Board Converting News, November 6, 2023

Metsä Board Designs New Lightweight Gift Package

remodeling a box that was strong and rigid but lighter and with a smaller environmental impact,” said Ilkka Harju, Metsä Board’s Packaging Services Director. The best solution turned out to be micro-flute, which has a significantly smaller and lower flute size than tra- ditional corrugated boards. The packaging consists of a separate base and lid made of micro-flute. Its surface liner can be uncoated white kraftliner or coated white kraftlin- er. Of these, the latter gives the package the best printing properties. The packaging solution is designed to be produc- tion-efficient from start to finish and suitable for mass pro- duction on current production lines — with no major retool- ing required. According to Harju, “The new gift packaging solution is an ideal fit, especially for cosmetics, chocolate, beverages and other premium products.” Metsä Board’s Sustainability Services team compared the new micro-flute solution to recycled fiber-based rigid box solutions and found the micro-fluted concept to be up to 50 percent lighter. The cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of the new solution — which considers value chain stages from raw materials extraction until the paperboard product leaves the mill — was also calculated and found to be 59 percent lower than that of traditional solutions. “Since no harmful adhesives or other plastic laminates are used in the packaging solution, the recycling becomes much more efficient,” adds Harju.

Espoo, Finland based Metsä Board announced the design of a lighter gift package with strength features close to those of the rigid box solutions currently used for premium products such as cosmetics. With the new design, made from micro-fluted corrugated board, the company wanted

to offer a new gift box solution that uses less material and has a lower carbon footprint than traditional rigid boxes. The gift box was designed by the team at Metsä Board’s Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland. “We were looking to provide the same experience by

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November 6, 2023

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