Tray-Pak Heats Up the Hot-to-Go Container Market with New Products Featuring UltraClear PP Clarified with Milliken’s Millad NXTM 8000

Milliken & Company announced at IDDBA’s Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar & Expo that Tray-Pak Corporation has created new food containers for hot-to-go and heat-at-home applications made from UltraClear polypropylene (PP) clarified with Milliken’s advanced Millad NXTM 8000 technology. Tray-Pak, a maker of custom thermoformed plastic packaging, chose UltraClear PP to offer its customers a unique combination of glass-like clarity, microwave/hot fill capability and recyclability – and the option to enhance the containers with Milliken’s ClearTint colorants, company officials say. Tray-Pak showcased a new 9-inch by 9-inch dome lid container; it has also developed a 6- inch by 6-inch container and a 7.25-inch by 5.6-inch rectangular container. They will be the first commercially available food containers in North America to feature UltraClear PP, officials add.

“Tray-Pak has always brought new material innovations to the market,” says Ashley Waszkiewicz, marketing manager, Tray-Pak Corporation. “The partnership with Milliken combines our excellent design and engineering capabilities with advanced material technologies that provide clarity similar to polyethylene terephthalate and the heat performance and sustainability of polypropylene. UltraClear PP allows us to create products that meet growing trends, such as the move away from expanded polystyrene in favor of a more easily recycled material. Tray-Pak looks forward to launching the line later this year and plans to continue designing tailor-made products that will use this material technology to target consumer demands for clarity and microwave capability.”

“Tray-Pak’s attractive hot food containers are a great and practical example of how readily UltraClear PP can be adapted to the requirements of new applications,” says Cristina Acevedo, global product line manager, Plastics Additives, Milliken & Company. “This versatile material checks ‘must-have’ boxes that are important across many packaging sectors, including enhanced shelf appeal, improved sustainability and high performance. These attributes position it favorably against traditional resins and offer many opportunities for material upgrades.”