Mondi directs €95M investment into Polish containerboard mill to upgrade kraftliner capacity

Mondi has secured a €95 million (US$103.4 million) investment at its Świecie containerboard mill in Poland, which will increase kraftliner capacity by 55,000 tons.

The upgrade comprises an extensive rebuild of paper machines PM2 and PM5, a new anaerobic treatment plant including an integrated cooling system, and upgrades to the pulp mill, the recycled fiber line and the energy recovery system.

Mondi expects these improvements will allow the mill to meet growing customer demand for heavy-duty packaging for large and heavy products, enhance product quality and bolster its environmental performance by decreasing water consumption and wastewater emissions and increasing energy efficiency.

“The upgrade of Mondi Świecie’s containerboard mill in Poland serves customers even more efficiently with shortened lead times and further grammage options. Our customers need high performance, sustainable paper and packaging solutions and we can offer this with our range of ProVantage containerboard papers,” a Mondi spokesperson tells Packaging Insights.

Since the project’s completion in June, Mondi Świecie has expanded its ProVantage SmartKraft Brown portfolio of containerboard papers with a broader range of grammage options.

The ProVantage SmartKraft Brown papers are made of fresh fiber on the top and recycled fiber underneath (a two-ply solution), with claims of enhanced runnability, strength, cost efficiency and printability.

“The completion of this project marks a milestone for Mondi Świecie, enabling us to advance our operations and deliver even higher-quality paper to our customers. I am proud of our team’s exceptional skills and commitment, which were crucial in achieving these goals,” comments Tomasz Katewicz, managing director of Mondi Świecie.

Mondi activity pipeline

In recent developments, Mondi acquired Schumacher Packaging’s Western Europe packaging assets this month. The acquisition of the German, Benelux and UK corrugated converting and solid board operations will expand Mondi’s corrugated footprint in Western Europe and add complementary fiber-based products focused on e-commerce and FMCG. 

Also, this month, Mondi co-founded a Spanish alliance to improve used paper bag circularity in the construction industry. The alliance, Paper Sacks Go Circular Spain, comprises 12 European companies from the full value chain.

The initiative follows Mondi’s summer launch of a dissolvable cement bag to the Spanish building industry. SolmixBag is a one-ply paper bag made from 100% kraft paper that stores and transports dry cement, screed and coarse pre-mixes. It disintegrates during mixing, eliminating dust and waste on the building site.