Metsä Board Magazine Summer 2016 in English

METSÄ BOARD STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2016

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WHAT WE ARE MADE OF | Cover: Carta Elega 205 g/m2 (11,4 pts), made in Äänekoski, Finland by proud Metsä Board employees. Cover effects: silver cold foil and dispersion varnish. Feel free to deconstruct cover and reassemble as a business-card box. Pattern by Hanna Kinnunen based on the Metsä Board packaging materials icon.

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Made from renewable fresh forest fibres, Metsä Board’s offering is ready to enhance brands throughout the value chain.

TAKE A STAND

We are present at Drupa 2016 to showcase our lightweight paperboards, developed as the perfect fit for consumer goods, retail-ready and food service packaging.

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CONTENTS

31 BOBST

At Drupa, Metsä Board is collaborating with Bobst to provide on-the-spot show printings of our featured products. The company’s take on the future of printing and converting can be found on page 31.

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Editorial

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Bites

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Branding power in packaging

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The board offering that takes the chill off

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A patent for success

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Boxing clever

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Husum – folding boxboard’s new horizon

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A victorious team

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CDP-winning environmental reporting

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Cyan, magenta, yellow, key and board

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Packaging design process

Just ask at the Metsä Board stand if you’d like to see an example of any of the boxes featured from page 20 onwards, such as the Elevated drink box.

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METSÄ BOARD MAGAZINE | Spring/Summer Issue 2016 | magazine@metsagroup.com | ISSN 2323-5500 | Publisher Metsä Board Communications, P.O. Box 20, FI-02020 METSÄ, Finland | www.metsaboard.com | Editor-in-chief Katri Kauppila, vice president, communications | Managing editor Tytti Hämäläinen | Editorial board Tytti Hämäläinen, Minna Kantsila, Katri Kauppila and Ritva Mönkäre | Production and graphic design Miltton Oyj | Print Groep Matthys | The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Metsä Board.

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EDITORIAL

Mika Joukio io CEO, Metsä Board

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he production and converting of paperboard requires a lot of technical know-how – more than consumers holding the final product in their hands may realise. While our primary task in Metsä Board is to ensure the global availability of paperboard as well as its quality and safety, our work does not end there. A package must fulfil its function throughout the value chain.

Whenever necessary, we are happy to provide our customers with support in converting to ensure good printing results and the production of functional packages. At the same time, we increase our own knowledge which, in turn, helps us in the further development of our products.

Metsä Board has undertaken strong product development, particularly during the past couple of years. We have launched new kinds of white fresh forest fibre linerboards, as well as the folding boxboards d of o the th he Carta Dedica product family, targeted primarily towards a ds th the he fo ffood od sservice od er vice packaging industry.

Late last year we announced our intention to expand our product portfolio even further, particularly in terms of food and food service packaging, by investing EUR 38 million in extrusion coating. We have also continued our work in developing biobased, functional coatings and to make board increasingly light in weight.

Based on the above, we are happy to participate in Drupa 2016 in Düsseldorf, known as one of the global print industry’s leading trade THE P PACKAGING AC A CK C KA AG GING fairs. Our experts have collaborated INDUSTRY IS EVOLVING with numerous partners to ensure that we can provide visitors with show AT A RAPID PACE. printings of both folding boxboards and linerboards.

The packaging industry is evolving at a rapid pace, thanks to influences originating from a variety of directions. Globalisation, technical advancement, sustainable development and changes in consumption patterns have an impact on the solutions our customers expect. As a paperboard company, we are committed to this development, and to leading the way forward. Our vision is to be the preferred supplier of premium paperboards, creating value for customers globally.

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BITES

Wallvision’s Stripe H wallpaper from their Eco Black & White collection.

DISCOVER YOUR

DREAM WALLPAPER WALLPAPER MANUFACTURER Wallvision, along with Metsä

Board and Kesko, Finland’s leading provider of trading sector services, launched a campaign with the aim of finding the dreamiest wallpaper. The companies challenged bloggers and consumers to see the beauty of wallpaper and share their findings on Instagram, thus inspiring the use of wallpapers in decoration.

Wallvision uses Metsä Board’s wallpaper base in its production. Kesko is one of the company’s distributors.

