Molded fiber pulp packaging is gaining traction across more markets every year. As a renewable alternative to plastic-based packaging, molded fiber pulp helps manufacturers move toward more sustainable packaging strategies. But many applications demand more from the material than basic molding can deliver - especially when liquids, fats, oils, or other challenging substances need to be reliably separated from the package itself.
Kiefel's Double Dip process gives molded fiber pulp products a functional barrier layer built directly into production. The process enables a functional multilayer structure that extends what's possible with wet fiber molding - far beyond conventional oil and grease resistance. The key advantage: the functional barrier is created in-line, within the Kiefel process itself. The result is packaging that remains 100% fiber-based and requires no secondary coating or laminating step.
A Barrier for a Broader Range of Applications
Historically, molded fiber pulp packaging for food applications has centered on oil and grease resistance. The Double Dip process broadens that scope considerably. By integrating a functional barrier through a targeted multilayer build, it qualifies molded fiber packaging for more demanding fill products and use conditions.
In food applications, this opens the door to packaging for sauces, dressings, ready meals, frozen and baked goods, or instant soups - categories that typically involve moisture, fat, temperature fluctuations, or liquid components, and that have traditionally been difficult for fiber-based materials to handle.
The Double Dip process shows that molded fiber pulp packaging is no longer limited to dry or greasy food applications. The integrated barrier function opens up use cases that have historically relied on plastic-based or coated alternatives - while keeping the packaging solution 100% fiber-based.
New Opportunities for Technical Packaging
Beyond food applications, the Double Dip process also holds strong potential for technical packaging. Here, the requirements shift: packaging needs to protect components, prevent contamination, and in some cases withstand technical fluids or demanding media.
With the barrier created through the Double Dip process, molded fiber pulp packaging can be used for components that come into contact with gear oils, lubricants, or other industrial fluids. Applications involving liquid detergents have also been successfully tested. This extends the use of molded fiber pulp into more demanding consumer and technical packaging applications.
Multilayer Functionality Built Into the Process
The core advantage of Kiefel's Double Dip process lies in how directly the barrier function is integrated. Packaging isn't coated, laminated, or functionalized afterward in a separate step. Instead, the functional multilayer structure is created within the Kiefel process itself.
That reduces process complexity and creates clear advantages for industrial-scale production: fewer downstream steps, fewer interfaces, and a more efficient path to a functional molded fiber pulp package. For manufacturers, that means product design, forming, and barrier function come together at the process level.
At the same time, the material approach stays consistently fiber-based: the package is 100% fiber, barrier included. That's what sets the Double Dip process apart - expanded functionality without compromising a fiber-only material approach.
This approach opens the door to a wide range of applications - from food products with liquid or fatty components to technical packaging exposed to oils, lubricants, or liquid consumer goods.
Kiefel brings together mechanical engineering, process expertise, and application development into one integrated approach. Working with customers and material partners, new packaging concepts can be developed, tested, and prepared for industrial-scale production.
Wet Fiber With Additional Functionality
The Double Dip process shows that wet fiber molding can do far more than produce basic molded fiber pulp packaging. The functional multilayer structure, with its integrated barrier, opens up applications that were previously difficult to achieve with molded fiber pulp alone.
Whether in food or technical packaging, Kiefel's Double Dip process expands what's possible with molded fiber pulp packaging and supports the development of sustainable, functional, market-ready solutions for demanding applications - built on 100% fiber.
FAQ: Kiefel's Double Dip Process
What Applications Is the Double Dip Process Suited For?
The Double Dip process works for food packaging with liquid or fatty fill products - sauces, dressings, ready meals, frozen and baked goods, or instant soups - as well as technical packaging. In technical applications, it's used for components exposed to gear oils, lubricants, or liquid detergents.
Is Molded Pulp Packaging Expensive?
Not necessarily. Because the Double Dip process builds the barrier function directly into the Kiefel process, there's no need for separate coating or laminating steps. That reduces the number of process steps and interfaces compared to packaging functionalized after the fact - all while keeping the material 100% fiber-based.
How Does the Double Dip Process Differ From Conventional Coating Methods?
Conventional methods typically add barrier function to molded fiber pulp in a separate coating or laminating step, after the base product is formed. The Double Dip process builds the functional multilayer structure into the molding process itself - no downstream steps, no compromise on a 100% fiber-based material.
The Double Dip process reflects how consistently Kiefel pushes the boundaries of what molded fiber pulp can do. That same engineering depth runs through Kiefel's full lineup of molded fiber production equipment — from proven standard machines to custom-built solutions.
Explore Kiefel's molded fiber machines and find the right fit for your application.
