Ox Industries Acquires 150,000 Square Foot Facility in Hanover, PA

Sonoco announced it is implementing a $50 per ton price increase for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) in the United States and Canada, effective with shipments beginning May 30, 2022. Sonoco said the price change reflects continued tight market conditions and inflationary pressures on manufacturing costs, including energy, freight, chemicals, packaging materials and labor. “Unfortunately, the conditions that challenged us in 2021 have not dissipated in 2022. We continue to be challenged by strong demand, increasing backlogs and inflating costs,” said Tim Davis, Division Vice President and General Manager, Paper – U.S. and Canada.

Cushioning is an essential part of protecting fragile goods from shock and vibration. That’s why for many decades, plastic foams have been used as a versatile and cost-effective solution. However plastic based foams are problematic. If they leak out to nature the material is inert and will not degrade. Furthermore, plastic foams are generally made from finite sources, mainly crude oil, which leads to a release of fossil carbon at its end of life. To turn these challenges into a thing of the past, Stora Enso has developed a lightweight, paper-based foam for protection and cushioning in packaging. Here are three key reasons why Papira® by Stora Enso is better than conventional plastic foams. 1. A bio-based product - Plastic foams used in cushioning today are mainly made of crude oil, resulting in a product with a high carbon footprint over its lifetime and other environmental issues. 2. Recyclable in the paper stream - Even though plastic foams such as expanded polystyrene or polyethylene foams are lightweight and handy, recycling them is difficult. Paper-based Papira® by Stora Enso is designed for recycling in paper or carton streams. 3. Biodegradable and compostable - As a material, Papira® is designed to be biodegradable. Therefore, it does not become waste or pollution even if not recycled properly.

The operations at Metsä Group’s and Valmet’s 3D fibre product demo plant in Äänekoski has begun. At the end of 2020, Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring and Valmet announced they would be investing a total of approximately 20 million euros in the demo plant. The demo plant is part of Metsä Group’s integrated mill site in Äänekoski, and it produces finished 3D fibre packaging products directly from wet pulp without intermediate phases. The moulded fibre-based packaging can replace plastic for example in food packaging. The demo plant currently employs approximately ten people. “Our fibre-based packaging products are a significant new initiative in the global packaging market. The novelty in our products include their layered structure, which, in turn, allows their production in a raw material and energy efficient manner applying a highly automated production process. The layered structure also allows the products to be easily modified for different purposes. The customers’ reception of the new product has been very positive. We know we’re on the right path,” says Metsä Group’s project lead, VP, Jarkko Tuominen.