A fibre-based ice cream package designed by Stora Enso for the Finnish artisan ice cream manufacturer Vanhan Porvoon Jäätelötehdas has been awarded in the international WorldStar competition. The renewable and recyclable packaging was designed by product designer Outi Honkavaara at Stora Enso’s DesignStudio in Lahti, Finland.
Stora Enso has initiated feasibility studies for a possible cross laminated timber (CLT) unit in connection with its Ždírec mill in the Czech Republic and a new construction beam unit to be located at the Ybbs mill in Austria. The Scandinavian company also plans to consolidate production to increase focus on efficiency and to streamline the asset base.
Stora Enso has chosen six startups to join its second Accelerator Programme, a joint startup initiative organised by the Scandinavian company, Aalto University Developing Entrepreneurship (Aalto ENT) and Vertical Accelerator. The Accelerator programme provides an opportunity for disruptive startups and Stora Enso to actively ideate and innovate new solutions. This year’s programme focuses specifically on the circular economy, especially in regard to circular solutions, raw material management, packaging, separation and sorting, and energy.
Stora Enso partnered with H&M group and Inter IKEA group to industrialize TreeToTextile. TreeToTextile AB is a joint venture between H&M group, Inter IKEA group and innovator Lars Stigsson since 2014, with the aim of developing new textile fibers in a sustainable way at attractive cost levels. Stora Enso will join this partnership, and also support the industrialization of TreeToTextile’s production process by setting up a demonstration plant at one of its Nordic facilities.
“At Stora Enso, we believe that anything made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Our work in the Biomaterials division strives to make this a reality as soon as possible”. To say it – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Markus Mannström, Executive VP at Stora Enso Biomaterials Division. The Nordic company is one of the main players of the bioeconomy at global bioeconomy. With Markus Mannström we talk about what Stora Enso is doing in the field, the role of pulp and paper industry and his expectations related to the announced new EU bioeconomy strategy.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Stora Enso and the leading Nordic producer of household products Orthex bring to the market a new range of kitchen utensils made from a new biocomposite which combines the best qualities of wood and plastic. The bio-based material used to replace fossil-based plastic is made from spruce and sugarcane, which – according to both companies – reduces the carbon footprint of the products by up to 80%. The innovative products contain 98% bio-based material.
Scandinavian multinational company Stora Enso opened Europe’s largest wood fibre-based biocomposite plant. The opening ceremony took place last June 4 at the company’s Hylte Mill outside of Halmstad in South-west Sweden, and was attended by more than 150 guests. Stora Enso’s investment of €12 million in a biocomposite plant is part of the company’s ongoing process of becoming a renewable materials company. It aims at showing that Stora Enso is a leader in the bioeconomy, with the ability to provide innovative, more sustainable alternatives to plastic.
Stora Enso launched bio-based lignin as renewable replacement for oil-based phenolic materials. Lignin is one of the main building blocks of a tree and makes up 20-30% of the composition of wood. Yet it has traditionally been discarded by the pulp and paper industries. However, Stora Enso has recognised the potential of this versatile raw material, which can be used in a range of applications where fossil-based materials are currently used.
Elopak, an international supplier of paper based packaging solutions for liquid food, based in Norway and wholly owned by the Ferd Group, and Stora Enso has launched the first gable top carton made from natural brown unbleached paperboard, creating the Naturally Pure-Pak® carton with a highly distinctive, natural look and feel.
Scandinavian company Stora Enso is investing 12 million euro to build a new production line that will manufacture biocomposite granules at Hylte Mill in Sweden. Biocomposite granules enable the use of renewable wood to substitute a large portion of the fossil-based materials in products typically produced in plastics. Production is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 2018. The annual capacity will be approximately 15 000 tonnes per year. The ramp-up of the new production line and a new type of manufacturing is expected to take 2–3 years.
