CROWN VAN GELDER
CHANGING THE WORLD OF PAPER
CROWN VAN GELDER
FULLY SUSTAINABLE, RECYCLABLE AND SUITABLE FOR THE FOOD PACKAGING INDUSTRY - THAT IS THE NOVEL SUGAR BEET PAPER BROUGHT TO THE MARKET BY THE DUTCH COMPANY CROWN VAN GELDER.
CHANGING THE WORLD OF PAPER PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID TAVERNOR
Crown Van Gelder (CVG), a versatile medium-sized paper mill based in the Netherlands and a specialist in woodfree uncoated and light coated papers, draws on 125 years of experience in the quality paper segment. Crown Van Gelder produces around 180,000 tonnes of paper annually for customers all over the world in the graphics, label and packaging industries.
“O
ur papers enable optimal performance in different applications. We deliver high-speed inkjet paper for transactional, publishing and promotional print as well as paper for selfadhesive labelling and specific uses in packaging and technical applications,” says Jan Rops, Product Manager at Crown van Gelder. Established in 1896 as a familyowned business, the company has survived historical and economic upheavals and was reestablished as an independent paper mill in 1983. It has gradually become the market leader in its segment
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and in 2015 was purchased by Andlinger, a private investment and management fund. Mr Rops explains that the paper mill is unique in its focus. “We make wood-free paper, that means that our paper is manufactured using wood that has been processed into a chemical pulp, removing the lignin from the wood fibres. The properties of such paper include good strength, high brightness and good archival characteristics, making it suitable for applications requiring a high-quality paper.”
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CROWN VAN GELDER
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Sustainable solutions from experts close to you. • We innovate and produce tailor-made paper cores, edge protectors, consumer packaging applications & board solutions for every customer. • Our local entrepreneurship results in the creation of long-term value. • Working closely with you as a customer helps us offer solutions for your every need or demand.
Corex Nederland BV, Nijverheidsstraat 9, 7641 Wierden, The Netherlands.
“The core of our business is you”
Proximity: We are where you are, to deliver what you need, when you need it. We are local, and close to you. We became international by striving for proximity. We are customer-centric: a partner, not just a supplier. To find the best possible solutions, we aim to thoroughly understand your challenges and needs. We are entrepreneurs: passionate about co-creating. That is how we produce tailor-made applications. Thanks to our wide network of production plants we deliver what we promise, on time, meeting your expectations. Expertise: We create with passion, and it shows in the quality of our portfolio. For many decades, we have been building our know-how through dedicated partnerships with our clients. Our skills are evidenced by the broad range of products we have on offer. As experts in manufacturing highly customized cores, coreboard and edge protectors, we service a wide variety of markets. Sustainability: We care, that’s how we act. We care about our planet and take our social and environmental responsibilities seriously. We contribute to a circular economy. Our products are made using 100% recycled paper and are completely recyclable afterwards. Through integrated board supply and geographical reach, we deliver secure solutions to our customers. We strongly believe this approach will drive long-term sustainable returns for all stakeholders. T: +31 (0)546 575 075
E: info.nl@corexgroup.com
www.corexgroup.com
COREX - THE CORE OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS COREX GROUP, INNOVATOR AND PRODUCER OF PAPER CORES, EDGE PROTECTORS, CONSUMER PACKAGING APPLICATIONS AND BOARD SOLUTION, THRIVES ON PARTNERSHIPS. Corex is the cores, tubes, consumer packaging and edge protector division of VPK Group, a rapidly expanding integrated industrial group, employing over 6,000 people in 65 plants round the globe. The Corex division includes 3 core board mills and 29 converting plants spread across 16 countries, from Europe to Asia and North America. “The company operates under three divisions - paper, packaging and cores and edge protectors , and the cores are further divided into industrial and consumer,” explains Peter Dielissen, Sales Manager of Corex Group. The company has a complete range of spiral and parallel wound cardboard tubes and cores for the most diverse applications to meet customers’ individual needs and specifications, with diameters up to 700 mm and wall thicknesses from 1 to over 20 mm. The tubes can be specifically cut to any finished length up to 12 000 mm, free of dust and burrs, and if required can also be supplied in longer lengths to be cut by the user. “What makes us truly unique, is our customer focus,” says Mr Dielissen. “The core of our business is you! We innovate and produce tailor-made solutions. Our local entrepreneurship results in the creation of longterm value. Working closely with our customers helps us offer solutions for every need or demand. Customer orientation is