The Nordic forest industry company Stora Enso has introduced a new folding boxboard product for the packaging market. The new material, Performa Lumi, is designed primarily for packaging used in beauty, personal care and healthcare products.
The board is produced on Stora Enso’s new BM6 packaging line at the company’s mill in Oulu, Finland. It expands the company’s Performa product range and complements the previously launched Performa Nova board.
Board designed for demanding packaging
Performa Lumi is a GC1 folding boxboard made from CTMP pulp and coated on both sides, with a lightly coated reverse side. According to the company, the material provides high whiteness, strong printability and a smooth surface suitable for branded packaging.
The board is intended for applications where shelf appearance is important but where packaging producers also want to use materials efficiently.
– Performa Lumi is designed for brands that want a premium appearance without unnecessary complexity, said Kati Ekman, Head of Product Line FBB at Stora Enso.
– For brand owners, this means one board solution that can cover several end uses, from beauty products to personal care and similar consumer packaging, she said.
Technology for lighter board structures
The product is manufactured using FiberLight Tec, Stora Enso’s proprietary technology for producing strong yet lightweight board structures.
According to the company, the technology makes it possible to reduce material usage while maintaining the structural strength required for packaging applications.
Performa Lumi has also been developed to withstand stresses during printing and converting processes in packaging production. The board is suitable for direct food contact and complies with industry standards regarding odour and taste neutrality.
The product is available in grammages ranging from 205 to 310 grams per square metre. Stora Enso states that the board’s stiffness and yield make it suitable for a wide range of packaging formats.
Part of a broader packaging strategy
The launch is part of Stora Enso’s broader investment in packaging board production. Demand for fibre-based packaging materials has increased in several sectors, including consumer goods and e-commerce packaging.
At the same time, competition between packaging materials such as plastics, cartonboard and composite materials remains intense, with cost, logistics and material efficiency playing a major role in purchasing decisions.
The Oulu mill is one of Stora Enso’s key production sites for packaging board and has undergone major upgrades in recent years to expand production capacity.
Source: Stora Enso
Fact check:
GC1 is a type of folding boxboard made primarily from mechanical pulp such as CTMP (chemi-thermomechanical pulp). It is commonly used in consumer packaging where print quality, stiffness and relatively low weight are important characteristics. Finland and Sweden are among the world’s largest producers of packaging board.
