Norske Skog Bruck announces successful commercial deliveries of containerboard

ND Packaging has officially opened its 350,000 Sq. Ft. corrugated packaging plant in southeastern Wisconsin. At full operation, this new facility will add more than 80 full-time job to the region. Today marks the beginning of a new a new and experience-backed venture into the growing packaging industry. The company is excited to bring jobs to the community and add growth to import Wisconsin business sector. Furthermore, ND Packaging is thrilled to start producing high-quality corrugated sheets and containers and provide exceptional solutions for customers in the Chicagoland and greater Wisconsin marketplace. “While it has certainly been an endeavor, essentially starting from scratch has its distinct advantages,” said Ken Liu, CEO of ND Packaging and its affiliate ND Paper who, along with and a dedicated team of hard working and talented professionals, including Jon Hospodar, the new General Manager of the Sturtevant facility, has spearheaded this initiative. “We acquired the space and have been filling it with the right equipment and the right people to provide a value-added solution for our customers,” Mr. Liu continued.

The facility is the largest and most advanced of its kind, marking a significant milestone in sustainable packaging technology. Production is set to begin in Q4 2024 after successful large-scale testing. The Skene production unit utilizes an innovative dry forming process to produce high-performance formed fiber products, such as cup lids, designed to replace traditional plastics in food and beverage packaging. Unlike conventional wet forming, the dry process reduces water and energy consumption significantly, thus offering an even more sustainable manufacturing method for fibre-based packaging. Additionally, any excess material is recaptured and reused, ensuring a circular process with minimal waste.

Supported by Sugar Land Economic Development, Accredo Packaging, Inc., a sustainable package solutions firm, has completed its fourth expansion at its Sugar Land headquarters, representing a $10 million investment. This expansion added 83,000 square feet of office space to the company's 650,000-square-foot LEED-certified campus, which is 100 percent powered by wind energy. Located at 12682 Cardinal Meadow Drive, the project added 30 jobs, and the company has pledged to maintain at least 525 jobs in Sugar Land through 2031. Opened in 2009, Accredo Packaging is the first and only flexible packaging manufacturing facility in North America with LEED Silver certification. Previous expansions took place in 2013 and 2021, and now, in 2024, the company has more than tripled in size.