Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l., a leading global supplier of packaging products and services is continuing to invest in Europe. A multi-million dollar cash injection has been applied to its three uncoated recycled paperboard mills located in Europe. Purpose of the investment: upgrading of energy efficiency, enviromental performance and product range.Sonoco-Alcore S. a.r.l., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco, is the largest European manufacturer of cores, coreboard and tubes. The company operates six paper mills on the Continent. Three of them, Greek, Italian and German are going to be upgraded. “These investments are part of a continuing program to improve the product quality and cost competitiveness of our European mills, which are the largest producers of coreboard in Europe. Our commitment to sustainability and customer satisfaction are at the forefront of our thinking during our capital planning process,” said Adam Wood, division vice president and general manager of Sonoco-Alcore.
Details information about this investment is provided by Dino Kiriakopoulos, director of Sonoco-Alcore’s European Operations: “Our Cirie (TO), Italy, mill will benefit from a new DCS, a new energy-from-biogas system, and CHP upgrades and we are improving our effluent treatment system. (...) Our investment in Cirie continues our 2010 capital investment efforts, which are focused on lowering energy costs and continuing to be good stewards of the environment.” He also informes about improvements in Greek paper mill: “At Kilkis, we will be installing a new high-efficiency boiler, heat recovery system and drive upgrades that will significantly lower energy costs and provide some capacity expansion,” and German: “At Nordhorn, we are upgrading our refining and press sections to further reduce the steam and electricity consumption for each tonne of the high quality specialty board produced there.”
The changes are designed, inter alia, to reduce overall costs. Raw material rises in 2010 caused price increases for uncoated recycled paperboard grades in all European markets intriduced at the end of 2010 and later in early 2011. The investments will contribute to the reduction of negative inflation impact.
