Kemsley Paper Mill to boost its efficiency with £48M investment

Dublin, Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa Group is partnering with Silicon Valley printing technology company Electronics For Imaging, Inc. to establish an efficient, robust digital corrugated packaging production offering with the installation of an EFI™ Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED inkjet corrugated packaging press. As a result of this partnership, Smurfit Kappa, one of the top innovators in packaging, and main driving force of digital print technology in Europe, will establish leaner and more-effective processes to deliver ready-to-sell high quality print packaging that will provide its customers maximum brand benefit in the retail store. “This digital printing partnership with EFI reflects Smurfit Kappa’s serious commitment to providing the best packaging solutions available,” said Ignacio Sevillano, CEO Smurfit Kappa Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Click Read More below for additional information.

A new report from Finland’s Technical Research Center (VTT), “Recycling Food Packaging”, highlights those technology solutions expected to become commercially available in the next five years and says partnerships are essential to deliver the necessary technological innovations in food packaging recycling. VTT’s team examined current and near-future recycling systems for plastic and fiber packaging and found that alliances between brand owners, recycling and sorting technology developers, and waste management companies are fundamental to the development of recycling solutions. Such partnerships are essential for future investment in new recycling technology as they provide, on one hand, accessibility to used material, and on the other hand, a potential user for the recyclate. Commissioned by Huhtamaki the global sustainable packaging solutions provider, the report aims to identify and increase understanding of the key drivers required to deliver a functioning circular economy, in which importantly packaging is not only recyclable, but recycled. “The study predicts a significant increase in industrial chemical recycling capacity in the United States, Europe and East Asia in the next 3–4 years. Chemically recycled polymers can be included in food packaging after full depolymerization, whilst in practice today, recycled polymers certified as food contact material are mainly limited to rPET, used mostly in bottles”, says Mona Arnold, principal scientist at VTT.

ANDRITZ will convert the idled paper machine PM3 at Steyrermühl mill in Austria to produce kraft papers for sustainable flexible packaging. The machine previously produced graphic paper for UPM. The conversion project has been launched by the Heinzel Group, which will take over the Steyrermühl mill from UPM by January 1, 2024. Once rebuilt by ANDRITZ, the paper machine (then PM6) will produce up to 150,000 tons of brown and white low-basis weight kraft paper per year to be sold under the Heinzel Group’s well-established StarKraft brand. The paper will be used for shopper bags, pouches, and other flexible packaging products. Werner Hartmann, COO of Heinzel Pöls, says: “With this investment, StarKraft will become one of the world’s leading brands for bleached and unbleached kraft paper. ANDRITZ PrimeLine technology is already successfully operating at our Pöls and Laakirchen mills. The current rebuild by ANDRITZ will help us expand our product portfolio for sustainable packaging.”