From 2017, Model will become the only company in Switzerland to recycle drinks cartons and water-insoluble papers. At its Weinfelden site, the Model Group is investing CHF 35 million in a new material processing plant for drinks cartons and other papers which do not easily dissolve in water. Commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017, after which there will be a fine-tuning phase of approximately three months. The new facility will be able to handle up to 75,000 tonnes of drinks cartons and water-insoluble papers per year.
Model is known as a pioneer in digital and packaging printing. “This latest investment is part of this forward-looking approach. In view of the declining quality of available waste paper, coupled with rising technical quality requirements in the packaging industry, we faced the challenge of finding new raw materials that will maintain and even improve the quality of our containerboard,” said Daniel Model, CEO. “We therefore decided to expand the existing technical potential to enable the recovery and recycling of raw materials that would otherwise have to be incinerated, with the costs that would entail. The new facility will be able to process drinks cartons and water-insoluble papers. There are still a number of technical challenges to be tackled before this pioneering system is fully functional, however.”
Dr Model concludes, “The investment makes good sense, both ecologically and financially. Following the recycling process, the raw material that is recovered will be used to produce containerboard of an even higher quality, which will itself be used to manufacture customised packaging and displays. At the same time, consumers will benefit from the declining volume of incinerated waste. Furthermore, re-using existing materials reduces resource use in the long term, while also cutting CO2 emissions.”
