Metsä Board, a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards — including folding boxboards, foodservice boards and white kraftliners , has entered into a strategic collaboration with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG), a global market leader in integrated solutions for the printing, packaging and converting industries.
The partnership aims to strengthen the end-to-end packaging value chain by developing innovative packaging solutions that enhance operational efficiency, production performance and the overall consumer experience.
The collaboration will include joint research and development initiatives, pilot production projects and customer demonstrations conducted at HEIDELBERG’s Print Media Centres as well as Metsä Board’s Excellence Centre and Design Studios.
Driving Productivity and Production Efficiency
By combining Metsä Board’s expertise in premium lightweight paperboard materials with HEIDELBERG’s advanced offset, flexographic, digital printing and converting technologies, the partnership seeks to accelerate innovation across the packaging industry.
The collaboration is also expected to create new opportunities for customers to achieve higher productivity, streamlined production workflows and improved packaging performance.
“Our collaboration with HEIDELBERG allows us to offer our customers new possibilities in packaging design and production efficiency, while maintaining our commitment to sustainability and premium quality,” said Erja Hyrsky, SVP Commercial Operations at Metsä Board.
“Working closely with HEIDELBERG as a system integrator enables faster development and testing of solutions that support our customers’ evolving packaging needs,” Hyrsky added.
Enabling Future-Ready Packaging Solutions
The partnership combines Metsä Board’s recyclable fresh fibre-based paperboards with HEIDELBERG’s high-performance production technologies to create packaging solutions capable of meeting increasingly demanding regulatory, sustainability and performance requirements.
“By combining advanced printing and converting technologies with Metsä Board’s premium lightweight paperboard, HEIDELBERG enables high-performance packaging applications for demanding market and regulatory requirements,” said Andreas Lang, SVP Global Accounts and Packaging at HEIDELBERG.
Both companies believe the collaboration will help customers respond more effectively to rapidly evolving market expectations while accelerating the development of future-ready packaging solutions.
“This cooperation combines material expertise and advanced production technology for demanding packaging applications,” Lang concluded.