Beyond The Headlines: Mondi acquires kraft pulp mill, Billerud divests business unit

14 Jul 2023 --- This week in industry news, Mondi agreed to buy West Fraser Timber’s unbleached softwood kraft pulp mill. Meanwhile, Billerud divested its business unit Managed Packaging and Taylor & Francis launched a paperwrap for journal print copies.

In brief: Mondi news
West Fraser Timber announced an agreement to sell its unbleached softwood kraft pulp mill in Hinton, Alberta, to Mondi. West Fraser will continue to supply fiber to the Hinton mill under a long-term contract via residuals from West Fraser’s Alberta sawmills. Mondi’s intention, subject to pre-engineering and permitting, is to invest €400 million (US$448 million) in the expansion of the Hinton mill, primarily for a new 200,000 metric ton per annum kraft paper machine, anticipated to be operational from the second half of 2027.

Mondi developed a TankerBox for the Turkish flavor company Aromsa. Mondi also developed the TankerBox for the Turkish flavor company Aromsa. The company trialed the corrugated box on its production line, and after a few months of collaboration and innovation at the Aromsa facilities, the TankerBox is ready for commercial use. The box, designed for transportation and display, is produced from corrugated cardboard and developed as a substitute for the traditional Intermediate Bulk Container and metal barrel. Its patented design comprises five parts: an outer box, inner octabin, angle frame, bottom star and top cover pieces.

In brief: Partnerships
Billerud agreed with investment company Mimir Group on the divestment of its business unit Managed Packaging, which offers packaging solutions to global brand owners. The transaction is expected to be completed in August 2023. The intention to divest the business unit Managed Packaging resulted from Billerud’s focus on packaging materials, reducing the strategic importance of service offerings. 

Unitag.io, a global provider of QR code solutions, entered a strategic partnership with PiQR.io. QR codes have become integral to modern marketing and product packaging, enabling businesses to bridge the gap between the physical and digital realms. However, they also became popular among counterfeiters due to their easy usage and strong misleading effect on consumers. The collaboration aims to bring security and copy-detection into mainstream QR coding used in the packaging industry to change the level of security and authentication confidence with which the brands engage with their customers and unlock new consumer experiences. 

PlastCert was established by the department of Rigk to certify plastic packaging and products according to the specifications of the RecyClass system with two pillars, recyclability and recycled content. Since 2020 RIGK’s subsidiary Pplastship has offered this service which has now been transferred to PlastCert. Both certificates support companies such as plastics processors, packaging manufacturers, brand owners or retailers in documenting their measures to promote sustainability to customers. Another service PlastCert offers in close cooperation with Pplastship is the determination of recycled material properties as a basis for their use in high-quality products and packaging.Volpi Foods made a line of packaging for cured meats.

In brief: Launches
Pixelle Specialty Solutions launched its Armor brand of barrier paper solutions, featuring FlexArmor for uncoated applications and SelectArmor with a coated surface for enhanced printability. The barrier papers portfolio features a wide range of capabilities, from oxygen, aroma and mineral oil barriers to chocolate and moisture vapor barriers. Barriers can be applied individually or layered to enhance packaging performance. FlexArmor and SelectArmor are PFAS-free and plastic-free.

Volpi Foods announced a new Eco-Pack for the company’s line of cured meats. The new paper material used in Volpi’s Eco-Pack is curbside recyclable once separated from its thin liner. Additionally, the shelf life of the Eco-Pack packaging is equivalent to that of Volpi’s previous plastic packaging, meaning the material change will not result in additional food waste. Grocery stores across the US will start carrying the new Eco-Pack version this summer.

Solvay, a sustainable polyamide 6.6 polymers provider, introduced a new, specialized grade of rhodianyl made of 100% pre-consumer recycled polyamide. The product is produced at its Santo Andre plant in Brazil and has achieved SCS Recycled Content Certification. The internationally recognized third-party certification body SCS Global Services performed a rigorous audit to verify the traceability of the group´s entire manufacturing process, including scrap management and the cutting-edge depolymerization reaction, which generates the final 100% recycled polymer. 

Taylor & Francis launches a paperwrap which is becoming more common material in the packaging industry.Taylor & Francis launched a paperwrap for journal print copies mailed in the UK. Paperwrap, a relatively new packaging technology, has recently become more common but is typically suited to publications with high print runs. Taylor & Francis’ Global Supplier Team spent several months investigating how it might be applied to journal print runs. Unlike paper envelopes, which can often be torn in transit, paper-wrapped journals consistently reach their intended recipient with little or no damage. The packaging technology also enables the inserting of additional materials, such as flyers, while complying with global shipping standards.

In brief: Expansion
Onto Innovation launched an Applications Center of Excellence, a combined tool demonstrator, photoresist qualification, process integration and R&D facility focused on panel-level packaging (PLP), a facilitator for the emerging chiplet market. The chiplet package market is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 103% over the next three years, according to TechSearch International. The Applications Center of Excellence is located within Onto Innovation’s Wilmington headquarters and is dedicated to panel-level packaging. It will offer the company’s PLP customers hands-on experience with Onto’s hardware and software solutions. 

By Sabine Waldeck