The official opening of VPK Group‘s high-tech plant in Halden took place on 23 September 2022. The greenfield project is an important investment step for VPK in Norway, both locally for the region and internationally thanks to its position in the Nordic market.
Built with the latest technologies, the Halden plant incorporates Industry 4.0 principles such as artificial intelligence and a high degree of advanced automation. Moreover, the plant is completely CO2-neutral by using biogas for steam production and heating. Biogas is created by decomposing organic waste and makes it a completely carbon-neutral energy source. Energy efficiency increases further thanks to a heat recovery system on the corrugator where recovered waste heat is used to heat the rest of the building. The Halden site is an excellent example of how a closed, circular system improves energy consumption and reduces environmental impact.The plant’s strategic location on the border between Norway and Sweden makes it geographically attractive and in close proximity to potential customers in Scandinavia and Europe, making it even easier to provide customers with packaging solutions. The high-quality and protective corrugated packaging is mainly used for consumer goods, food & beverage, e-commerce and industrial packaging.
In addition to the plant’s advanced energy efficiency, the site is also equipped with high-tech machinery. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries corrugator at Halden is the first of its kind in Scandinavia, both in terms of capacity and technology. Corrugated board converting also follows the latest technologies with machines from Mitsubishi, Bobst and Göpfert.
VPK is the first packaging company in Norway to build a fully automated and integrated warehouse. With its storage capacity of 16,000 pallets, the high-bay warehouse is unique in terms of size and technology. The warehouse is equipped with 5 fully automated cranes that rearrange the allocation of pallets to cells at night to increase the storage capacity and speed of the high-bay warehouse.
Patrick Leclercq, Managing Director, VPK Nordic, said, “Our state-of-the-art Halden plant strengthens our market position in the Nordic region. We are delighted to open our doors to the industry, our stakeholders and colleagues. Today we take the time to officially celebrate this milestone with them and thank everyone who participated in the plant’s construction process.”
