As the packaging industry transitions toward recyclable mono‑materials, manufacturers face a growing challenge: ensuring consistent, reliable sealing performance with films that have narrower thermal windows and greater sensitivity to heat. Through the strategic partnership between Mespack and watttron, Smart Digital Sealing has evolved from an innovative concept into a mature, industrial reality: a reality that our customers can already test, validate, and run in real production environments and it is integrated into Athena Controls Platform.
A Partnership Built to Accelerate Sustainable Packaging
The integration of watttron’s Smart Digital Sealing technology into Mespack machinery represents a new era of precision and control for recyclable materials such as mono‑PE and mono‑PP.
Unlike traditional sealing systems that apply uniform heat, watttron uses a pixel-based digital heating system that regulates the temperature at micro‑zones across the sealing jaw. As a result, it is possible to adapt sealing parameters with unprecedented accuracy, even in the most complex material structures or geometries. The goal of this partnership is straightforward: enabling customers to shift to sustainable packaging without compromising efficiency, quality, or productivity.
How Smart Digital Sealing Works
At the core of the technology lies an array of individually controlled heating pixels. This architecture enables:
- Pixel‑level thermal control (with each heating element adjusting independently)
- Highly stable sealing temperatures (even at high production speeds)
- Optimized performance in critical areas (such as thick laminates or complex shapes)
- Thermal variation below 2°C (ensuring consistent sealing quality)
This precision dramatically increases the process window, thus making previously sensitive materials easier to handle and significantly improving seal robustness.
Integrated With Mespack’s Athena Digital Platform
A key milestone in the collaboration has been the full integration of watttron’s Smart Digital Sealing into Mespack’s Athena platform. This integration brings several customer‑centric advantages, which include:
- A simplified operator‑friendly interface for managing sealing parameters
- A centralized control of setpoints, recipes, and thermal adjustments
- Real-time visibility of temperature distribution and system performance
- A unified data environment that combines sealing analytics with machine and production insights
- Faster decision‑making through clear dashboards that are solely focused
onlyon essential information
Athena transforms watttron’s advanced sealing capabilities into a practical, intuitive tool for daily plant operations, thus making digital sealing accessible to operators, supervisors, and process engineers alike.
Proven Benefits for Production Lines
Extensive trials, customer validations, and in‑house testing with real materials have shown clear advantages such as:
1. Significant Energy Savings
By applying heat only where needed, Smart Digital Sealing delivers
energy reductions between 66% and 75% compared to conventional systems.
2. Reduced Waste and Film Rejections
Traditional jaws often create wrinkles during machine stops, due to accumulated heat. Tests with watttron’s integrated cooling system resulted in significant reduction of rejected pouches, even during stop‑and‑go conditions.
3. Leak Detection, more Reliable Seals
Inline quality control within the top sealing jaws helps detect contamination before a pouch leaves the line, thus preventing leakages, product loss, and costly rework.
Technology Available Today at the Mespack Innovation Center
Presently, the Mespack Innovation Center (MIC) has the watttron sealing technology fully integrated into both bottom and vertical stations. Customers visiting the MIC can:
- Test the technology with their own mono‑material films
- Validate real parameters under controlled conditions
- Develop recipes with the collaboration of Mespack engineers
- Obtain detailed technical reports to support investment decisions
The MIC has become a key resource for brands accelerating their transition to sustainable materials with technical confidence.
Currently Operating on Customer Lines
Smart Digital Sealing is already operating with customers in the U.S. and Europe, and has successful implementations across:
- Top sealing
- Vertical sealing
- Bottom sealing
- Multiple mono‑material structures
The outcomes consistently display improved seal quality, greater process stability, and reduced material sensitivity issues.
Driving the Future of Sustainable Packaging
Sustainability is no longer a future concern: it is an immediate industry requirement.
Our partnership with watttron, combined with the capabilities of the MIC and the intelligence of Athena, ensures that customers can confidently adopt recyclable films without compromise.
Smart Digital Sealing is more than a technological innovation; it is a strategic asset that improves control, reduces waste, lowers energy consumption, and enhances overall operational profitability.
Watch the video to learn more: VIDEO