very important in industrial packaging, and even more so in consumer packaging.” The company’s customer base includes a wide range of companies across a variety of industries, and includes the Dutch company Crown Van Gelder (CVG), a producer of speciality paper for graphical and industrial applications, and inventor of the sugar beet paper that is now coming to the market. TRUSTED PARTNERS The partnership with CVG started in 2005 and has grown stronger over the years. “Corex was the best choice back then and continues to be the best choice today, fully meeting our requirements in terms of product specification and quality, as well as delivery terms,” affirms Jos de Vries, CVG buyer, adding that the collaboration has evolved to include innovative solutions to further improve performance, reduce costs without compromising quality and create new opportunities for both. The companies communicate on a frequent basis to discuss what is desired and what might be possible to achieve. Cost savings may be secured, for example, by reducing the core wall thickness, and Peter Dielissen explains that a wall thickness reduction of one or two millimetres increases efficiency by 3%. Corex is also investing in automation which further increases production efficiency, benefitting both companies. Communication is key specifically when discussing innovations and new ideas, and Corex designers work together with customers to come up with possible new solutions. “In addition to our talks during the year, we also meet at the end of each year to evaluate the partnership and see how to go forward,” Jos de Vries comments. “What we particularly appreciate about our partnership
with Corex is that we are both very open and honest, which is the best approach to anticipating and preventing potential issues. Corex is a knowledge-based company and applies this knowledge to address a problem before it escalates. Reliability is another, much valued aspect of our collaboration. We can rely on Corex sticking to their word.” Peter Dielissen says: “In the end we are working towards the same goal. We strive to be flexible and make sure our stocks are always at specific levels to meet changing requirements as production volume fluctuates, so that we can deliver within 24 hours if necessary, or to make sure that supplies continue as required even during the summer holidays.” GREEN WAY FORWARD Similar to Crown Van Gelder, Corex strives to contribute to the circular economy. Through integrated board supply and geographical reach, Corex delivers secure solutions to its customers, driving long-term sustainable returns for all stakeholders. “Our sustainable cores and tubes solutions are made from recycled fibres and are completely recyclable. Decades of experience have contributed to our high level of technical expertise and this is reflected not only in the products but also in the way they are made. We try to operate in a sustainable manner, aiming to reduce gas and electricity consumption and to proceed in the most economical and environmentally friendly manner,” affirms Peter Dielissen. Speaking about business development, he explains that a few years ago Corex added a new business line to its portfolio, consumer packaging, a business that is expected to grow in line with increasing demand for environmentally friendly solutions. To this end the company has recently implemented a major investment in its newest facility, Corex Consumer packaging in Wierden in the Netherlands, which was commissioned in 2020. This state-of-the-art plant enables the provision of the highest quality products to various dry food industry segments, and has now obtained the BRC high certification for the manufacturing of food packaging. With this new BRC-approved production facility Corex aims to service food manufacturers and co-packers looking for direct food contact packaging solutions. Opening its consumer packaging facility right next door to Corex’s industrial packaging plant making spiral wound cores and tubes enables the company to build directly on the expertise it already has and extends its capabilities while sharing all the support functions. “The consumer packaging business is growing and we are interested in novel solutions, such as the sugar beet paper that Crown Van Gelder has developed,” says Peter Dielissen. “This relationship would give our already strong partnership a new dimension.” Jan Rops, CVG’s Product Manager agrees: “Corex supplies the cores on which we wind our paper, including the sugar beet paper. We are now investigating the possibility of Corex using our sugar beet paper for their consumer packaging solutions, meaning that Corex would be a supplier and customer at the same time. That would certainly take our long-term collaboration to the next level.” www.corexgroup.com
CROWN VAN GELDER
Paper production at Crown Van Gelder takes place in one straight 280 m long line, from reception of raw materials to storage of packed reels. The technology, which includes two paper machines, is highly automated with minimum human intervention, and the machines can be adjusted quickly to make various types of paper as required. “Our technology is unique in the paper-making sector and is one of the reasons why we can meet such varied demand,” Mr Rops points out.
