Green paper production Smurfit Kappa Piteå

GREEN PAPER PRODUCTION

Smurfit Kappa Piteå is the largest paper mill in the Smurfit Kappa Group and one of Sweden’s leading companies in the paper-based packaging sector. Romana Moares spoke to company director Per Sward about the mill’s latest investment in production capacity, its environmental focus and expected growth in line with increasing demand for greener products.

Smurfit Kappa Piteå, situated in the north of Sweden, is a part of the Paper Division Europe of the Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG), a leading global manufacturer with approximately 46,000 employees in 35 countries and a turnover of €8.6 billion in 2017. As a whole, SKG manufactures a diverse range of corrugated case-making materials in various locations worldwide.

Established in the late 1950s, the Piteå mill has evolved into a large, modern factory employing the latest technology and vigorously pursuing a sustainability policy. Environmental considerations have been on the company’s priority list for some time: in 2004, a biological wastewater treatment plant was commissioned, followed by the largest single investment in the mill’s history to include a new biomass boiler, enabling sustained high-volume production with significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions.

“In the bio boiler, various residual products from materials such as bark and sludge are burned, generating energy used in production. Under normal operational conditions, the plant uses no fossil fuels, which is largely due to the bio boiler that acts as the mill’s energy source,” says Mr Sward. “Today, we cover more than half of our electricity needs through our own generation and also provide more than 90 per cent of the district heating in the Piteå municipality. Sustainability is an integral part of our development – we use renewable raw materials and do all we can to leave as limited a carbon footprint as possible. All our raw materials come from managed forestry, which is something that has a long tradition here in Sweden and that the Swedes do very well.”

Per Sward confirms that the company has invested heavily in technology in the last five years, aiming not only at machine renewal but also at increased capacity. “The mill employs 510 people at the moment. For 2018, annual production volume is forecast at 718,000 tonnes at full operation, with a view to gradually increasing the volume to 750,000 tonnes over the next five years.”

Kraftliner for packaging

Smurfit Kappa Piteå produces kraftliner, which is mainly used for surface layers in packages made of high-grade corrugated cardboard. The raw material of kraftliner is entirely or mostly wood, which produces paper of excellent strength, moisture resistance and printability. Kraftliner is also classified as clean paper (chemically and biologically clean), suitable for

Marotech GmbH

Marotech GmbH is one of the leading manufacturers of anti-slip mats and other load securing mediums in Germany. Supporting Smurfit Kappa for over a decade with high quality products to secure the transport of their paper rolls, a great partnership with trust and reliability has grown.

Marotech’s new BIo anti-slip mats for the one-way transports on european roads are made of organic coated cardboards and have a waterproof surface.

It’s a clear commitment to their own sustainability plans and those for their advanced clients like Smurfit Kappa.

the food sector. The mill produces brown and surface white kraftliner in four different paper grades. In addition to Piteå, the product is made in two other SKG mills, in France and Austria.

“Over the last few years, we have improved our cooperation with our sister companies in France and Austria to make full use of group synergies and to improve cost-effectiveness across the mills. 60 per cent of our output is supplied to internal customers within the Smurfit Kappa Group, while the rest is shipped directly to external customers, i.e. packaging producers who then ship the boxes to final clients such as Coca-Cola, Unilever but also to a wide network of smaller companies,” explains Mr Sward.

Mr Sward confirms that demand for paper packaging is increasing. “We are experiencing the rising popularity of sustainable products replacing plastics, reflecting the growing focus on environmental protection worldwide. Another driver pushing volumes up comes from e-commerce – kraftliner is a product that is strong and resilient, withstanding multiple shipping, and is very well suited to this type of packaging, so its potential in this particular sector is huge.”

Per Sward, company director

Cutting-edge philosophy

“Europe is our main market, and the largest volume is sold here in Scandinavia, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands,” says Mr Sward, affirming that improving product characteristics to reflect current market preferences is a never-ending process. “We have a product development team here in Piteå looking at ways to further increase customer satisfaction, anticipating their future needs. At the moment, we are looking at digital printing, i.e. how we can develop our products to fit digital printing requirements which will soon be a widespread operation.”

In line with this development, Smurfit Kappa recently installed a revolutionary new industrial-grade digital printing machine, the HP PageWide C500, in its Austrian plant – the first commercial HP Single Pass printing press in Europe.

“We have always striven to provide market-leading solutions to our customers and will continue to do so,” confirms Mr Sward. “Faced with increasing competition, this, together with further enhancing our brand image, is something that will carry us into the future.” n