with another aspect of the global megatrend for sustainability: The switch to mono-material designs. This involves using just one material in a packaging design, which reduces production complexity and makes packaging easier to recycle by eliminating the need to separate different materials.

Coatings have the power to make this possible. Jan collaborates with customers across the global packaging industry to explore ways of expanding the properties of materials. In this way, his expertise enables Henkel customers to embrace mono-material packaging solutions – and make valuable progress toward their sustainability targets.