AERA: 45 YEARS OF CUSTOMISED FLEXIBLE PACKAGING AT ALLFORPACK
AERA, an Alsatian SME that has become a European benchmark in flexible packaging
Founded in 1979 in Bouxwiller, in the Bas-Rhin department, AERA has built its industrial identity around a simple promise: to provide European manufacturers with tailor-made flexible packaging equipment and solutions. Forty-five years later, the family-owned company has established itself across the food, pharma-cosmetics, graphic arts, hygiene, multimedia, stationery, co-packing, e-commerce and logistics sectors. Its presence at ALLFORPACK reflects the maturity of a company that has moved from local supplier to premium partner for European production lines.
From the outset, AERA has relied on demanding technical partnerships, notably with manufacturers Hugo Beck in Germany and RonTech in Switzerland, to offer high-output film wrapping machines and feeders known for their reliability. This industrial heritage continues to shape the company’s engineering culture, which is built around a daily pursuit of operational excellence.
A family trajectory spanning four decades
AERA’s first building was constructed in 1991 on the Route d’Uttwiller in Bouxwiller. Ten years later, in 2001, the site was expanded to support the development of polyolefin shrink film sales, built around a privileged supplier partnership. The handover took place in 2007, when founder Hubert Loeffler entrusted the company to his sons, Jérôme and Thomas Loeffler. This family continuity, now carried by a new generation, continues to shape AERA’s management identity today.
The year 2008 marked a decisive turning point with the commissioning of a BOPP film slitting workshop. This service, still relatively uncommon on the market at the time, made it possible to supply reels in specific dimensions according to customers’ specifications, including several major brands in the food, pharmaceutical and multimedia sectors. AERA’s responsiveness, combined with its specialist positioning, accelerated the growth of the business.
In 2016, the company reached a new milestone with the opening of a modern 4,200-square-metre factory. The site offers expanded storage capacity and houses new high-performance film slitting lines. That same year, AERA obtained BRCGS packaging certification, formalising a quality system aligned with international industry standards. A follow-up audit has been carried out every year since 2017.
Technical film slitting at the heart of its industrial expertise
AERA’s historic business is based on the supply of slit plastic reels and the cutting of technical films to the formats required by manufacturers. This activity covers a broad family of materials: BOPP films, polyolefin shrink films, as well as grades developed according to specifications specific to the food, pharmaceutical or multimedia sectors. Hygiene control and the prevention of potential contamination are integrated into every stage of production, in line with the BRCGS standard. Malicious tampering management and food safety complete this quality system.
For visitors to ALLFORPACK looking for a partner capable of supplying perfectly calibrated reels for their packaging lines, AERA’s slitting workshop is a major asset. The underlying promise is clear: specific dimensions, documented traceability and consistent industrial quality.
A range of machines designed to ensure flexible production lines
Beyond films, AERA has structured a machinery offering covering several types of packaging, from standard horizontal bagging machines to intermittent-motion continuous side-seal bagging machines. Equipped with a fixed sealing bar, these machines are designed to adapt to today’s industrial constraints. They combine reliability, ease of use and long-term performance, and are suited both to short runs and larger volumes.
The FLEXO model is available in a standard version, with a 500 mm-wide sealing bar, and in an extended version up to 700 mm, making it possible to cover a wide range of product formats while ensuring consistent sealing quality. The FLEXO x500 and FLEXO x700 stand out for their versatility and throughput capabilities. The x700 can handle large-format products up to 680 mm wide. The FLEXO is particularly suited to e-commerce flows, with the option of integrating a labeller for parcel addressing. The FLEXO pusher version, meanwhile, meets the needs of grouping and packaging special or unstable products.
Numerous options complete this equipment: an upstream lug conveyor, shrink tunnel, ejection flap and product labelling. AERA is also expanding its range with Flowpack lines and VFFS vertical bagging machines, broadening its scope of intervention for manufacturers looking for an integrated solution.
A materials strategy focused on sustainability
AERA’s environmental commitment is built for the long term. In 2021, the company developed a paper range and a range of PVDC-free films, and obtained PEFC and FSC certifications for the custom slitting of papers sourced from sustainably managed forests. This extension enables it to offer glassine papers, sealable papers and standard papers to customers seeking to replace part of their plastic materials.
In 2022, obtaining ISCC PLUS certification marked a new stage. AERA can now market sustainable films including rPOF, rPET and rBOPP containing PCR materials, as well as bio-based or bio-circular films made notably from used cooking oil (UCO). Each delivery is accompanied by a certificate confirming Mass Balance credits, and the company guarantees full traceability across the supply chain.
The CSR approach is complemented by membership of the CO2 programme, which aims to offset the carbon waste linked to recovery and processing, and supports a reforestation project led by the Pur Projet collective. Waste sorting is applied both in the offices and in the production unit, with dedicated skips collected by a recycling partner. In terms of CSR, the Ecovadis assessment enabled AERA to obtain a Silver medal in its latest reassessment.
CAP 2025, with the factory of the future in sight
AERA’s industrial trajectory continues with the CAP 2025 project, which plans to expand storage and manufacturing capacities, as well as install a 500 kWp photovoltaic power plant. This roadmap reflects the company’s ambition to become the premium European partner for flexible packaging solutions, while developing a factory aligned with social and environmental challenges.
For manufacturers attending ALLFORPACK EMBALLAGE PARIS, AERA represents a rare type of partner in the flexible packaging market: a supplier of custom-slit technical films, a designer of packaging lines and a company committed to material certifications. Meeting the Bouxwiller teams will provide an opportunity to assess the relevance of a collaboration on specific projects, whether involving specific reels, a new FLEXO bagging machine or a transition to ISCC PLUS materials.