Weekly Roundup: BillerudKorsnäs eliminates plastic film in paper sacks, Sonoco expands paper cup post-consumer recycling

08 Jul 2022 --- This week in industry news, BillerudKorsnäs eliminated the need for plastic film in industrial paper sacks. Also, Sonoco expanded its post-consumer recovery and recycling capabilities for paper cups in the US, and Sidel pledged to halve its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. 

In brief: Shelf life extension 
BillerudKorsnäs introduced the Performance White Barrier, a sack paper with a coating that replaces the plastic film barrier commonly found in paper sacks. The sack paper is reportedly on par with traditional alternatives for shelf life expectancy. Some of the main benefits are easy recycling in regular paper streams, a good printing surface for branding and product content display, and no need for any changes in the supply chain. The company says Performance White Barrier can replace most slit and perforated plastic films, working for a wide variety of sack paper applications including animal feed, building materials, chemical substances, dry food and mineral products.

In brief: Fiber cups
Sonoco expanded its post-consumer recovery and recycling capabilities for paper cups in bales of mixed paper for use as raw material at its Hartsville, South Carolina, US, paperboard mill, where it will be used to produce new paperboard. All of Sonoco’s US paper mills have previously validated that they can accept rigid paper cans in bales of mixed paper coming from residential Material Recovery Facilities. This new announcement extends acceptance to paper cups at the Hartsville mill. Additional testing is underway to expand cup recycling to all Sonoco mills that utilize residential mixed paper.

TekniPlex’s venting capabilities. In brief: Green energy 
Sidel pledged to halve its emissions by 2030 and confirmed that all its sites will be 100% green energy-powered by the end of this year. This target puts it in line with the 1.5°C pathway – the “best” effort to limit global warming. The global packaging solutions company has revised its sustainability targets and is now on track to reduce GHG emissions at its sites and facilities by 50% by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline. This is a significant step-up compared to its previous goal, set only a year ago, of a 30% reduction in emissions in the same timeframe. Sidel began switching its 17 production sites around the world to renewable energy in 2019 and will complete the process by the end of 2022.

Capstone Green Energy Corporation received a follow-on order for two signature series microturbines totaling 1.6 megawatts (MWs) for a leading bottling and packaging solutions provider in Mexico. The C1000S and C600S microturbines will be installed in a combined heat and power application. DTC Solutions, Capstone’s exclusive distributor for Mexico and Central America, secured the order, which is expected to be commissioned before the end of the year. The natural gas-fueled microturbines will be installed at the industrial manufacturer’s Guadalajara facility and are intended to provide daily reliable and continuous electrical power and thermal energy for the plant. The clean exhaust will be used to feed a hot water exchanger with preheated boilers. The innovative heating process has helped the plant reduce energy costs, improve efficiency and reduce on-site emissions. The order will lead to energy consumption savings of approximately 62% and is estimated to have an impressive return on investment of approximately three years, according to DTC Solutions internal calculations.

SIG’s fully integrated digital mySIG PortalIn brief: Acquisitions and expansions
Zeus, an Irish-owned global packaging solutions company, acquired JJ O’Toole, Ireland’s oldest packaging company. Founded in 1914, JJ O’Toole has customers including Dunnes Stores, Brown Thomas and Newbridge Silverware. It is the latest strategic acquisition by Zeus, expanding the company’s reach and capabilities in the retail, e-commerce, industrial and F&B sectors. Zeus is on target to achieve half a billion euro annualized revenue next year. Forecasted annualized revenues for Zeus in 2022 are expected to exceed more than €400 million (approximately US$403,4 million).

TekniPlex Consumer Products expanded its vent manufacturing with a newly added capacity at its Gronau plant. The addition of new machinery allows the company to directly weld venting capabilities into closures, servicing a global roster of customers as a full-service solutions provider while meeting closure application needs for the industrial and agrochemical markets worldwide. As TekniPlex continues to scale up capacity around the globe, the new machinery in Germany extends the company’s direct welding capabilities from the US to Europe and builds on existing venting inlining capabilities in those locations. 

In brief: Digital news
SIG presented its new fully integrated digital mySIG Portal – a user-centric and intuitive customer platform, which provides swift mobile 24/7 access to maximize operational efficiency. SIG customers are said to benefit from the real-time advantages to boost productivity and reduce operating costs. The company said its new mySIG Portal provides customers with all the benefits and advantages that a super-smart digital customer portal can have. The web-based one-stop platform enables SIG customers to manage a multitude of workflows and processes, such as order processing, order tracking, service and visibility of operations, from one central hub. It allows efficient workflow, seamless collaboration, real-time communication and process automation to drive business forward.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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