Stromsdal offers its customers premium quality specialty boards: GraphiArt grades for demanding printing jobs and Tecta for food packaging. Company has sales and customer service network in over 30 countries, mainly in Europe. Stromsdal board mill is located in Juankoski in Central Finland.
Tecta is water based, dispersion coated barrier board designed to meet high quality packaging requirements in the food industry. It is an environmentally-friendly alternative to plastics and plastic laminated carton boards. Tecta is fully recyclable, and it can be composted or burned for energy recovery.
GREENER PACKAGING MATERIAL
Food manufacturers and retailers are increasingly demanding more from the packaging materials they use. While technical performance and consumer appeal must be constantly improved, the materials also need to be more sustainable. It is essential to reduce over packing and make recycling and composting easier.
GREEN PACKAGING
Tecta is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastics and plastic-laminated carton boards. It is a water-based, dispersion-coated barrier board designed to meet high quality packaging requirements in the food industry. It is fully recyclable and can be composted or burned for energy recovery. Its properties are similar to those of plastic-laminated boards, but as a mono material it can be recycled without the need to separate the coating.
Packaging made of Tecta board offers good protection against water, water vapour, grease and temperature. As a fully fibre-based alternative packaging solution, it meets the tightening EU recycling requirements. It eliminates the need for inner pouches while permitting the use of lower-weight packaging material to avoid overpacking. Tecta is available in three grades, offering suitable material for frozen and chilled foods, as well as microwavable or ovenable packaging. For example, it can be used to make recyclable and compostable sandwich packages with cornstarch-based compostable film in the see through window. These sandwich packages are already proving popular in the UK. Consumers have welcomed this new packaging because it looks better on the shelf, is environmentally friendly and takes up less space in the bin.
FINNISH PRODUCTION
Tecta coated boards are manufactured at Stromsdal Board Mill in Juankoski, Finland. The company produces two speciality boards: GraphiArt grades for high-quality graphics and Tecta for food packaging. It has separate paperboard and coating machines, which perfectly suit both product families. The main benefits are high-quality coating and flexibility in the production chain. Stromsdal is currently carrying out an investment programme to further develop high-quality graphical and Tecta grades. The first stage, to improve board whiteness and purity, was carried out at the end of 2006. The next steps are to increase speciality board production capacity and further improve the material properties. Stromsdal aims to have a minimal negative environmental impact in its paperboard production. Its new bio fuel plant opened last year, putting an end to the use of fossil fuels. The plant uses wood-based fuel, including the by-products of sawmills and peat, as well as by-products from the board mill itself, such as bark, woodchip and bio-sludge. All bio fuels and wood raw materials used at Stromsdal are locally sourced. The wastewater treatment plant process has also been improved, achieving its lowest-ever emissions last year.
