Huhtamaki acquires the majority of an Australian foodservice packaging distributor

TC Transcontinental Packaging, the Packaging Sector of TC Transcontinental, announces an investment of $60M US (approximately $80M CAD) toward the development of cutting-edge mono-material recyclable flexible plastic packaging solutions, providing high-performance polyethylene films with more heat resistance. In addition to a new innovative film line that will produce biaxially oriented polyethylene (BOPE), a first in North America, the investment includes ancillary equipment and a 120,000 sq. ft building expansion in TC Transcontinental Packaging’s Spartanburg, South Carolina facility. “This new offering will be a game changer in TC Transcontinental's recyclability journey, demonstrating our commitment to distinguish ourselves and gain market share with innovative sustainable solutions for our customers,” said Thomas Morin, President and CEO of TC Transcontinental. “Our offering aligns with our customers’ desire to accelerate speed to market with recyclable products that also protect and preserve their contents throughout their lifecycle, in addition to creating a more circular economy for plastic.”

Total Packaging Papers shipments were 223,400 tons, 1.6 percent lower than October 2016. Bag & Sack shipments are up 3.3 percent year-to-date, while Food Wrapping shipments are down 7.1 percent over the same period. The operating rate for October 2017 was 85.5 percent, while the year-to-date rate was 88.3 percent. Inventories were 167,800 tons, down slightly since September.

Although many of us use products containing fluff pulp, some of us daily, it is one of those materials which is surprisingly unknown to the wider group of consumers. Fluff pulp is a type of wood pulp typically used in absorption cores of baby diapers, sanitary pads, incontinence products and various forms of air-laid nonwoven products. Not many consumers know what fluff pulp is, and that it in many cases is the only natural raw material in a typical disposable hygiene product. Even if a single absorbent hygiene product only contains a few grams of fluff pulp, the massive number of products consumed every day make that global fluff pulp market big. In 2023 it is projected to reach over 7 million tons globally (Global Fluff Pulp Consumption, projection according to Smithers). We describe NaturaFluff Eco as an oxygen delignified fluff pulp. This means that it is not bleached, only treated with oxygen to remove the remaining lignin after the cooking of the pulp. By not bleaching the fluff pulp we save approximately 80 kgs of bleaching chemicals per airdried tonne of fluff pulp. This corresponds to a saving of the carbon footprint by more than 30% compared to bleached fluff pulp.