Metsä Board develops new lightweight micro-flute packaging for HejBuddy cosmetics brand

*First quarter net earnings of $56 million *First quarter results negatively impacted by approximately $52 million (pre-tax) due to January freeze and Ixtac, Mexico fire *First quarter cash provided by operations of $395 million and returned $161 million to shareholders in dividends

For families stuck indoors and desperate for entertainment, a cardboard box can transform into a makeshift playground for the kids or a refuge for the cats. Day to day, though, they have been a crucial if often overlooked link in the nation’s supply chain. But now boxes are piling up in homes across the country because of the explosive growth in e-commerce this year. That’s left the corrugated packaging industry dependent on consumers to recycle the products to support its financial and environmental needs. Corrugated box shipments grew 9 percent in March from the year-ago period, industry data shows, despite a brief dip in revenue when the pandemic’s initial shock froze up the supply chain. But shipments were again soon boosted by retailers’ overstocking of food, cleaning supplies and toilet paper amid the panic buying so prevalent in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Shipments continued to climb through the fall, peaking in October, and box makers are on pace to end the year with record production to meet this year’s skyrocketing demand. Click read more below for the rest of the article.

At the beginning of January, the PM 7 of Grupo Gondi, one of Mexico's largest paper manufactures, was successfully commissioned at the new Papel y Empaques mill in Monterrey. The paper machine is set to produce 400,000 tons of high-performance light weight recycled containerboard annually with Voith's leading technology. Eduardo Posada, CEO of Grupo Gondi, says: “The plant is one of the most modern recycling board mills in Latin America. The start-up of PM 7 is an important step for us. Together with Voith, we will continue our efforts to increase our market position for high-performance lightweight recycled containerboard in Mexico and Latin America with innovative production solutions.”