Lightweighting trends
and opportunities in
coated board
Mark Rushton
Matti Lares
Editor
Pulp & Paper
International
Senior Technology
Manager, Valmet
Lightweighting
 Savings by reducing basis weight while
maintaining all functional properties of
packaging
 Sustainable way to develop whole
packaging industry and its supply chain
 Being competitive against other packaging
materials
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Packaging market today
Total size 600 billion EUR/a
2%
 Packaging is a growing business
7%
– 3 to 6 % annually
 Fiber-based packaging products
are based on:
15%
36%
– Coated boards
– Container boards
– Packaging papers
 Fiber-based products are
renewable and recyclable
 Production of fiber-based
materials is energy-efficient and
the products have a low carbon
footprint
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
40%
Fiber-based
Plastics
Source: PIRA & Metsa Board
Metals
Glass
Others
Why lightweighting?
Towards today’s challenges in coated board market
1. Competition with other packaging
materials
2. Competition within coated board
business due to capacity expansions
→ Continuous cost reduction
3. Sustainability
Functional properties have to be maintained
while reducing weight
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Same performance with lighter product
Making 1 million biscuit packages requires approx. 32,000 m2 of board:
30
Taber CD stiffness, mNm
25
20
15
10
All having same
stiffness properties of
10 mNm.
5
0
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Basis weight, g/m2
5
High bulk
FBB
FBB
7.9 tons
9.3 tons
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
SBS
High bulk
WLC
10.8 tons
12 tons
WLC
12.8 tons
650
Get more with less resources
Improved sustainability throughout the supply chain
Less packaging
waste
Raw material and
energy reduction
Disposal
Coated
Board
Producer
Sustainability
Converter
Consumer
Consistency of
packaging
material
Reduction of
weight
Packer
Retailer
Efficient operations
and protection
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Runnability
Brand Owner
Brand values
Quality of different packaging board grades
4,5
4,0
PPS s10 [µm]
3,5
WLC
3,0
2,5
2,0
Europe
1,5
Asia
SBS
1,0
FBB
0,5
0,9
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1,0
1,1
1,2
1,3
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
1,4 1,5 1,6
Bulk, [cm³/g]
1,7
1,8
1,9
2,0
Excellent as always – lighter than ever!
Introducing Alaska Plus lightweight GC2 board with
unparalleled benefits
Modernization of PM 4 ...OR
Same280stiffness
t
300 t
Lower basis weight
10 M
10,7 M
Better smoothness
ALASKA
300g/m2
ALASKA PLUS
280g/m2
ALASKA PLUS
280g/m2
1,000,000 m2
10,000,000 boxes
1,000,000 m2
10,000,000 boxes
1,070,000 m2
10,700,000 boxes
Source http://internationalpaper.com/Apps/Alaska-Plus/cost-saving.html
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Case: IP Kwidzyn BM 4, Poland
Rebuild enables upgrade from Alaska to Alaska Plus
 The production of Alaska Plus was started after the modernization project
in 2014
 Using the latest technology in board making, they have been able to lower
the basis weights of this product at the same stiffness and bulk
Specification – Alaska vs Alaska Plus
1,95
1,90
1,85
1,80
+ 12 %
Bulk
1,75
1,70
1,65
1,60
1,55
1,50
200
220
240
260
280
300
320
340
360
Basis weight
Alaska
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Alaska Plus
Source: http://internationalpaper.com/Apps/AlaskaPlus/technical.html and RISI
Extremely high bulk
Rebuild
at Simpele mill
Weight reduction
achieved without
stiffness
and
loss of
strength
Source: http://www.metsaboard.com/News/newslisting/Pages/BirdsEyereducespackagingweightfollowingwrapproject.aspx
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Case: Metsä Board Simpele BM 3, Finland
More, Better and Lighter
 Deep cooperation with Valmet since 2002
After 1st rebuild (2006):
225.000 tpa
Before rebuild (2006):
170.000 tpa
On start-up (1970):
85.000 tpa
Machine supplied by Valmet
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Rebuild scope:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
New hydraulic headboxes
Film size press
Metal belt calender
Air dryers
Center-driven reel
Belt-supported winder
Roll wrapping machine
Yankee was bypassed
After 2nd rebuild (2011):
>300.000 tpa
Rebuild scope:
•
•
•
•
Rebuild of forming section
Shoe press
Rebuild of drying section
Yankee was replaced by
drying cylinders
Source:
http://www.metsaboard.com/products/Product_news/Pages/Morelightweight-Simcote.aspx and Fiber&Paper magazine 3/2006
Same stiffness
with
lowest weight
WINS!
Xiandong Ji, General Manager of Zhuhai
S.E.Z. Hongta Reheng Paper Co., Ltd.,
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Source: Results-magazine 2/2013
What are the solutions?
