Nestlé, one of the world's leading confectionary and food manufacturers, has approved Enso Performa for use with its After Eight chocolate range.  The packaging board manufacturered by Enso Paperboards in Finland meets the stringent quality criteria laid down by Nestlé says Joachim Soditt, head of their packaging development department. He says the paperboard offers a competitively priced alternative to other types of fibre-based packaging material. 

Production in Germany of After Eight in its 400g pack now uses Performa for the outer printed carton. This range is a bleached mineral coated board containing CTMP aimed specifically at cartons for high quality packaging such as confectionery, food and cigarettes. In this application a 255 g/m2 paperboard is used compared to the previous 280 g/m2 alternative material.
Keeping quality and meeting the industry's Robinson Value tests for odour and taste were the most important factors. "We need a clean material that we can use in direct contact with our products,"says Joachim Soditt
There are no short cuts when it comes to testing packaging material in such applications. Testing takes as long as the expected life of the products, which in the case of chocolate, can be several months. Soditt explains that any packaging material has to live up to the same life expectation as the chocolate Nestlé produces.
"After Eight is one of our most famous products," says Soditt. It is a sensitive product and a good test of Performa's performance capabilities.
" Also we must be careful when changing any aspect of our products" says Soditt. There are so many factors to be considered - different components can inter-react - inks and varnishes, glues and packaging material. "At least 20 different parts of the specification are important," he points out.
Another vital factor is runability. Production of confectionery products is a continuous process and any packaging material must be able to fit smoothly into the production sequence.
"Very high quality board products offer the opportunity to simplify packaging so cutting production time," adds Soditt.

Unusual step
Enso Paperboards took the step of dealing directly with Nestlé to gain approval. Normally a board manufacturer has limited contact with the end user. It is the converters who turn the basic packaging material into a final packaging product such as a cartons and trays. Joachim Soditt, points out the long term benefits of dealing directly with the board manufacturer as well as the converters.
"We can pass on information directly. Enso gets a better understanding of our production needs. In the longer term, we can get a more tailored product with everyone talking together."
For Enso Paperboards, this is a first step in the company's ambitions to grow in this sector of the market, opening up other opportunities for use with Nestlé food and confectionery products.

Captions:
Fig.1: Joachim Soditt, head of packaging development at Nestlé.
Fig.2: Enso Performa/After Eight, Nestlé.

For further information please contact:
Enso Oyj, Enso Paperboards
Yrjö Aho
FIN-55800 Imatra, Finland
Tel: +358 2046 224; Fax: +358 2046 24767
********************************
Enso Marketing Co. Ltd.
Roy Bray
Enso House, New Mill Road
GB-ORPINGTON, Kent BR5 3QA, UK
tel. +44 1689 836 911; fax +44 1689 829 732

Enso-Eurocan Hong Kong Ltd.
Harry Wong
Rm.1406 14th Floor, World Trade Centre
280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, HONG KONG
tel. +852 2895 2063; fax +852 2576 1480

Enso-Eurocan South East Asia Pte. Ltd.
Tom Alftan
360 Orchard Road
# 11-01 International Building
SG-SINGAPORE 238869
tel. +65 235 3485; fax +65 737 4278

Enso-Eurocan Far East Co. Ltd.
Eero Ala-Jääski
KM Nishiumeda Bldg.
20-1, Fukushima 7-chome
Fukushima-ku
J-OSAKA 553
tel. +81 6 455 6811; fax +81 6 455 8811

Enso Italia S.r.l.
Pasi Ahokas
Piazza S. Camillo de Lellis, 1
I-20124 MILAN
tel. +39 2 670 871; fax +39 2 669 7516

Fins Verkoopkantoor / Enso (Holland) BV
Dhr J.W.F. Klarenbeek
Postbus 12386
1100 AJ Amsterdam
tel. 020-6505555; fax 020-6505622

Enso International, Inc.
Seppo Suuronen
281 Tresser Blvd., 15th Floor
STAMFORD, CT 06901
tel. +1 203 978 1755; fax +1 203 978 1237

Enso Interamericas, Inc.
Matts Rehn
8750 Doral Boulevard, Suite 270
MIAMI, FL 33178
tel. +1 305 716 9799; fax +1 305 716 5441




Paper Agencies (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
Graham Johnson
554 Burwood Road
HAWTHORN, Vic. 3122
tel. +61 3 9819 4911; fax +61 3 9819 4250

Paper Agencies (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
Timo Varhama
Suite 5, 102 Alfred Street
MILSONS POINT, NSW 2061
tel. +61 2 9957 3177; fax +61 2 9957 1505

Enso France S.A.
Alain Piattier
15/25 Boulevard Amiral Bruix
F-75782 PARIS CEDEX 16
Tel 01 53 64 79 00; Fax 01 53 64 79 90

S.A. Comptoir Finlandais N.V.
Thierry Kums
Avenue des Gaulois 7
B-1040 BRUXELLES
Tel 02 743.13.60; Fax 02 736.01.78

Enso (Schweiz) AG
Marco Dorigo
Bahnhofstrasse 13
CH-8808 PFÄFFIKON SZ
Tel. 055 415 3060; Fax 055 415 3069
(Also Liechtenstein)

Enso (Deutschlabd) GmbH
Wilfrid Schmahl
Große Bleichen 30
D-20354 HAMBURG
Tel: 040 350 990; Fax: 040 3509 9146

Mr Zdenêk Zlámaný
EXPOCHEM s.r.o.
Radlická 2
150 00 PRAGUE 5
tel. +420 2 541 612; fax +420 2 536 529

ENPAP Kft Megyaszai Péter igazgató
1034 Budapest
Bécsi út 120-124.
Tel.: 250-3825, Fax: 250-0281

Enso Polska Sp. zo.o.
Jussi Salmi
Ul. Dzika 19/23 m. 54
PL-00172 WARSAW
tel. +48 22 635 2540; fax +48 22 635 3229

Press release images