The company was founded in 1960 and specialises in film production lines. Today Brückner is the leading supplier of production lines for high quality mono- and bi-axially stretched film, cast film and sheets worldwide. The acquisition of Kiefel GmbH in 2007 helped Brückner to further enhance its leading position in the plastics sector.

Stretched film is mainly used in the packaging industry. The materials used must fulfil certain criteria, such as tear, shock or puncture resistance as well as being effective barriers against oxygen, moisture, oils and food smells. Stretched films are mainly made of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

For the production of standard packaging films, Brückner supplies highly efficient, energy-optimised production lines with working widths of up to 10 metres, as well as machines for the production of a broad range of special films such as multilayer films with improved barrier properties, shrink film for fashion labels and sleeves as well as highly transparent high-gloss films. The company also has numerous innovations in the field of flexible optical films used for flat screens and displays as well as high-temperature films for the electronics industry.

Bioplastics are used to an increasing extent in the packaging industry. "Although bioplastics are only gradually achieving market success, we nevertheless offer production lines for the processing of polylactic acid (PLA) and other biopolymers," said Karlheinz Weinmann, Head of Public Relations at Brückner.

Since PLA resins are very sensitive to moisture, special extruder technologies are required for the processing of the material, and the raw materials used need to follow a specific type of treatment. Twin screw extruders guarantee the homogeneous melting of the material as well as the consistence that is required for further processing. The PLA films are finished in the stretching processes, where the films acquire the properties that are required for high quality packaging applications. Highly accurate measurement instruments enable the thickness of the films to be adjusted to any size between 15 and 50 mm.

Thanks to a worldwide unique technology centre, Brückner can carry out comprehensive basic research in the field of biopolymers, where the company’s 50 years of experience in film stretching technology is combined with continuously expanded process knowledge. State-of-the-art technologies and materials are tested in the pilot and laboratory plants at the technology centre, where different stretching methods are also tested for use with biologically degradable PLA films, from mono-axially oriented MOPLA shrink films (which is for example used for bottle sleeves) to bi-axially oriented BOPLA thin film that is used for the packaging of fruit and vegetables.