Right selection of fibers combined with
Fiber optimization modern refining technology
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Everything starts with fiber!
Furnish has the greatest effect on lightweighting
 Improve filler ply bulk and retain good internal
bonding
– Selection of furnish / fibers
– Higher freeness
– Good bonding with minimum density increase
 Increase modulus of elasticity of top & bottom
plies and keep low porosity
– Optimized basis weight distribution and HW/SW ratio
– High tensile with minimum porosity increase
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
What are the solutions?
Right selection of fibers combined with
Fiber optimization modern refining technology
Aqua layering
headbox
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Increased internal strength of filler ply
What are the solutions?
Right selection of fibers combined with
Fiber optimization modern refining technology
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Aqua layering
headbox
Increased internal strength of filler ply
Shoe pressing
Improved smoothness: less
calendering and lower coat weight
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Shoe press as a smoothing press
 Traditionally a roll press
–
–
–
–
Bulk losses
Felt marking
Limited linear load
Runnability issues
 With shoe smoothing press
longer dwell time = optimized
bulk – smoothness – dryness
combination after press
 More smooth base board for
coating section, lower
calendering loads and less
bulk reduction
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Rebuild results
Before
After
Press loads (kN/m)
800
900
-
800
900
650
Pre-calendering (kN/m / °C)
30 / 180
30 / 180
Final calendering (kN/m / °C)
35 / 160
40 / 160
Coat weight (g/m2)
30
27
PPSs10 (µm)
2.0
1.3
Density (g/cm3)
930
840
Burst (kPam2/g)
2.3
2.3
What are the solutions?
Right selection of fibers combined with
Fiber optimization modern refining technology
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Aqua layering
headbox
Increased internal strength of filler ply
Shoe pressing
Improved smoothness: less
calendering and lower coat weight
Multi-layer
curtain coating
Better coating coverage enables
reduced use of raw materials
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Multilayer curtain coating
Each coating layer can be adjusted to desired function and cost
• Functional coating layer possibility • Possibility for both thin and thick
– Printability
– Barrier layers, e.g. for the food
industry
– Coverage
coating layers
– Thin layer capability, even 2 g/m2
– Thick layer capability, up to 30 g/m2
Different function
for each layer
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Electron microscope
Visible difference with curtain coating
Blade coating (15 g/m2)
Base paper
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Curtain coating (15 g/m2)
Case example of raw material savings
Case: Cartones Ponderosa PM 1, Mexico
“Our customers are asking for better
printability, which means better surface
uniformity. We also needed to achieve cost
savings to be more cost competitive while
maintaining a good balance with quality.”
Saul Guzman Espinoza,
Operations Director, Cartones
Ponderosa
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 New coat weight split and coating
formulation
→ Total coat weight decreased
by 4 g/m2
→ Annual savings
more than USD 3 million
→ Further opportunities to
reduce white fibers
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
What are the solutions?
Right selection of fibers combined with
Fiber optimization modern refining technology
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Aqua layering
headbox
Increased internal strength of filler ply
Shoe pressing
Improved smoothness: less
calendering and lower coat weight
Multi-layer
curtain coating
Better coating coverage enables
reduced use of raw materials
Metal belt
calendering
Excellent calendering results without
sacrificing bulk
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Metal belt calender can reduce the amount of
raw materials by 4–8%
Standard 255 g/m² FBB
Metalbelt 230 g/m² FBB
OPTITOPO ROUGHNESS ANALYSIS
Gradient image (40 mm × 40 mm)
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
What are the solutions?
Right selection of fibers combined with
Fiber optimization modern refining technology
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Aqua layering
headbox
Increased internal strength of filler ply
Shoe pressing
Improved smoothness: less
calendering and lower coat weight
Multi-layer
curtain coating
Better coating coverage enables
reduced use of raw materials
Metal belt
calendering
Excellent calendering results without
sacrificing bulk
Aqua cooling
calendering
Cooled web does not compress
permanently
Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
Huge benefits shared equally
Stiffness remains the same when basis weight drops from 285 to 250 g/m2
 Note: The decrease in cost caused by raw material savings has been equally
shared between board producer and converter
For board producers
EUR 14 million
more sales
For converters
6% lower
purchasing cost
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton
 Board producer
– Production 200,000 tonnes/year
 Produced board tonnage remains the same
– 702 million m2  800 million m2
 Converter
– Annual need for board surface area 500 million m2
– Required tonnage 142,500 tonnes  125,000 tonnes
Lightweighting is a clear opportunity
Choose your path!
Valmet is committed to
moving your performance
forward
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Customer Days | Matti Lares, Mark Rushton