The cornerstone of development in modern food packaging lies in the improvement of the raw material, i.e. board. Most board manufacturers work actively towards developing boards which are as functional and environmentally friendly as possible. However, many packaging manufacturers, both in the Nordic countries and in Europe, are not necessarily interested in the opportunities offered by new materials. Traditional materials are easier to use as they work well in old packaging machinery and in familiar packaging solutions. Enso Paperboards, the Finnish board manufacturer, considers continuous collaboration with, for example, manufacturers of food, confectionery and tobacco products to be the prerequisite for developing better and more sophisticated packaging materials. A package is a total concept, the development of which needs the cooperation of all parties, from the raw material producer to the end user. Besides making it possible to create tailor-made solutions, cooperation also produces considerable cost and environmental savings. Active product development work has already yielded results that are within the reach of consumers world wide.

Material savings of 27 tons
The Swedish confectionery manufacturer, Kraft Freia Marabou, was already looking for a more functional package for its Aladdin and Paradis assorted chocolates when it discovered the new, lightweight board, Enso Performa. Initial contact with the new board was followed by a series of tests for taste and odour lasting almost 18 months, which culminated in Marabou replacing conventional 380 gsm SBS board with 350 gsm Performa.
"We had already put a great deal of effort into improving our chocolate boxes. The greater tearing strength of Performa that we now use, means that boxes are better able to keep their shape. Robinson odour and taste tests show that in the new board the properties in question are even superior to those of the board we used previously. In addition, this new, lightweight board saves some 27 tons in packaging materials annually, reduces the environmental load, and brings genuine savings," says Adam Törnqvist from Kraft Freia Marabou.
Lighter but stronger grades of board mean that it is possible to achieve both monetary savings and more functional and attractive packaging.
Tapani Penttinen, who is responsible for development work on Enso Performa at Enso Paperboards' Karhula mills, says that Enso Performa is one of the most important achievements in product development in recent years. Compared to conventional chemical pulp board, Enso Performa is a considerably more economical grade of board. It is manufactured from a mixture of several layers of CTMP and SBS pulp. This gives the board its durability and stiffness, which is comparable to that of folding boxboards but achieved at a 10 - 20 % lower weight and compared to conventional SBS board at lower price. The sensory properties of the product are comparable to the best chemical pulp boards, which means that it is suitable for packaging high quality foodstuffs, confectioneries and cigarettes. Coating can be carried out on one or both sides using all grades of plastic, such as PE, PP, High Barrier and PET coatings.

Coating is the decisive factor
Board coating is an art in itself and a particular area of development. The coating determines the final applications and environmental properties of board. A major breakthrough was achieved in coating with the advent of the High Barrier coating, Ensobarr, used in liquid packaging and packaging for dry food products. The structure of the new coating provides board with better barrier properties than traditional protective plastic layers, providing the same result as aluminium foil. The new coating also makes recycling easier than was possible for conventional solutions with their thick plastic materials or aluminium laminates.
The Ensobarr coating comprises three different coating layers instead of the four or more layers customarily used. This is reflected in a lower overall weight and enables the coating to be concentrated mainly within the protective layer, thereby achieving better gas, aroma and grease barrier properties. This in turn, improves product preservation and hygiene. Excellent barrier properties also make it possible to use the coating in sterile packaging. In combination with Enso Performa board, the Ensobarr coating also provides an efficient UV filter.
For many years Enso Paperboards has invested in R&D to develop new and more functional coatings. In addition to PE coatings, which account for the greater part of production, Enso Paperboards also offers a wide range of other coatings such as multilayer coatings for lid materials. There are also PET and PP coatings suitable for ovenable packages. Here it is possible to achieve a polyester content below 5% of the entire weight of the package in PET and High Barrier coatings. High Barrier, i.e. Ensobarr coatings, are suitable for use on all boards and Enso paper grades.
"The latest innovation in coatings is special pigment coating. This was developed in collaboration with Raisio Chemicals and is particularly suitable for frozen food packaging, for example, ice cream cartons and dry goods. A product based on Performa paperboard has been created especially for frozen food packaging. It provides excellent stiffness even at low basis weights. For use in frozen food packaging Performa is coated on the back with a special pigment, thereby providing the board with the protective properties required by the application. The board, for use in frozen food packaging, will be manufactured entirely on machine. This will dispense with the need for a separate coating process and enable rejects generated in production to be immediately recycled," says Tapani Penttinen from Enso Paperboards.
"The coating for the 21st century is going to be biopolymer coatings. Industrial production will begin early in 1999. These biodegradable coatings are continuously being developed, for example, for use in disposable tableware such as cups.

Alternative to bag-in-box concept
Great strides in packaging solutions have been made since the invention of the bag and box. The latest solution to come onto the market was specifically developed to replace the bag-in-box concept in packaging for dry food products - an inner bag being essential to provide protection for dry goods. Designing the package with cut-off corners means that the inner bag of the packet can be dispensed with. The new packaging solution is logistically economical, user-friendly and enables lighter packaging.
The Relok packaging solution was developed by Schouw Packing/Elopak and it is based on Enso Performa paperboard and Ensobarr coating. Relok is currently marketed by Folding Carton Partners, one of Europe's major manufacturers of packaging for dry foodstuffs.
Yrjö Aho Sales Director of Enso Paperboards is confident that the new packaging solutions will produce such substantial savings and that interest in advanced solutions will increase significantly in the future. It will take time, however, before the majority of packaging manufacturers renew their machinery. New machine investments will undoubtedly be hastened by the savings in materials brought about by solutions such as Relok which make conventional types of packaging such as the bag-in-box relatively expensive compared with the latest approaches.


For further information please contact:
Enso Oyj, Enso Paperboards
Yrjö Aho
FIN-55800 Imatra
Tel: +358 2046 224
Fax: +358 2046 24767

Enso Marketing Co. Ltd.
Roy Bray
Enso House, New Mill Road
GB-ORPINGTON, Kent BR5 3QA
tel. +44 1689 836 911
fax +44 1689 829 732

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Enso Paperboards in a nutshell
Enso is one of Europe's leading forest industry companies. The group's main product areas are papers and boards for graphic media and the packaging industry, as well as mechanical wood products. Enso's merger with the Swedish forest industry group, Stora, is underway. Stora Enso will be one of the world's leading forest industry companies once the merger is complete.
Enso Paperboards is part of the Group's packaging business. The turnover of Enso Paperboards in 1997 was FIM 4.1 billion and the number of employees was approximately 1,400. Enso Paperboards has an annual board production capacity of 800,000 tons.

Packaging boards:
Enso Performa, Enso Carrier, Ensocoat, Ensogloss, Ensolid, Ensoven
Other special boards: Ensocone, Ensocard, Lumibarr

Liquid packaging boards:
Enso Natura, Enso Prime, (Ensocote)

Food packaging board:
Ensocup, Dairycup, (Plateboard)

Press release images