Airopack International BV

Airopack International BV is a revolutionary all plastic dispensing system that can replace traditional aerosols as well as mechanical pump systems.

Airopack is all about sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, CO2 reduction and, of course, innovation. The “Airopack Generation Two” is a vast improvement over its predecessor, with advances made in CO2 and energy reduction numbers:

CO2 reduction: -74%
Energy reduction: -42%

Product Description

While Aerosol dispensers in metal cans have existed for over 50 years they are dangerous to the environment still, hazardous to users (explosion and substance abuse), as well as providing uneven dispensing as propellant is used up. As a result, their use is either severely restricted and even banned in some countries. Airopack solves each of these problems and makes the aerosol completely obsolete!

Airopack is a revolutionary all plastic dispensing system that can replace traditional aerosols as well as mechanical pump systems, i.e. airless dispensers and also lead to new applications in the market. Airopack overcomes the pressure-drop problem by using a compressed-air reservoir with an innovative pressure control regulator to ensure constant flow of the product from beginning to end. If dropped into a fire, it simply loses air instead of exploding and there is no substance abuse issue since the propellant is air.

The constant low-pressure in the part of the container where the product is filled means transparent plastics can safely be used instead of metal. The product filled inside Airopack is visible to the consumer and non-round shapes are possible for clear market differentiation.

The pressure control can be adjusted to suit different types of formulations from liquid sprays to high-viscosity products and makes Airopack a universal dispensing system. Manufacturing uses low-cost PET processes and product filling can be done in non-aerosol facilities using lower cost equipment, making Airopack a real competitive alternative in the consumer market.

Production and Marketplace Innovation

The product can run on existing aerosol lines, with minor modification, thus suitable for the traditional aerosol market as a replacement for metal cans.

The Airopack offers the brand owners a sustainable alternative to traditional aerosol cans made of tin or aluminium.

Airopack provides considerable advantages for manufacturers and end consumers due to following key USP’s:

Air instead of Propellants
Constant pressure
All plastic
Sustainability message
Cost saving in filling/logistics
Easy differentiation

Technological Innovation

Attempts to simply replace metal cans with plastic have been problematic because the complete plastic can needs to withstand the high filling pressure.

The concept of separating the dispenser into a high-pressure reservoir, pressure regulator and constant low-pressure in the main container allowed a new way of thinking on manufacturing the container in plastics and the possibility of non-round shapes.

Use of lightweight, strong PET material and innovative laser welding technologies used in the assembly of Airopack provide a very robust package which meets existing metal can aerosol safety regulations.

Airopack can be filled efficiently through the open neck of the container, rather than through the valve as in many traditional aerosols, which for viscous products is slower and therefore require expensive filling machinery. Several worldwide patents for Airopack, covering the pressure control device and the manufacturing processes, have been granted (patent US2007125809).

Social and environmental impact

International government policy has been to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) content in consumer products. Some aerosols have been banned in certain markets e.g. California, Sweden. Environmental and consumer safety gurus are very concerned about aerosols, much as they are concerned about incandescent light-bulbs. However, up to now, there has been no alternative to the aerosol, and these groups, as well as Governments, have not been able to be as aggressive as they would like to be.

A non-flammable alternative to propellant based aerosols in combination with relatively low regulated pressure offers many safety benefits such as reduction of accidents, transport & storage risks, etc.

Solvent abuse with propellant based aerosols is a serious concern for consumer product groups and consumer demand for more sustainable products is an increasing demand worldwide.