Innovation and Sustainability From Lucart Group

Lucart, a major European manufacturer of thin MG paper for flexible packaging, is a key player in the consumer goods and away-from-home markets as a producer and transformer of tissue and airlaid paper. Its attention to people, sustainable processes, and approach to innovation means they offer cutting-edge products that meet market challenges and customers’ needs.

Fiberpack® is their flagship project in this field: it combines advanced technology and environmentally friendly processes, demonstrating that circular economy principles are fully applicable to the tissue sector.

Lucart created this project starting from the idea of using all the elements of beverage cartons according to circular economy principles. The production process relies on an innovative technology that separates the cellulose fibers found in beverage cartons from polyethylene and aluminum by physical-mechanical action. With this technology, they avoid substances that may be harmful to people or the environment. They produce tissue products with the fibers obtained through this process and recover the aluminum and polyethylene, converting them into a homogeneous material called Al.Pe.®, which other industries use to produce various items.

The tons of Fiberpack® paper Lucart has produced from 2013 to 2021 have contributed to the recovery of more than 7.6 billion beverage cartons, saving more than 3.3 million trees and preventing more than 195,000 t of CO2e from being emitted into the atmosphere.

Lucart’s continuous research and development work has led to many projects aiming to improve the quality and performance of its products. One such project has led to the innovative QMilk® process, which makes it possible to extract and transform the basic proteins in milk into a soft and precious fiber without using chemical agents. The process pre¬serves the amino acids, and all the moisturizing and nourishing prop¬erties of milk in the resulting fiber. It guarantees a 100% natural formula that is dermatologically tested, ultrasoft, and highly resistant.

Lucart is also the only brand in its target market to offer Airlaid products with exceptional absorbency and strength performance. The Airlaid technology uses long, highly resistant cellulose fibers that never come into contact with water during the production process (dry paper) to remain super absorbent. Fibers treated with this process naturally form a “dam” structure, offering outstanding results: can absorb up to 7 times its weight and, thanks to its exceptional resistance, can be reused up to 20 times, compared to 1 or 2 for competitive products.

Lucart is a company made up of people who choose to use innovative and sustainable processes in development, transformation, and manufacturing of paper products, collaborating responsibly for the future of their business and the planet.

Lucart has always been at the forefront of the study of innovative packaging able to reduce the environmental impact of its products. After launching the world’s first line of toilet paper with materbi corn starch packaging in 1997, the company created a series of products with entirely plastic-free packaging in 2019.

The unique AIRLAID Paper

The exclusive Airlaid Technology, which uses air instead of water to produce a special paper fabric of cellulose fibers, enhances the performance of Tutto the paper cloth, giving it high resistance, even when wet, and increased absorption power. Tutto the paper cloth is dermatologically tested and is suitable for contact with food.