Weekly Roundup: Sappi invests in its Austrian production facility, UPM Specialty Papers presents new packaging paper

16 Sep 2022 --- This week in industry news, Sappi invested in new technical equipment and production facilities at its Gratkorn site in Austria. Meanwhile, Amcor announced a further strategic investment of up to US$45 million in ePac Flexible Packaging and UPM Specialty Papers presented the latest additions to its packaging papers. 

In brief: Investments 
Sappi invested in new technical equipment and “state-of-the-art” production facilities at its Gratkorn site in Austria – from paper machines to formatting equipment – and has transformed the production facility into a cutting-edge paper mill. With the further expansion of the mill’s technological infrastructure, the production of label papers will be extended (in addition to all existing graphic papers), and product innovations will be driven forward. Extensive technical innovations in the paper machine’s water and material cycles are planned, as well as investment in a new embossing calendar. 

UPM’s new packaging products combine moisture- and grease resistance with heat sealing properties. Huhtamaki announced its investment in Emerald Technology Ventures’ sustainable packaging fund. As a limited partner, Huhtamaki will help to foster next-generation sustainable packaging solutions and tap into the nascent innovation of start-ups. Huhtamaki said it is committed to ensuring that its innovation for sustainable packaging solutions has a net positive impact by achieving carbon neutral production and designing all its products to be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2030. Emerald Technology Ventures had announced the launch of a fund focused on sustainable packaging in April 2022. The fund is “one of the first” venture-backed investment vehicles targeting the entire packaging lifecycle. 

Amcor announced a further strategic investment of up to US$45 million in ePac Flexible Packaging (“ePac”), a leader in high-quality, short-run, digitally-based flexible packaging. The investment will increase Amcor’s minority shareholding in ePac Holdings. Founded in 2016, ePac has a fast-growing global footprint and is focused on digital printing technologies to service the short-run needs of small customers in the consumer goods industry. The company said its annual revenue has grown more than 600% over the past three years to a run rate of over US$200 million

In brief: Paper packaging newsReleaf Paper launched its paper bags for the EU and UK markets through its webshop. 
UPM Specialty Papers presented the latest additions to its extensive selection of environmentally sustainable and recyclable packaging papers. UPM Confidio and UPM Confidio Pro combine moisture- and grease resistance with heat sealing properties. The company says these features make the materials “stand out” in the market and offer a concrete competitive edge. In building a future beyond fossils, UPM Specialty Papers provides the packaging industry with innovative and renewable solutions from environmentally sustainably managed forests. In addition, UPM Confidio Pro offers “superior” print results through all printing methods, resulting in a saturated outcome with sharper and more vivid colors. The combination of heat sealability, moisture resistance, grease resistance, and a mineral oil barrier makes it an “optimal choice” for many end-uses.

Ukraine-based Releaf Paper launched its paper bags for the EU and UK markets through its webshop aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, who can now buy Releaf paper bags from EU countries or the UK. The start-up said the main target audience for the products is offline and online stores selling cosmetics, clothing, handmade goods, organic food and other consumer goods.

In brief: Awards
The Glass Packaging Institute, in partnership with Michigan State University School of Packaging, announced the winners of the 2022 Glass Packaging Design Competition. The first-place team designed a concept for a bottle for Old Barrel Whiskey that led them to victory over a field of 37 total submissions. 

By Natalie Schwertheim