The new 50/50-owned Polish company is intended to set up a production plant at Arctic Paper's mill in Kostrzyn, Poland that will produce moulded fibre trays on a large industrial scale
The trays are suitable for food that is frozen or refrigerated. (Credit: Rottneros)
Paper mill firm Arctic Paper and Swedish pulp supplier Rottneros have established a joint venture with an investment of PLN100m ($22.5m) to produce moulded fibre trays.
The new 50/50-owned Polish company is intended to set up a production plant at Arctic Paper’s mill in Kostrzyn, Poland.
Expected to be operational by the end of this year, the facility will produce moulded fibre trays on a large industrial scale.
Rottneros said that the production capacity is anticipated to reach some 80 million units annually. Once at full capacity, the company expects revenue of about PLN60m ($13.5m).
Arctic Paper CEO Michal Jarczyński said: “We look forward to taking the next step in sustainable biodegradable packaging together with Rottneros. The investment is an important part of our strategic diversification.”
Primarily, the production will focus on high-barrier packaging with longer food shelf lives, as well as packaging with less complex functional needs.
According to the pulp supplier, the trays are suitable for food that is frozen or refrigerated and can withstand intense heat. Rottneros Mill will supply the raw material.
Rottneros CEO and president Lennart Eberleh said: “It is with much delight that we are now seeing our large project with Arctic Paper in sustainable packaging solutions in Poland taking the next step.
“The aim is to use the plant as a model to demonstrate both the high quality as well as a scalable and competitive production, in addition to supplying the market with fossil-free packaging solutions.
“The project thus constitutes a milestone for showing that the technology we developed in Sunne also works on an industrial scale.”