What attracted Metsä Board to the campaign was the

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opportunity to present the sustainable manufacturing of wallpaper bases to design journalists and bloggers. As part of the campaign, a wallpaper design competition was organised among bloggers, and the finalists’ designs were digitally printed

by Wallvision. It’s highly likely that these journalists and bloggers have Metsä Board on their walls, as every fourth wallpaper roll in the world uses the company’s base materials.

If you are interested in seeing the dream wallpapers of Finnish consumers, just search Instagram for ‘unelmatapetti’.

BITES

HAVE YOUR SAY ON METSÄ BOARD MAGAZINE AND WIN A RESCUE TOOL BY VICTORINOX! DEAR READERS, you are the one and only

source for us to find out what our readers think of Metsä Board Magazine! What subjects do you find most interesting? How well do you think Metsä Board Magazine has succeeded and how? We would also like to find out more about your reading habits in general, so please take part in the online survey.

It takes about five minutes to answer the survey. All participants who include their contact information in the form and have answered by 31 July 2016 will be entered into a prize draw.

Ten lucky entrants will receive a high-quality Victorinox rescue tool. Your responses will be processed anonymously.

Using your mobile phone?

Enter the survey via this code: metsaboard.com/survey

PERFECT FOR DIGITAL PRINTING METSÄ BOARD OFFERS ideal products for digital printing.

Our folding boxboards are approved for printing on Xeikon, Xerox, and many other digital printing presses. The certain basis weights of Carta Integra, Carta Solida and Simcote are HP-Indigo certified. Furthermore, our linerboard portfolio contains suitable grades for various digital-inkjet printing processes in both the pre- and post-corrugation phases.

PAPER PROFILES UPDATED METSÄ BOARD’S PRODUCT-SPECIFIC environmental data are reported through Paper Profile declarations, and the yearly updates are ready. Paper profiles are issued for individual products to provide specific data on product composition and key environmental parameters. Information is also provided on environmental management, the origin of wood, and chain of custody procedures. You can find all our Paper Profiles on www.metsaboard.com

TAKING A NORWALK IN THE FOREST IN APRIL, METSÄ BOARD AMERICAS participated in a programme

called TICCIT – Trees Into Cartons, Cartons Into Trees. The Norwalk, CT sales team worked with a local school, educating the fourth grade on the forest, sustainability, and Metsä culture.

The highlight of this programme was a tree-planting outing: Metsä Board provided saplings from the Arbor Day Foundation, and instructed the children on how to plant these seedlings into the ground. A presentation was also given to the children about the importance of renewable, sustainable, paper-based materials. Some aspects of Finnish culture were included, to add an interesting twist.

The programme is held every year to honour Earth Day. Metsä Board participated in the TICCIT programme through the Paperboard Packaging Council.

Read more: http://paperbox.org/TICCIT

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BITES HUSUM’S NEW

FOLDING BOXBOARD MACHINE INAUGURATED IN EARLY APRIL, Metsä Board inaugurated its new folding

boxboard machine at Husum in Sweden, with the Swedish minister for enterprise and innovation, Mikael Damberg, attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Among others, project partners, as well as local authorities and businesses, were also invited to the inauguration ceremony.

After considerable structural changes Husum mill is now an integrated site concentrating on paperboard and pulp manufacturing. It is also a significant local employer. The EUR 170 million investment programme included a folding boxboard machine, BM1, supplied by Valmet as well as enhancements to the pulp mill and the mill site’s own port. The capacity of the new machine is 400,000 t/a. The company is targeting the volume at the Americas and at food service end-uses globally.

“The Husum mill site has the best available technology, people with extensive know-how and access to an ideal location by the sea where the mill has its own port. These important success factors will also support our customers in their businesses,” says Mika Joukio, CEO of Metsä Board.

Last November, Metsä Board announced an additional EUR 38 million investment in a new extrusion coating line and related infrastructure at Husum. This line will be taken into use during the first half of 2017. With this investment the company will be able to further improve its offering for food a food service end-uses. and

Clipping the ribbon: chairman of the trade union at Husum mill Kenneth Olsson, chairman of the board of Metsäliitto Cooperative Martti Asunta, Swedish minister for enterprise and innovation Mikael Damberg, president and CEO of Metsä Group Kari Jordan, chairman of the Örnsköldsvik municipal executive committee Glenn Nordlund and CEO of Metsä Board Mika Joukio.

