 | Containerboard is strong, durable, lightweight, environment-friendly and cost-efficient when compared with plastic or wood. Cases made of Billerud’s containerboard are used to carry bananas, for example, from the heat of South America to the cooler climate in Scandinavia, before they are sold in shops. This places great demands on the ability of the container-board to withstand impact and maintain its shape during long periods of transportation in varying temperatures.
Billerud’s customers produce containerboard that consists of a middle layer, called fluting, and an outer layer, called liner. Billerud’s containerboard is made primarily of 100 % primary wood fibre. This produces a pure and very strong paper for packaging where there are demands for strength, purity, hygiene and good printing. Heavy white goods, fast food, luxury products and gift items are growing areas for containerboard made of Billerud’s fluting and liner.
Within liquid packaging, Billerud focuses on portion packaging for items such as milk and fruit juice.
White surface for attractive packaging
Packaging is acquiring a more important role in the marketing of products and brands. The requirement for a surface that sells is boosting demand for white packaging with good printing properties. Billerud is a market leader in pure white liner used as the outer layer of containerboard. Pure white liner has superior printing properties compared with packaging that has a brown layer and a white layer, so called white top liner.
Billerud’s white liner is light-resistant, which means that it does not turn yellow with age. This has opened the door to a small but interesting market of archive boxes for legal firms, for example.
Wider range of liners with new product portfolio
To meet the needs of customers and end users such as food producers, Billerud broadened its range of liners in 2005 by adding coated liner. This product portfolio is called White Liner collection and comprises Billerud Pure White, Billerud Pure Bright and Billerud Pure Coated. The names reflect the products’ unique properties. They are fully white and pure thanks to the primary fibre. Pure Coated has a coated surface that provides an extra gloss.
Billerud’s pure white liners have competitive advantages on several markets where the purity of the raw material is crucial. One example is packaging that comes into contact with food. Billerud’s liner is used to package a sponge cake, for example, which the consumer makes by adding water and putting the packaging in the oven. This is where the packaging plays a vital role in the success of the product, firstly performing promotion in the shop, then protecting in the oven and finally making a good impression on the kitchen table.
Hygienic containerboard keeps pizza hot
Containerboard is becoming increasingly popular as packaging for fast food. Containerboard made of pure liner and fluting from Billerud keeps pizza hot while meeting hygienic requirements. In the fast food sector Billerud’s products are involved in an exciting rangeof projects for the future. For example, Billerud’s white liner is being used in portion packs for pizza slices. A triangular box with a folding piece of paper keeps the slice in place when you eat pizza out of a box.
Within the EU there are very strict rules for handling and packaging food. Billerud’s Gruvön mill, which produces both fluting and liner, has a hygiene certificate in accordance with the BRC/IoP technical food standard. Today around 50 % of Billerud’s deliveries of packaging paper go to the food sector. Hygiene certification enhances prospects for delivering more paper to food producers.
Luxury perfume packaging made of micro-corrugated
White liner is specially suited for micro-corrugated packaging. Micro-corrugated comprises two layers of thin liner with a layer of folded paper in between. Microcorru-gated is both stiffer and lighter than cartonboard. It means lower costs for materials and transport compared with cartonboard or solid board.
In Western Europe sophisticated packaging with advanced printing is often used to market exclusive products. Micro-corrugated containerboard is used to package perfume, mobile telephones, drinks and fast food. At the end of 2005 a perfume was launched with a built-in sound message. Micro-corrugated made of Billerud’s paper is used in this exclusive packaging to protect the perfume bottle.
In the fast food sector there is a large range of applications for micro-corrugated and other packaging that includes Billerud’s white and pure liners. Hamburger packaging is one example where Billerud’s Pure Coated Liner is used as the outer layer, Pure White Liner is used as the middle layer and Glaze GR greaseproof paper from Billerud’s Beetham mill is used as the inner layer which comes into contact with the meat.
Low grammages offer best economy throughout the value chain
As a market leader Billerud strives to continually develop its producers for packaging and to create value through-out the entire chain. As a leader in low grammage products Billerud has now broadened its range with a new low grammage fluting quality, Billerud Flute®.
This material is well suited for food packaging made of micro-corrugated. The low grammage enables packaging producers to consume less material without compromising on the properties of the packaging. The low grammage also means lower transport costs. The end result is a lighter, more economic packaging.
Unique knowledge of adding value
Billerud became the first paper manufacturer to launch a design software called Billerud Box Design®. This enables the customer to see very simply which properties the finished packaging will have when various paper grades are chosen. Another program developed by Billerud is called Warp. This helps the customer optimise production of smooth containerboard sheets and avoid bending when exposed to dampness. Billerud’s success on the market is based on a strong product range and good customer service. In order to serve its 200 customers within the business area, Billerud has sales offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. There are extensive contacts between customers and Billerud’s technical experts. This has resulted in unique knowledge of the conversion process from paper to finished packaging. Billerud regularly arranges customer seminars to share knowledge about paper processing and printability, to learn more about customer requirements and thus participate proactively in the development of future packaging solutions.
New product in co-operation with Tetra Pak
For several years Billerud has developed in partnership with Tetra Pak a soft liquid paper that is simple and cheap to process. This paper is specially suited to package portions of fruit juice or milk.
Earnings performance
Compared with 2004 sales turnover fell by 6% to MSEK 2,012 (2,131), and the operating profit was down by MSEK 138 to MSEK 33. Volumes were down by 3%. The fall in earnings was mainly due to changed exchange rates and higher variable costs. |
| |
Print