Feels Light, Less Filling

Putting ink on paper to convey a message has become second nature, so it’s almost hard to believe there would be anything new to talk about. However, paperboard suppliers continue to innovate. Helped along, no doubt by the Wal-Mart Scorecard, printers of paperboard packaging face informing their customers about virgin paperboard grades as well as myriad recycling grades. Besides espousing the inherent sustainability of paperboard packaging, packaging designers are developing lighter packages using stronger, yet lighter, paperboard grades. Considering all this, it is obvious why Patti Gettinger—marketing manager, paperboard sales, Graphic Packaging International (http://www.graphicpkg.com)—says, “Paperboard continues to be an excellent packaging choice for function, billboard, and sustainability.”

Really? More on sustainability?

The sustainability rush has given paperboard suppliers a new weapon in their arsenals to combat the increasing use of films to produce flexible packaging, which has become increasingly designed to function like a box. “All types of paperboard are sustainable, fill a vital role in package requirements and performance, and are even mutually necessary to each other,” says Gettinger. “There are sustainability pros and cons for each grade of board that, at the end, render them relatively equal to each other from a sustainability point of view.” Therefore, she adds, selecting the right grade for the package and product requirements continues to be the astute approach.

The Wal-Mart Scorecard affects how companies approach sustainability, and believe it or not, creates a misconception. “A lot of companies are making purchasing decisions based on the Wal-Mart Scorecard, but Wal-Mart still works under the assumption that board must have been recycled to be sustainable,” says Karen Jaramillo, marketing/PR specialist, M-real USA Corp. (http://www.m-real.com). “This is not the case, and they lose sight of the fact that you need a constant in-flux of virgin board to maintain the supply of recycled fiber. With no virgin fiber, the recycled fiber supplies would run out in a matter of months.”

Curiously, the increased recycling during this era of creating sustainable goods can also have a negative impact in terms of capacity. “Recycling costs versus landfill costs merit watching for all packaging materials,” asserts Gettinger. “The recent sharp decline in the cost of recycled materials does not translate into lower cost of goods using recycled content.” She explains that the reason is the price may be so low that collectors of recycled materials can’t cover the processing costs. “Some recyclers have started charging fees, stopped accepting materials, or even gone out of business,” she adds. “The glut of recycled goods may have to be landfilled, for which producers are charged a fee.”

No immunity against the economy

The recent global economic downturn hasn’t left the paperboard market unscathed. “The weakened economy has caused a severe tightening in commercial credit and spending,” says -Jaramillo. “Printers and merchants have suffered inventory reduction while branded good companies have cut orders tremendously. Implementing price increases on paperboard products [to] improve profitability while trying to remain competitive has been most challenging in these tough economic times.”

Gettinger reports that for the first three quarters of 2008, cartonboard producers were running at full utilization of capacity. Cost inflation for energy, chemicals, fiber, and transportation was painful, and price increases did not keep pace. “As the economy geared down at year end, some costs declined, but demand also softened slightly keeping margins squeezed,” states Gettinger. “Coated Recycled Board (CRB) suppliers took a small amount of additional downtime in December, but this represented less than 1 percent of annual capacity for U.S. and Canadian producers.” Hardest hit in the fourth quarter, according to -Gettinger, were containerboard producers whose substantial downtime took more than 1.4 million tons of capacity out of the system, or about 4 percent of annual capacity.

Emerging trends

Besides watching the recycling costs versus landfill costs, another important trend, according to Jaramillo, is lightweighting. “It not only produces tremendous cost savings for the consumer,” she says, “but also promotes sustainability by reducing transport volume and lessening waste production.” According to Jaramillo, all new board machines being added to the world market are no longer single ply. Multi-ply machines, she adds, are able to take advantage of different -fiber sources to achieve lighter weight and better performing board grades. To this end, M-real produces lighter boards with properties that are equal to those of heavier grades, improving yield and, states Jaramillo, “demonstrating sustainability by utilizing less raw material, less transport volume, and less waste.”

Positioned to be sustainable

Gettinger states that paperboard is an excellent choice for sustainability compared to other packaging materials. “Paperboard is a natural, renewable, recyclable material with superior carbon footprint,” she says. “Reforestation is a cornerstone of sustainable forest management; at least five new trees are planted for every tree harvested.” She asserts that the carbon dioxide removed from the air by forests offsets any carbon dioxide produced during the paperboard manufacturing process. Gettinger also adds that fibers from trees can be recycled about seven times, and paperboard has one of the highest recycling rates of all materials.

Jaramillo says that M-real paperboard is made from virgin fiber originating from sustainably managed forests and is 100 percent recyclable. “M-real products hold PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes), which enables M-real to reliably report the origin of wood to its customers,” she says.

Make the right choice

Sustainability, lightweighting, or applying the Wal-Mart Scorecard are all important trends, but in the end, choose the right paper for your packaging application. As Gettinger said, this continues to be the astute approach.

Jaramillo echoes Gettinger’s assessment. “The product selected for paperboard packaging is essentially the most critical choice, as it is imperative to create a favorable impression to the consumer with the product’s packaging.” She continues, “Packaging should exhibit brightness and smoothness, and possess strength for shelving and display (stacking strength).” pP