ON THE PULSE OF DIGITAL PRINTING WE RECENTLY CAUGHT up with Stefan

Tschumi, commercial director at Metsä Board and one of our foremost experts on digital printing. We took the opportunity to quiz him on the future of this sector, and he filled us in on the trends shaping the market.

“There is a strong movement towards incorporating marketing messages on packaging boxes, and towards more personalisation in general,” he told us. “This is a huge driver for digital printing.”

It seems that the personalised content we see today on certain web sites – messages like “Recommended products” and

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“Others who bought this also enjoyed…” – will, in the future, find their way onto the packaging used to deliver our online orders.

Tschumi emphasised that the time to start planning such developments, dependent on a conjunction of technologies and processes, is right now. “The challenge is in bringing the necessary competences together,” he explained.

He points out that Metsä Board is on the pulse of these developments, ready to help its customers to become trendsetters rather than late starters. “We are already working towards this, and it’s clear that the early birds will have a marked advantage.”

BITES AN ANNUAL REPORT WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION METSÄ BOARD’S ANNUAL REPORT is available in English and

Finnish both as PDFs and printed versions. The report includes the annual review as well as the financial statements for the financial year 1 January – 31 December 2015.

The annual review section provides useful reading for all Metsä Board’s stakeholders, such as information on our strategy, restructuring, markets, products, and personnel, as well as sustainability.

In addition, Metsä Group’s Sustainability Report is available in English on the Group web site, www. metsagroup.com. It’s also possible to order printed copies on the web site.

BEATING THE HEAVYWEIGHTS Orapac looked for a way to openly display the Vieser One floor drain trap and allow buyers to assess the product’s quality. “Our main requirements for linerboard are printability, stiffness and brightness,” says Fredric Tidström, managing director of Orapac.

Orapac turned to Metsä Board’s Carta Selecta for high-quality offset-printed cartonboard and mini-flute packaging. “Carta Selecta performs very well in all processes – in printing, laminating, die-cutting and gluing. Its bulk prevents the flute structure showing through. We have also found that when using Carta Selecta the result is just as good as when using other, heavier liners.”

The pack achieved international recognition, winning both a ScanStar 2015 and WorldStar 2016 award. The ScanStar award recognised it as a “material effective pack solution with excellent product display and integration of the small parts of the product”.

The WorldStar jury stated that: “The fundamentals of the floor drain trap pack are easy assembly, visual attractiveness and cost efficiency. It’s made of environmentally friendly material and easy to recycle. The open design enables the buyer to feel the quality of the product. A pack that increases sales!”

Fredric Tidström adds: “We are very pleased with Carta Selecta and can recommend it for demanding mini-flute packaging – this recognition from WorldStar is proof of it.”

PACKAGING PRODUCER

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“In my opinion, familiarity is a component of trust, and one of the key reasons why consumers most often choose the products they do. That’s why branded packaging needs to look the same around the world.”

NORA KÄRKKÄINEN MAR MARKET RKET E INTELLIGENCE INTEL IN TELLIG TEL LIGENC LIG ENCE ENC EM MANA MANAGER ANAGER ANA GER “A product portfolio to match every need. Tailored paperboards and capable technical service ensure a positive customer experience.”

“In our boards, I value the fact that they have neutral sensory properties and a good printing surface – especially with products like chocolate.”

PETRI JANTUNEN

HELI KUORIKOSKI

VP, TECHNICAL SERVICES

DIRECTOR, CUSTOMER PROJECTS

Branding power in g n i g a k c a p

Do you know where your brand is heading?

Let packaging help you.

The role of packaging in branding is increasing all the time, as is the value of an extensive premium packaging portfolio.

KIRSI RIIPINEN

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SEPPO SAMULI

“The traceability of our products continues to grow in importance to our customers and partners. The company’s recent investments and its long-term strategy are also of interest to customers.”

JUHA LOUNASVAARA

“Easy living for our customers – that’s what I highlight. Consistent quality and having our own raw materials guarantee a stiff but lightweight board.”

