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ALLIEDFLEX®, a leading North American supplier of flexible packaging machinery and integrated packaging solutions, today announced a strategic collaboration with SmartSolve, an innovator in water-soluble and environmentally responsible packaging materials.
The collaboration brings together ALLIEDFLEX’s expertise in flexible packaging machinery, pouch, sachet, stick pack and stand-up pouch packaging, filling and sealing technologies, and packaging system integration with SmartSolve’s innovative portfolio of water-soluble packaging materials.
Together, ALLIEDFLEX and SmartSolve will work to develop and commercialize practical packaging solutions that combine advanced flexible packaging materials with proven packaging machinery and automation – helping brand owners move innovative sustainable packaging concepts from development to commercial production.
Turning Sustainable Packaging Innovation into Production Reality
Consumer packaged goods companies are under increasing pressure to reduce packaging waste, minimize dependence on conventional materials, and develop packaging formats that support ambitious sustainability objectives.
But introducing new material is only part of the challenge. For sustainable packaging innovation to achieve meaningful commercial adoption, new materials must be capable of running reliably and efficiently on production-scale packaging equipment.
That is where the ALLIEDFLEX–SmartSolve collaboration creates a compelling opportunity.
“The packaging industry doesn’t simply need new sustainable materials. It needs sustainable materials that can be successfully commercialized,” said Dennis Calamusa, President & CEO of ALLIEDFLEX. “Our collaboration with SmartSolve brings material innovation and packaging machinery expertise together so we can help customers move from an exciting concept to a practical, scalable packaging solution.”
Where Material Innovation Meets Packaging Machinery
Through the collaboration, ALLIEDFLEX and SmartSolve will work together to evaluate packaging applications, material performance, package configurations, filling and sealing requirements, and machinery parameters necessary to successfully commercialize SmartSolve materials across targeted applications.
The companies will focus on areas including:
- Water-soluble and environmentally responsible packaging applications
- Flexible pouch and packet formats
- Machinery compatibility and material machinability
- Filling and sealing performance
- Package design and application development
- Production-scale testing and validation
- Packaging automation and system integration
- Commercialization support for brand owners and contract packagers
The objective is to provide customers with more than simply a packaging material or a packaging machine. The collaboration is intended to provide a complete application solution.
Johnathan Jakubowski, CEO of SmartSolve, said: “Innovation becomes meaningful when customers can put it into production. By collaborating with ALLIEDFLEX, we are combining SmartSolve’s material technology with extensive flexible packaging machinery and application expertise to help customers evaluate, validate, and ultimately commercialize new packaging possibilities.”
Rethinking What Flexible Packaging Can Become
ALLIEDFLEX has long championed flexible packaging as an alternative to traditional rigid packaging formats because of its potential to reduce material consumption, package weight, transportation requirements, and overall packaging footprint.
The collaboration with SmartSolve represents another step forward, exploring packaging solutions that not only use fewer resources but can potentially rethink what happens to the package after its useful life.
“Flexible packaging has already demonstrated that we can accomplish more with less packaging,” Calamusa added. “SmartSolve challenges us to take that thinking even further. The opportunity is to combine innovative materials with innovative machinery and create packaging solutions that simply weren’t practical before.”
Accelerating the Path from Concept to Commercialization
Under the collaboration, ALLIEDFLEX and SmartSolve will work directly with brand owners, product manufacturers, and contract packagers to identify suitable applications and conduct packaging trials designed to establish commercially viable solutions.
The companies expect the collaboration to provide customers with a more direct development path – from initial package concept and material evaluation through machinery testing, validation, and production implementation.
Additional application developments and commercialization initiatives resulting from the ALLIEDFLEX–SmartSolve collaboration will be announced as they become available.
Meet Both Companies at PACK EXPO International
ALLIEDFLEX and SmartSolve will both be exhibiting at PACK EXPO International, October 18–21, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago:
- SmartSolve Industries – West Hall, Booth W-18110, Containers and Materials Pavilion
- ALLIEDFLEX – South Building, Booth S-4137