The leading European producer of folding boxboards and linerboards, announced last June the launch of the first live testing of foam forming on a production scale at its Kyro mill in Finland.
Metsä Board has already done extensive development work for years on this new technology that is set to help make a step further in lightweight cartons.
“In foam forming technology, the water-fibre suspension is aerated with a stream of tiny bubbles. The paperboard structure becomes bulkier, lightening the board’s weight. In addition, fibres are distributed more evenly in the web, improving formation of the board and resulting in more consistent properties and appearance. On top of these benefits, the technology reduces the use of raw materials, energy and water, enhancing sustainability. It promises to be a true revolution, which is expected to result in considerable benefits to our customers,” explains Christophe Baudry, Commercial Director Beautycare & Healthcare, Metsä Board.
In order to implement this technology, Metsä Board has been undertaking research as part of the Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster FIBIC’s research programmes, which have been successfully scaled up together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Different phases of research and development have been accelerated through funding support from Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.
“Following promising laboratory scale results and our detailed feasibility studies, we reached a decision to invest in further development of the technology on a production machine. Our target is to offer our customers even more efficient and ecologically sound paperboards in the future," underlines Mika Joukio, CEO of Metsä Board.
