COMPETENCE IN PAPER

Newsletter

February 2022

From the association

Dear members and friends of ZELLCHEMING,

In addition to the preparations for the ZELLCHEMING-Expo, we are also working on some new internal topics in the ZELLCHEMING association, whereby the key words here are the reorientation in the main committee, the new working groups on "Communication", "Networking" and "New Topics & Projects".

Another major topic was and is our compliance rules. In the fall of last year, there were reports in the media about the activities of the antitrust authorities in our sector, and as the case law on antitrust law has changed significantly in recent years, it was necessary to revise our guidelines on this.

The main guideline for the changes is complete transparency of our work in the various bodies and committees. Based on this, we have revised and adapted our guidelines in consultation with a law firm specializing in antitrust law, which now form the working basis for all members and responsible persons in the ZELLCHEMING association.

On behalf of the Executive Board, we urge you to take a look at these guidelines and to observe them in your activities for the ZELLCHEMING Association. The Board of Directors or, if necessary, our legal advisors will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best regards and stay safe!

Dr.-Ernst-Ulrich Wittmann
Chairman ZELLCHEMING e.V.

From the office

Already in January we could report a very good development of the numbers of exhibitors for our ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2022, combined with the hope that this trend will consolidate.

And indeed: It continues to increade. At the beginning of this week, the number of exhibitors skyrocketed to 88 companies! The booking volume for booths is thus already more than 24% higher than in the same period in 2021, when we had still assumed that we would be able to offer a face-to-face event.

In parallel, we launched a survey among Expo exhibitors and ZELLCHEMING members to find out which type of event receives the most support - live (a pure face-to-face event) or hybrid (on-site event with digital reach extension). We will report on the results in detail in the next newsletter, but just this much in advance: the clear majority came out in favor of the hybrid model!

We see this as full confirmation of our approach to set up the ZELLCHEMING-Expo in a contemporary and future-proof format and will do everything to make this a success for participants and exhibitors.

5th Women4Paper Web Event

In mid-December, Petra Hanke welcomed the numerous participants to what is now the fifth meeting of the Women4Paper group launched by ZELLCHEMING.

The content of the online event focused on the development of the mentoring program for women working in the pulp and paper industry.

Maria Knauer and Ramona Zimmermann reported on experiences with a mentoring program aimed specifically at women at Voith. Maria Steinacher presented a program set up at Mondi Neusiedler, and Jeannine Scharfe reported on the mentoring program at DS Smith. Monika Kopra-Schäfer had looked at the women's network of the VDI (Association of German Engineers) and reported on it.

Afterwards, cornerstones and a schedule for the development of the ZELLCHEMING mentoring program for women were established and responsibilities were defined. Laura Liukkonen will take the lead. Ramona Zimmermann and Birgit Bläsing will support her. The keynote for the Women4Paper event at the ZELLCHEMING Expo 2022 will be dedicated to the topic of "Gender-equitable language".

The next Women4Paper meeting will be held on March 21, 2022 from 3:00pm-4:30pm. The group is open and additional female participants are welcome. Feel free to share this information within your own network and invite contacts.

If interested please contact Cornelia Gembus by e-mail.

Dates

• 08 March 2022
  Meeting Technical Committee Recovered Paper Utilization together with the sub-committee Recycling Technology
  Meeting Technical Committee Pulp and Paper Testing
• 21 March 2022
  6th Women4Paper Web Event
• 28 April 2022
  Meeting Technical Committee Plant Engineering and Energy

From society & industry

Recyclability of Cartonboard and Cartons – Cartons can be recycled more than 25 times

A new university study dispels the myth of a limited number of recycling cycles for wood fiber-based packaging.

The 2021 study, conducted by the Graz University of Technology in Austria, recycled folding cartonboard several times to determine what, if any, impact could be expected on the material's mechanical properties, including its strength and pressure resistance. "In this study, no negative influence on the mechanical properties in question was demonstrated. The swelling capacity of the fiber also showed no negative trend," the university reports.

Winfried Mühling, general manager of Pro Carton, the European Association of the Cartonboard and Folding Carton Industry, emphasized, "The results decisively dispel the widespread myth that packaging made of wood fiber can only be recycled four to seven times before losing its integrity. They prove that the wood fibers used for paper and board are much more resilient than previously thought." "Rene Eckhart, leading scientist at TU Graz and head of the study, believes that the limit for recycling paper, cardboard and paperboard is determined more by the stock preparation process and the collection and recycling rate achieved," Mühling added.

Cardboard is also biodegradable, a process commonly referred to as "organic recycling". The TU Graz report also highlights the environmental benefits of a greater number of recycling cycles. "The more often the same packaging can be recycled, the more positive its impact on the environment," the study states.

Mondi debütiert mit Cradle-to-Cradle-Zertifizierung für ungestrichene Feinpapiere

Mondi has been awarded the Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze certification level for its uncoated fine papers from its mills in Austria, Slovakia and Russia. According to the company, this makes it the first supplier of such an extensive range of uncoated fine papers to receive Cradle to Cradle certification, which marks the transition from a linear to a circular economy.

"We are very pleased to start the year with this product sustainability milestone. It reinforces our commitment to circular solutions as part of our 2030-MAP2030-action plan," says Devan Naidoo, Marketing & Sales Director at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper.

Cradle to Cradle certification is awarded by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which promotes the circular economy. The certificate is awarded to products that have a positive impact on people and the environment. Under the Cradle to Cradle program, sustainability is evaluated in five categories: Material Health, Recycling, Air Pollution Control and Climate Protection, Responsible Use of Water and Soil, and Social Responsibility. Mondi's range of uncoated fine papers was evaluated in all five categories and assigned Gold to Bronze levels - resulting in a final Bronze certification level overall.

