Fortune favors the bold: Sappi’s virtual interpack celebrates “more registrations than expected”

08 May 2020 --- The cancellation of interpack 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic deprived Sappi of a huge opportunity to exhibit its latest packaging innovations – so the paper solutions provider created its own. Hosted from May 6-7, Sappi’s first-ever virtual interpack presented its newest specialty papers to over 1,500 registered online participants via live webinar sessions and chat boxes. PackagingInsights spoke first hand with company representatives about the likelihood of hosting virtual events in a post-pandemic world as well as aligning economic recovery strategies with corporate environmental sustainability targets.

“We’ve been very busy and we’re seeing very positive feedback from our customers and prospects. As people cannot move and visit exhibitions, they have more time to search through our information online. It’s an excellent tool for us to inform them about the latest news we were planning to tell them at interpack. We don’t want to miss this moment to inform people what innovations we have in our basket right now,” Ingo Kaiser, Marketing and Communications at Sappi, tells PackagingInsights.

In flexible packaging papers news, Sappi highlighted its tailor-made, flexible solutions (available from 18 g/m2 to 140 g/m2), its wide portfolio of face stock and wet-glue label papers as well as its silicone-based CCK and glassine papers suitable for tape applications. Concerning sealing technologies, Sappi elaborated on its solvent-free heat seal lidding films as well as its Rocklid range of low temperature sealing films for rPET food trays in a live discussion session.Event attendees can make use of Sappi's chat box to discuss product innovations with 50 experts who are available for a personal chat.

No comparison between virtual and physical events
Despite the virtual event’s high participation rates, Kaiser underscores that no comparison can be made between the physical interpack exhibition and this online platform. “Physical contact is still greatly valued, especially in some cases, for example, our paperboard products. Here you have a lot of finishing techniques to the board that you need to touch and see physically.”

One example of this is the newest addition to the Algro Design portfolio: Algro Design Advanced. The light pigment coating on the reverse of Algro Design Advanced is designed to perfectly blend the tactile elements of an uncoated finish with enhanced ink lifts. 

Should Sappi consider hosting another virtual event in the future, Kaiser envisions that this would take on a different form. “We do not know how online activity will look like when the coronavirus situation is over. We have to review the results and see if we can do something similar. Perhaps we could then focus on one theme and not on our wide portfolio.” 

This view aligns with Krones’ assessment shared with PackagingInsights last week at its virtual trade show, in which it predicted that virtual fairs would become an extension of the “real” trade show experience, rather than a replacement.

Until then, Sappi is enthusiastic about exhibiting at next year’s postponed interpack event, held in Dusseldorf, Germany, from February 25 to March 3. “We are really looking forward to interpack 2021 to meet people in person and talk to them. We won’t have to start from zero, but because we will come up with innovations and new products, we will then have a new story to tell.” Sappi’s innovations will be on physical display at interpack 2021 in Hall 8, Booth B35.

“We need to get the economics right”
As the global pandemic continues to disrupt supply chains and shorten purse strings throughout the packaging industry, it begs the question of whether company investment in environmental sustainability is still feasible. Sarah Price, Sustainability Manager Europe, tells PackagingInsights how she regards such investment as more than just necessary.

Price outlines how Sappi's environmental priorities align with UN Sustainable Development Goals in a live webinar.“The crisis exemplifies why sustainability is so essential. Sustainability topics don’t go away because of COVID-19 and economic recovery, but we need to be clever about aligning the two tracts. There is a huge opportunity to align recovery efforts with sustainability commitments,” she emphasizes, noting “quite interesting initiatives” put forth by the European Green Deal. 

However, her optimism comes with caution. “We cannot underestimate the short term impact that [COVID-19] will have on capital in the private sector. What companies wanted to do in Q4 this year they might have to do in Q2 next year. It’s a slight juggling of priorities but by no means is sustainability on the backburner. It’s a new balancing act and what comes out of this is a stronger reinforcement of why sustainability needs to be a core part of business decision making.”

“Paper where possible”
Prioritizing environmental sustainability spurs product innovation at Sappi. Most recently, it gave life to the “second generation” of the company’s functional papers. Its AvantGuard line is a coated paper-based packaging solution that replaces plastic films as a chlorine-free, recyclable alternative. Made from at least 80 percent renewable sources, the multi-layer barrier papers come from traceable and responsibly managed forests, using wood that does not come from unknown or controversial sources. 

Indeed, there are certain substantial advantages to paper versus plastic but it’s not across the board, according to Price. “At the end of the day, we have to talk about replacing plastic with paper where possible, with functional papers for instance, where we can deliver the same kind of performance, with barrier functionalities. It’s not as if one material needs to win the day.”

Sappi's paper wrappers eradicate the need for flexible plastic, which is notoriously difficult to recycle.Last July, Sappi enabled Nestlé’s YES! snack bars to become “the first confectionary bar on the market” to be packaged in paper using a high-speed flow wrap technology. Previously packaged in plastic wrappers, Sappi’s paper alternative has helped Nestlé reach its commitment to making all of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. 

Amid the heated plastic-versus-paper debate, Price further outlines the packaging industry’s responsibility in not letting plastic contaminate the environment. “One of the big issues is what the risk is of plastics in products getting into nature as opposed to the risk of paper getting into nature. Paper is non-toxic, biodegrades and doesn’t create microplastics. It’s a complex problem that needs specific analysis but there are real advantages for many applications for paper. Our challenge lies in maximizing the applications of where paper can replace plastic.”

Facilitating further discussion and continued consumer education, Sappi’s recorded live discussions will be publicly accessible until the end of the month. “We’ve learned new ways of doing business and extending technology to support us. It’s still the early days of synthesizing,” Price concludes.

By Anni Schleicher