Mondi and Siam City Cement (SCCC) have successfully implemented a high porous bag construction for 50kg cement packaging in Thailand. The new 2-ply 80 gsm construction is considered to be the most cost effective and best performing cement bag solution in SE Asia currently and provides SCCC with a range of benefits throughout the supply chain.
SCCC, 35% owned by Holcim Switzerland, is one of the largest cement manufacturers in SE Asia, with capacity to pack 15,000 tons of bagged cement daily. Mondi, the primary supply partner for sack kraft paper to Holcim globally, commenced a 50 kg cement bag optimization project with SCCC in May 2010. SCCC needed a stronger bag and a more cost effective solution from their new supply partner. Mondi’s Advantage Select grade was used to successfully implement the new construction: 2-ply 80gsm.
Christian Skilich, CEO Kraft Paper Mondi Europe & International, said: "Once again we could develop an innovative solution tailor-made for the needs of our customers. The superior tensile energy absorption (TEA) and consistency of quality of our product have enabled us to set a new benchmark for this segment". The majority of convertors and cement producers in South East Asia have embraced the 2-ply High Porous concept for 50 kg Cement Bags, however their constructions are still either 2-ply 85 gsm or 2-ply 90 gsm. SCCC’s commitment to improvement combined with Mondi’s Advantage Select 80 gsm is a success story which has delivered real packaging savings along with distinct performance benefits (i.e. fewer breakages with better performing bags).
2-ply high porous bags manufactured out of Advantage Select deliver cost savings to both the bag convertor and cement producer. Primary among these is reduced paper consumption achieved through down grammaging and/or reduced plies. These lighter and stronger bags will deliver between 10% and 25% cost savings.