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR

PETRI VAKKILAINEN VP, PRODUCTION

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successful company is fast and agile. It adapts unassumingly to the ever-changing business climate.

And the first manifestation of that will to adapt is packaging. The value of an extensive premium packaging portfolio is increasing – packaging has become a key element in branding.

How can Metsä Board help its customers in developing their brands?

Nora Kärkkäinen NK: The fight for premium shelf space and the consumer’s attention is intensifying. A brand must stand out from the competition. Packaging is at the centre of this struggle.

Petri Jantunen PJ: We accommodate our design and manufacturing processes to the specific needs of our customers’ brands. Lightness, stiffness, visual appeal and an attractive printing surface are redeeming qualities. We can make the logos jump out from the shelves if that’s how the brand is intended to perform. Equally, an unassuming visual strategy can be used to promote a trustworthy quality.

Heli Kuorikoski HK: An important aspect of a particular brand can be the haptic perception of the packaging. The first direct contact a consumer has to a product is the package. It should be a pleasant experience. This is why we collaborate

closely with our customers in both designing and manufacturing their packages.

Juha Lounasvaara JL: Consumers don’t care who has manufactured the package. They are probably not even consciously aware of how packaging affects their shopping behaviour. For us it is core knowledge. We can help our customers gain an advantage in their pursuit of increased market share.

Petri Vakkilainen PV: There was an interesting study where a group of consumers were asked to choose a coffee maker. Some participants made up their minds very quickly.

Others took considerably longer because they wanted to read all the small print on the packages and compare the specs. It is very important that a first-rate package presents information for every need – for the quick glimpsers and the fact lovers.

HK: Packaging can have a major effect on why a consumer chooses a certain brand when looking for a new product. That said, a familiar brand is expected to come in an easily recognisable package – a silent salesman. Our job is to make sure that the package conforms precisely to our customer’s marketing strategy. Globally, if need be.

NK: In choosing a product, feelings have a say, along with reason. The first moment of truth happens when a consumer stands in front of a shelf looking at competing products. In 11

digital sales channels, we speak about the zero moment of truth.

JL: In a digital world, packaging must work across multiple channels. Durability is a given when products are sent by mail or courier. And when first contact with a product is a 2D photo on a page with dozens of similar photos, packaging may need to be spectacular.

PV: If packaging fails and its contents are crushed, the consumer is disappointed with the product itself.

I still order my music on CD, from online stores. I’m delighted every time I receive a digipak or one of the other paperboard packages. Those plastic jewel cases break very easily.

PJ: A product can be made more enticing with packaging offering additional features. A smooth and even paperboard surface enables faultless and highly detailed printing which may carry holograms and digital codes with links, for example to recipes. The possibilities for different printing methods become almost endless.

Packaging is the brand

As digitalisation marches on, the product itself becomes a

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part of marketing and the impact of traditional marketing diminishes. Simultaneously, customer experience dictates business. Successful companies need to know both the customer and the customer´s customer thoroughly.

NK: Packaging can define a product, one of the most famous examples being Campbell’s soup. The cans are iconic and instantly recognisable, whether in supermarkets or art galleries.

JL: There are many examples where packaging becomes part of the product, and consumers want to save the packaging or even the shopping bag.

HK: Indeed. It would feel rather strange to purchase some products without their packaging. In these cases also, the packaging is part of the product.

PV: Packaging is an important part of the product in champagnes and Christmas clarets, for example. Nice packaging makes a bottle of wine a much grander gift.

HK: The features of the packaging material can affect the product a great deal. Just think of a hot pizza thrown into a box made out of recycled fibres – the pizza smells and tastes like board. There are quality paperboards that won’t emit any odours. It is essential to use those if you want your pizza

THE FIRST DIRECT CONTACT A CONSUMER HAS TO A PRODUCT IS THE PACKAGE.

franchise to succeed. Another example is fine chocolate. It is very sensitive to foreign odours and flavours.

PJ: Food trends are changing and so are our products and portfolios, whether you want a trendy package for your new pasta or if you are launching a single-household easy-to-cook brand.