From the membership

Smurfit Kappa Hoya: Innovative process control to reduce starch consumption

The OnEfficiency.Strength digital solution package from ZELLCHEMING member company Voith, which was installed at Smurfit Kappa's Hoya mill in Lower Saxony in 2021, is already showing very positive results from day one.

According to the supplier, OnEfficiency.Strength uses virtual sensors and predictive control to reduce the amount of starch used while maintaining defined quality standards - a step that leads to significantly lower costs and more sustainable paper production. The Hoya project shows how the two companies are working together on the digital transformation for paper production.

"We chose Voith's digital solution approach because it offers significant cost savings with the latest technologies and pays for itself in less than a year," said Gerold Buck, operations manager at Smurfit Kappa Hoya. "With the implementation of OnEfficiency.Strength, we are successfully continuing our innovation and digitalization strategy while paying towards our sustainability goals."

"Due to rising raw material prices and high competitive pressure, paper manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to further optimize their production facilities and save costs - digital solutions can make a valuable contribution here," adds Maria Knauer, Global Product Manager Efficiency Solutions at Voith. "OnEfficiency.Strength continuously monitors all relevant quality parameters during the manufacturing process and automatically regulates the appropriate settings. Smurfit Kappa thus saves costs and resources in production every day in a simple and automated way. We see great potential to integrate OnEfficiency.Strength at many more plants worldwide."

Hahnemühle plans to become the first climate-neutral paper mill by 2030

ZELLCHEMING member company Hahnemühle plans to be the first paper mill to become climate neutral by 2030. The company, which is now also certified under the ISO 14001 environmental management guideline, cites the following points to support this ambition:

Located in Germany, the paper mill has been using pure spring water since 1584. It is fed into the nearby Ilme River after production - with no chemical cleaning agents, biocides or preservatives in it.

Only pulp sourced from sustainable and certified wood plantations is used for Hahnemühle papers. The cotton fibers (linters) used are fine fibers that adhere to the seeds of the cotton plant and are a by-product of the textile and oil industries. Fast-growing bamboo, hemp or agave fibers are used for the Natural Line family of paper products.  

All papers produced meet the high requirements of ISO standard 16245 for aging resistance of paper and extreme light fastness. In combination with museum conditions and highly lightfast and acid-free artists' materials, works of art on these papers last for hundreds of years. The company has eliminated animal glues or other animal ingredients in paper production since as early as 1965.

The entire electricity requirement for paper production is covered by wind, water and solar energy. All energy data is recorded, evaluated and continuously reduced. Currently, the small fleet of company vehicles is being converted to alternative drives.

The paper mill returns production waste and offcuts to the production cycle or, where this is not possible, passes them on to other processors. The filling material of the transport boxes consists of recycled paper or corn chips made from 100% compostable corn starch. Adhesive tapes and delivery note sleeves made of paper are also used to reduce plastic packaging.

UPM and WEPA promote biodiversity

Voith reaches sustainability milestone

The mechanical engineering company has achieved an ambitious sustainability goal: By the beginning of 2022, the ZELLCHEMING member company was able to reduce CO2 emissions at all sites to net zero. This means that Voith's production will be climate-neutral as of January, confirming its pioneering role in the decarbonization of industrial production. For this to succeed, a tour de force was required in which all locations worldwide participated. The targeted reduction in CO2 emissions was achieved primarily by increasing energy efficiency and the comprehensive use of renewable sources.

We are happy to welcome new members again this month!

We welcome to the ZELLCHEMING association:

• Michael Bülow, Kurita Europe GmbH
• Wolfgang Fuchs, Sappi Austria Produktions-GmbH & Co. KG
• Giona Kichler, Trinseo Europe GmbH
• Dipl.-Ing. Michael Kohl, Siemens Energie Global GmbH & Co. KG
• Andreas Praznik, Agrana Stärke GmbH
• Oliver Pyka, AFRY Deutschland GmbH
• Dr. Axel Rußler, Lenzing AG
• Alexander Zänkl, T.CON GmbH & Co. KG

From the network

Launch of the Cellulose Valley Chair: creating new packaging from cellulose

The Grenoble INP Foundation has just launched a new teaching and research chair in partnership with several companies: Cellulose Valley. Its objective is to develop new high‐performance cellulose‐based materials for the packaging industry.

The Chair is hosted by Grenoble INP ‐ Pagora, UGA, Graduate School of Engineering in Paper, Print Media and Biomaterials, and the Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Science and Graphic Arts (LGP2 ‐ Grenoble INP ‐ UGA, Grenoble INP ‐ Pagora, UGA).

Planned for an initial duration of 4 years, it is supported by DS Smith Packaging France (manufacturer of sustainable packaging solutions), Ahlstrom Munksjö (one of the global leading players in sustainable and innovative fiber‐based solutions), Alphaform of the Guillin Group (moulded cellulose), and Citeo (a mission‐driven company working to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and paper).

For Julien Bras, holder of the Cellulose Valley Chair, teacher at Grenoble INP ‐ Pagora and researcher at LGP2*: “The aim is to develop new packaging from cellulose, some of which could become alternatives to plastics. We are already planning to fund two theses, two postdoctorates and some twenty work placements for master’s students.”

In terms of research, the Chair will focus on obtaining new cellulose‐based materials, i.e., bio‐sourced materials, which will aim to be recyclable and biodegradable. These new materials will provide the necessary mechanical and barrier properties to be used for packaging.

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