Growing consumption and demand for more sustainable packaging is boosting the need for new innovations. To develop solutions for packaging and into the future, Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, has started up operations in its new Excellence Centre at the bioeconomy site in Äänekoski, Finland.
“As the amount of packaging continues to grow, new, sustainable solutions are needed to replace fossil-based materials and ensure circularity. The Excellence Centre concept enables paperboard and packaging solutions that look at the entire value chain, and not just at its separate parts. With the material knowhow, competence and tools now available, we can optimize performance throughout the packaging lifecycle”, says Mika Joukio, CEO of Metsä Board.
The Excellence Centre features a virtual store and a computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool to allow sophisticated simulation and analysis of packaging performance. It brings together Metsä Board’s own competencies and deep expertise in fibre-based solutions with that of various experts and partners, such as material suppliers, technology providers, start-up companies, universities and research companies. “Together with our partners and the new Excellence Centre, we are able to explore the possibilities even more comprehensively. I am excited about the opportunities this will bring for today and the future,” says Joukio.