PCA Celebrates Groundbreaking for its New Box Plant

Aptar – Food Protection has been granted the North American license to manufacture and distribute the Halopack Tray system, designed to enhance packaging sustainability for a wide variety of fresh, frozen, reheatable, grab-and-go and oven-able food applications. Called Aptar Halopack, the patented solution is produced with recycled* cardboard and a minimal amount of easily removable film, allowing the package to be recycled in existing cardboard streams once the film is removed.** Compared to conventional plastic-based trays, Halopack’s use of cardboard materials allows for up to a 90% reduction in plastic. More than one billion units have been sold in Europe by Halopack, the Netherlands-based company that invented the product. Aptar Halopack’s sustainability and versatility stems from its simplicity. The paperboard-based tray systems are easy to recycle and fold flat to save recycling bin space for consumers. Custom printing directly on the paperboard, both inside and outside the package, reduces or eliminates the need for additional labels and minimizes manufacturing steps associated with label placement. Additionally, trays are engineered to fit in existing top seal and skin pack equipment with minimal tooling conversion required.

Amcor announced a significant expansion of its North American thermoforming capabilities for the healthcare market. The addition of automated, state-of-the art thermoforming equipment at Amcor’s world-class healthcare manufacturing plant in Oshkosh, Wisconsin will support increasing demand from customers in the medical, pharmaceutical, and consumer health sectors. The additional capacity will provide an efficient option for companies looking to partner with Amcor to support their growth ambitions. The expansion also will allow customers to source thermoforms and companion die-cut lids from a single location, helping streamline product manufacturing and distribution.

Metsä Board's BCTMP mill in Kaskinen produces high-quality pulp for Husum mill in Sweden and domestic board mills. The next goal of the modern mill is fossil free production. According to the VP of Kaskinen mill, there is a lot of long-standing and strong expertise in the Kaskinen team, which will contribute to the mill's development. On the west coast of Finland Kaskinen is home to one of Europe’s largest and most modern bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp mills. The mill is now aiming for fossil free production by the end of 2030, in line with Metsä Group's targets. "In 2018, the mill's capacity was increased, and since then there have been several smaller investments and improvements made to our processes which has moved the mill forward. Our position at Metsä Board is pivotal, as our pulp is used in the production of folding boxboards. A significant part of our pulp goes to the Husum mill in Sweden, where recent investments have been made to increase production volumes of folding boxboard.