Vetaphone A/S, the inventer of corona treatment, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year as it continues to pioneer the market for surface treatment under the Eisby family management.
It was the advent of plastic packaging materials in the years following the Second World War that led to the invention of a surface treatment that has become known globally as corona. In his small home workshop in Denmark, Verner Eisby set about solving the problem of getting ink to adhere to non-absorbent plastic film. Today, the company he established is managed by his two sons, Frank and Jan, and supplies cutting edge surface treatment technology to leading OEMs, converters and extruders around the world.
Speaking ahead of the company’s 70th anniversary celebrations on 1st November, CEO Frank Eisby explained: “My father could not have known what his invention would grow into – today, corona treatment is a universal process that spans many industries across all continents, and without it the whole sector of flexible packaging would not exist – that’s an incredible legacy and one that we are very proud of.”
What Eisby discovered in 1951 was that the key to adhesion is all to do with surface tension and the relative values between the liquid being applied and the non-absorbent substrate being used. In modifying the surface tension of the substrate by applying a precisely controlled electronic discharge at close range, the chemical structure can be altered to allow the liquid to bond securely and avoid the risk of ‘smudging’.
While the principle behind the process is simple science, the development of the technology required is ongoing, as new and complex substrates are introduced into the market and innovative techniques are demanded by brand owners to enhance the appearance of their packaged products. In more recent times, this has led Vetaphone to develop plasma surface treatment, which is not a replacement for corona, but a more advanced application of the same scientific principles.
Today, the company is a global enterprise, employing around 80 people at its high-tech headquarters in Kolding and around the world, and is represented in more than 60 different countries. The pioneering spirit is still intrinsic to the company’s DNA, which is highlighted by the recent opening of a fully equipped showroom facility for in-person and online demos that complements its unique Test Lab facility that was launched in 2020.
Company CSO Jan Eisby commented: “We are very proud of our unique heritage and will use our unrivalled knowledge and expertise to innovate surface treatment technology that meets the ever-changing needs of a vibrant marketplace. Vetaphone was the first and remains the foremost in this sector, and our future plans are designed to increase the market’s understanding of the science behind the technology.”