Jan Rops, Product Manager at Crown van Gelder.
PAPER FROM SUGAR BEET
The company is now about to launch a ground-breaking new product - paper made from sugar beet that will be branded Crown Native and introduced in early 2021. This will make the Dutch paper manufacturer the first in the world to produce ‘sugar beet paper’ at an industrial level. After two years of research, Crown Native was developed with the Dutch agricultural cooperative Cosun Beet Company as a strategic partner. “We discovered that sugar beet itself does not contain lignin as it is an underground plant which does not require the stiffness that lignin provides, and its fibre is used only to store water and nutrients, it can therefore be used directly for papermaking,” Jan Rops explains, adding that the technological challenges that the company encountered at the beginning have now been overcome. The company investigated several crops to replace part of the wood fibres in the paper.
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With Crown Native, Crown Van Gelder has succeeded in creating paper made out of 20% beet pulp, thus achieving environmental gains in several areas. Due to the local sourcing, far less transport is required. As a result, Crown Native realises a significant reduction in CO2 emissions and particulate matter formation. Moreover,
by using beet pulp, the production process requires less water. The partnership with Cosun Beet Company has been invaluable. “We had been considering sugar beet paper since 2014 but were not successful until two years ago when we met CVG. The new product is a great achievement and a big step forward,” says Richelle van Helten, Cosun Beet Company’s export manager and brand manager for Consumer Products.
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CROWN VAN GELDER
THE NEW PRODUCT LINE WILL HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REDUCED BY 16% COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL PAPER AND WILL HELP MAJOR BRANDS REACH THEIR SUSTAINABILITY TARGETS.” 8 | BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE
She points out that Cosun Beet Company has been an ardent advocate of packing granulated sugar in sugar beet paper for many years. “We are delighted that it is now technically possible. The paper reflects the ambition of Cosun Beet Company being the greenest and most innovative sugar beet processor in the world.”
Mr Rops says: “The new product line will have an environmental impact reduced by 16% compared to traditional paper and will help major brands reach their sustainability targets. As it is classified as food safe, it can be used in direct contact with foodstuffs, sugar beet paper is the ideal choice for food packaging.”
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CROWN VAN GELDER
PART OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
The unique properties of the new paper, which is also recyclable up to seven times, are bound to attract the attention of supermarket chains, candy and snack producers, but also fashion brands who are committed to the Green Deal. “Everybody is looking for innovative packaging in efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. This is a highly topical issue and our paper can help companies to achieve their goals, while still offering the benefits that they are used to,” says Mr Rops. “We are already part of the circular economy and the partnership with Cosun Beet Company is an excellent
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Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.
Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. At Schneider, we call this Life Is On. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC ACHIEVES 10% PROCESS ENERGY USAGE IMPROVEMENT BY UNIFYING POWER AND PROCESS AT WORLD’S MOST ENERGY INTENSIVE SITES • Designed for energy intensive industries, EcoStruxure™ Power and Process connects power and process information across the whole lifecycle of a plant, from design through operation and evolution, providing the first complete, real-time view of an entire project and/or operation. • Developed in partnership with AVEVA and vendor-agnostic by nature, the solution unlocks previously untapped synergies, driving ToTex (Total Expenditure) efficiency. • EcoStruxure™ Power and Process cuts engineering time, space requirements, energy usage and dramatically reduces carbon footprint while driving profitability. • Benefits include up to 20% Electrical, Instrumentation and Control (EI&C) CapEx reduction, 15% unplanned downtime reduction, 10% process energy usage and 3% pts profitability improvement.
