Aluminum foil is a deep-processed product of aluminum metal. It is an aluminum product with a relatively thin thickness obtained by rolling aluminum plate alloy. The use of aluminum foil can be traced back to the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The development process is full of technological innovation and continuous expansion of market applications, which also allows aluminum foil types and product specifications to have a wider range of choices.

In the future, global demand for sustainable packaging will continue to grow. Consumers want to reduce plastic use, and retailers demand recyclable packaging. Your customers need solutions that are both environmentally friendly and practical. Aluminum foil perfectly meets all these requirements. However, the source of the aluminum foil is crucial, and China has become the preferred source for reliable, high-volume, and customizable aluminum foil for food contact applications. Zhengzhou ChiFeng Tech Industrial Co., Ltd., as one of China’s most reputable aluminum foil manufacturers, is a partner you can choose and trust.

The history of aluminum foil

 

• Who invented aluminum foil, and when?

Aluminum foil has been used to this day and has undergone a long period of development. The invention of aluminum foil was as early as 1907 when the Swiss Schimmel invented the first aluminum foil. At that time, he hammered the aluminum into thin sheets, and then stretched the thin sheets through a roller machine to finally make aluminum foil. This thin sheet with a relatively thin thickness has the characteristics of lightness, waterproofness, and oxygen isolation, and was soon widely used in food packaging and other fields. Subsequently, the United States also began to produce aluminum foil in 1913, so aluminum foil developed rapidly in a short period of time in the early 20th century.

Over its history converters, brand owners, retailers and ultimate consumers have all benefited from alufoil’s unique barrier properties which provide a total block to light, moisture and aroma. Today it is used in every conceivable market from food and drink to pharmaceuticals. Applications include aseptic beverage cartons, sachets, pouches, lids, wrappers, blister and strip packs, foil containers and much more. And coming up over the horizon are even more markets and resource efficient options. These include microwaveable containers gaining a foothold throughout Europe and fascinating and technically innovative applications for pharmaceutical foils.

• 1910

Robert Victor Neher took out a patent for the continuous rolling process and opened the first aluminium rolling plant in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.

• 1911

Bern-based Tobler began wrapping its chocolate bars in alufoil including the unique triangular chocolate bar, Toblerone.

• 1912

Alufoil was being used by Maggi to pack soups and stock cubes

• 1920s

Alufoil’s influence as a successful packaging material in Germany grew sufficiently to make real inroads into the dairy sector, one of the largest sectors of the German economy. Moreover, Household foil had been introduced successfully in the US.

• 1930s

Alufoil comprehensively conquered the packaging market for butter and cheese. At the time a reviewer of the sector wrote: “More so than in any other sector, foil keeps highly sensitive products, especially butter and cheese fresh longer. It is an unrivalled and indispensable aid in the battle against deterioration.” Additionally, the European alufoil sector began to produce rolls of household foil for the domestic kitchen as either a tear off product on rolls or as loose sheets in bags.

• 1937

Alufoil was first proposed as a packaging material for butter at the World’s Dairy Congress in Berlin. Results of studies revealed that alufoil allowed butter to stay fresher for two-three months longer than previously used materials.

• 1948

In Europe, the first alufoil food containers were used for bakery products appearing on the market, soon followed by a variety of other foodstuffs.

• 1954

The TV Dinner, the forerunner of today’s ready meal, was created in the US. Packed in compartmented aluminium trays the idea soon spread to Europe. But it was not only consumer packaging that benefited, semi-rigid alufoil was also in use for technical applications such as industrial products including fats, waxes and adhesive compounds.

• 1960s

Thin alufoil was used in conjunction with paper and PE to create a laminate for aseptic cartons (TetraBrik). Originally conceived for use with UHT milk, the alufoil laminated carton has now established itself for applications including fruit juices, soups, yoghurt drinks and much more. Another success story in the1960s was the alufoil laminate tube, comprising plastic/paper/ alufoil, which conquered markets for goods such as toothpaste, cosmetic creams and pharmaceutical ointments.

• 1974

Greatly assisting the growth of alufoil was the formation of the European Aluminium Foil Association which has been instrumental in spreading the message to a wide audience, and growing its success into the 21st century.

• 1978

The first large-scale use of an aluminium-plastic laminate, for a well-known effervescent tablet for headaches, took place.

• 1980s

Blister packs were starting to be introduced on a wide scale.

• 1990s

Alufoil was accepted as an innovative material for almost all packaging applications with expressions such as “foil-sealed for freshness” becoming commonplace on branded packs. Alufoil was also responsible for the growth of a new market for easy-open ‘gourmet’ pet food containers.

• 2000s

Resource efficiency and even better consumer convenient options were the major goals for alufoil, as they were for all material sectors, converters, brand owners, retailers and ultimate consumers.