The Finnish paper group Stora Enso announced on September 15 an investment of 10 million euros at its Forshaga site in Sweden to develop and produce cardboard with barrier properties that can be more easily recycled and composted industrially. The new equipment is expected to come on stream in the second quarter of 2021, the papermaker said.
Barrier solutions are used in packaging to protect against liquids, moisture, oxygen or grease. Liquid packaging, cups, and some food packaging are examples of products that have a barrier to protect the packaged product, while also ensuring that the packaging retains its usability.
"?Stora Enso wants to minimize the use of fossil-based materials and replace them with renewable wood fibre solutions. () The marketing of fibre-based products with barrier properties that have a lower carbon footprint and work better in a recycling system is an important area of development in packaging alimentaire?" said Hannu Kasurinen, Executive Vice President of Stora Enso's Packaging Materials Division, in a statement.
Stora Enso Forshaga has an annual capacity of approximately 120?000 tonnes of barrier coating on two machines/coating lines, with approximately 100 employees. Since the beginning of this year, the Forshaga site has also become a competence centre within the Packaging Materials Division of Stora Enso, responsible for the production and development of new barrier technologies and products of biological origin.
