The world's biggest pasta producer, Barilla, has adopted Stora Enso's CKB board (Coated Kraft Back) as packaging for mainly its short pasta products. Decisive factors for the choice of material were product safety coupled with good organoleptic and technical properties of the board. No tastes or odours may transfer from the package to the product. Barilla's products are sold in more than 100 countries.

The popularity of pasta and the Italian cuisine has contributed to Barilla's growth. Originally founded in Parma, Italy, it has developed into the world's largest pasta producer with an internationally known brand. The company has gained a firm footing in Europe and, in recent years, the company has focussed on the North American market, where it has production facilities.

Demanding requirements
The company's global growth strategy puts demands on packaging that is vital part of the production process, which is analysed and monitored very carefully. As the product range is very wide, requirements and legal regulations concerning packaging vary according to market area. Consequently, packages must have the best possible protective properties and product safety.

"Because our production volumes are huge, we can take no risks concerning the packaging material," emphasises Director Luigi Ganazzoli, who is responsible for Barilla's packaging purchasing.

"When choosing packages we place great value on making sure that no tastes or odours transfer from the package to the product. In addition to having good organoleptic properties, the board package must be rigid enough to endure transport and the product's shelf life. We also emphasise the principle of optimal packaging, which means that the desired stiffness must be achieved with a low basis weight. This way we can avoid overpacking and save costs."

Barilla has tested the CKB board both in its laboratories and on its converters. In addition to organoleptic properties, good runnability, tearing resistance and printability turned out to be decisive factors. CKB is currently used for the sales packages of Barilla's short pasta products (such as fusilli, penne, and farfalle etc.).

The board is reported to be suitable for all kinds of packages, wherever high stiffness and runnability are needed. The double blade coated board has good printability properties, which enables the use of all conventional printing methods.

"We have seen CKB become the preferred choice of many big consumer brands both in Europe and the United States. Product safety in the food industry has become increasingly important, which has added to the popularity of our board. It contains no OBA (Optical Brightening Agent) and is made only of virgin fibres. Our process and additives also comply with FDA regulations for direct contact with all foodstuffs," states Sales & Product Manager Per Fjellström from Stora Enso.


For further information, please contact:

Stora Enso Packaging Boards
Mr Anders Harbäck, Vice President
Skoghall Mill, P.O. Box 501
SE-663 29 Skoghall
SWEDEN
Tel: +46 54 514045
Fax: +46 54 514392
E-mail: anders.harback@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Belgium
Mr Stefaan Temmerman, Sales Manager
Airport Business Center
Vuurberg 80
B-1831 Machelen (Diegem)
BELGIUM
Tel: +32 2 715 0471
Fax: +32 2 715 0479
E-mail: stefaan.temmerman@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Deutschland GmbH
Mr Horst Fürwentsches, MD
Feldmühleplatz 1
D-40545 Düsseldorf
GERMANY
Tel: +49 211 581 2634
Fax: +49 211 581 2175
E-mail: horst.fuerwentsches@storaenso.com

Stora Enso France S.A.
Mr Stellan Sundlof, Sales Director
15/25 Boulevard de l'Amiral Bruix
F-75782 Paris Cedex 16
FRANCE
Tel: +33 1 5364 79 00
Fax: +33 1 5364 79 90
E-mail: stellan.sundlof@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Interamericas, Inc.
Mr Jonas Pettersson
8750 Doral Boulevard
Suite 270
Miami, FL 33178
U.S.A
Tel: +1 305 716 9799
Fax: +1 305 716 5441
E-mail: jonas.pettersson@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Italia srl
Mr Renato Somekh
Via A. Volta, 16
I-20093 Cologno Monzese
ITALY
Tel: +39 02 251 514 74
Fax: +39 02 251 514 59
E-mail: renato.somekh@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Nederland b.v.
Mr J.W.Klarenbeek
Postbus 12386
NL-1100 AJ Amsterdam
THE NETHERLANDS
Tel: +31 20 650 5555
Fax: +31 20 650 5622
E-mail: jan-willem.klarenbeek@storaenso.com

Stora Enso North America Corp.
Mr Michael Walsh
Two Landmark Square, 3rd Floor
Stamford, CT 06901-2792
U.S.A
Tel: +1 203 356 2300
Fax: +1 203 356 2343
E-mail: michael.walsh@storaenso.com

Stora Enso UK Ltd.
Packaging Boards
Mr Paul Watts, Sales Director
1 Phoenix Place, Phoenix Centre
GB-Nottingham, NG8 6BA
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 115 964 7100
Fax: +44 115 964 7170
E-mail: paul.watts@storaenso.com

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