CROWN VAN GELDER
The introduction of EcoStruxure™ Power and Process enables companies to break down the traditional barriers between power systems and process control systems and enter a new era of digital efficiency. Based on the vendor agnostic principles of universal automation, this solution connects all assets at every level, across the full lifecycle and the entire supply chain. This enables plant and enterprise-wide data analysis to drive resilient operations and optimize energy usage for the most profitable operation. Businesses implementing EcoStruxure™ Power and Process can expect: 1. Electrical, Instrumentation and Control (EI&C) CapEx reduction of up to 20% 2. Uptime improvement by 3% 3. Unplanned downtime reduction by 15% 4. Process Energy usage improvement by 10% ECOSTRUXURE™ POWER & PROCESS: PROVIDING VISIBILITY TO REMOVE COMPLEXITY In recent years, the immense complexity of disparate systems has made project execution and subsequent operations increasingly challenging. Despite advances in automation, machine learning, and analytics, 30% of project implementation and maintenance costs come from a lack of efficiency and operational visibility. Siloed engineers and programmers are required to separately build up and maintain operations. Project teams are isolated from operational decision making. Bringing these disciplines together under a design to operate philosophy is a key step in reducing future maintenance costs, right from the start of facility engineering. As maintenance improves, operational resiliency is solidified, and process energy improvements can be realized throughout the operation of an asset. By achieving complete visibility and connectivity, businesses can, for the first time, gain full situational awareness and build operational resilience across its sites and production facilities, improve profitability at every level, from planning and installation, through to energy use and carbon emissions. “The siloed nature of industrial operations is crippling performance,” said Peter Herweck, Executive Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. “Our vision is a completely unified architecture, across every site and the entire supply chain. EcoStruxure™ Power and Process is another step in the journey toward complete unification, providing unparalleled access and insight to users. To drive industry development, businesses with locked-in industrial equipment and systems solutions can benefit from the solution equally. Combined with universal automation, it has the potential to drive profitability and sustainability at every operational level and empower managers to make the best possible decisions. In pilot projects, our customers were able to achieve 20% E&IC CapEx reduction with payback in 12 months.” THE NEW ERA OF HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT Power management systems provide vital information on the flow of power in an electrical generation or power plant, improving overall power efficiency. Process management systems enable managers to plan and monitor the performance of operations within an industrial or business environment. For decades, these two systems have worked independently, stunting innovation and efficiency. The convergence of power and process management systems moves industry into the holistic management age and provides instant and dramatic benefits. www.se.com
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example of an environmentally friendly, sustainable value chain. Other participants are just as important, of course, for example, innovative technology suppliers, such as Schneider Electric who has delivered and maintaining the process control system both at Crown van Gelder and Cosun Beet Company. But also the Corex Group which is a supplier and a potential customer.” He explains that the paper mill will continue investing in researching new kinds of fibres as well as new technology. The company is now building a fullyautomated third feeding line designed specifically to convert sugar beet into paper fibres, to complement the existing two lines for short fibres (a.o. eucalyptus) and long fibres (a.o. pine). “That will be a huge investment, but next year we will be ready to start production.” That is something that Cosun Beet Company is already counting on. “Next year we will start with a new consumer packaging based on sugar
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CROWN VAN GELDER
“MOVING FORWARD IS IN OUR DNA. WE ARE READY TO MEET THE FORECAST DEMAND FOR THE SUGAR BEET PAPER AND WILL CONTINUE TO STRIVE TO MAKE AN INCREASING CONTRIBUTION TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY.” 12 | BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE
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CROWN VAN GELDER
beet paper. The target is to have all our paper packaging on Dutch supermarket shelves made of sugar beet paper in the near future,” says Ms van Helten, confirming that with 9,000 farmers growing sugar beet on 80,000 ha under the cooperative’s control, there is no shortage of raw material. All is set for the big launch early next year, as Jan Rops reflects: “Moving forward is in our DNA. We are ready to meet the forecast demand for the sugar beet paper and will continue to strive to make an increasing contribution to the circular economy.”
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CROWN VAN GELDER
WWW.CVG.NL