Simultaneous stretching technology gaining ground in global BOPA film industry

Since the development of BOPA film in the 1970s, 2-stage sequential stretching has become the favored technology for the production of bi-oriented polyamide (BOPA) films. However, in recent years end uses have emerged that have required more balanced film properties and simultaneous stretching technology is the only one able to meet these needs. 

This is one of the main conclusions from PCI’s (pcifilms.com) latest report on the US$1.1 billion global BOPA film market. Report author Simon King, notes, “In today’s BOPA film market users are telling us that a balanced film with better dimensional stability and less shrinkage is particularly important for some applications. It is not surprising then that over the next five years most of the new BOPA film lines to be installed are based on simultaneous stretching technology to meet the technical demands of these high-end applications”.