Sustainability rules

Sustainability has to work in practice throughout the entire value chain – and innovation and improvement needs to be continuous. Every phase of the manufacturing process must be ready for evaluation at any given moment. Packaging is subject to the same quality standards as the products it protects.

PV: We know where the wood we use is harvested. We have a close partnership with our suppliers. And as we have similar partnerships with our customers, together we can guarantee that the whole supply chain is sound.

PJ: This functionality must be taken into account across the entire chain, transportation included. Where food is concerned, the significance of purity and security cannot be overemphasised. We demand this from ourselves and from our suppliers. It wouldn’t be possible without extensive knowledge

of chemical and process engineering.

PV: Safety is a key factor in everything we do. Our company decided not to use genetically modified substances in our products, for example. We must be able to dissect every part of our manufacturing process.

JL: Reducing the use of raw materials in manufacturing is another vital part of sustainable development. For us, that’s a given. The sustainability goals of the retail trade are perfectly in line with our own goals.

PV: I was in Stockholm, where a hamburger bar had its packaging’s CO2 emissions printed on the box. This is a good example of how brands are promoting their sustainability actions to consumers, and how consumer awareness is increasing.

PJ: It’s important that a product has a package of the right size and form with the required protection and promotion characteristics. Our experts are capable of ensuring that just the right amount of the correct raw materials are used, creating a package design that supports the brand image.

JL: Consistent quality is a part of every successful brand and this must be extended to packaging as well. Another important aspect is continuity. When you are on a roll with

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A PRODUCT CAN BE MADE MORE ENTICING WITH PACKAGING OFFERING ADDITIONAL FEATURES. A SMOOTH AND EVEN PAPERBOARD SURFACE ENABLES FAULTLESS AND HIGHLY DETAILED PRINTING.

your product, the last thing you want to confront is your packaging partner running out of paperboard or going out of business.

PV: We have several major warehouses globally. Thus, we can swiftly help our customers on site if need be. We are always ready, technically and operationally.

HK: A quality package made of fresh forest fibre opens easily and can be reopened and closed time and again. Furthermore, it is rigid and looks great. If a package looks scruff y on the shelf, there will be no sale.

Megabrands and individualism

When anticipating future trends, one question is whether the megabrands will fall as individualism increases. There is also a global shift of power, which translates into the emergence of locally made products.

JL: Megabrands will surely exist in the future, but quite possibly their lifespans will be shorter. Digital marketing is cheap, which makes it easier to launch new products. This can eat into the market share of the larger brands.

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HK: Artisan products are often packed by hand. We can manufacture paperboard for that purpose as well. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we can design packages that entice customers to stay with the brand – cereal boxes have been made like this for decades.

PJ: One major future trend will be the diminishing use of oil-based plastic, while the use of paperboard will increase.

This transition is being augmented by technological advances in the board industry. There are many technologies already enabling wider use of paperboards, and new ones are constantly under development.

HK: Personalisation is becoming more significant, as well as digital printing.

JL: There is an ever-increasing desire to avoid food wastage. Packages will be opened and closed – tightly – dozens of times. Our products will have to meet this challenge, and meet it they will. Could the next step then be to effectively replace the use of other materials with board? We have many ideas for packaging, and these will be developed into products together with our customers.

THE BOARD OFFERING THAT TAKES THE CHILL OFF Metsä Board has perfected the concept for its range TYTTI HÄMÄLÄINEN SEPPO SAMULI of food-service boards.

the environmentally friendly fresh forest fibre based fast-food business growing organically, it’s also winning ground from alternative materials. This is why I’m sure that the paperboards manufactured at Husum mill will have a great future,” enthuses Pasi Piiparinen, VP of new business and food fervices at Metsä Board.

The product family of food service board Carta Dedica is manufactured at the new folding boxboard production line that began operations at the beginning of this year at Husum mill in Sweden. According to Piiparinen, the new machine has started well, and Metsä Board was quickly able to produce prime quality board on it. “I must admit, the new quality surprised me very positively indeed,” says Piiparinen.

It has been a long time since a brand new folding boxboard machine was built in Europe, so naturally Metsä Board’s current customers – and a good number of potential new ones – have followed the process with great interest.

“Customers are not just looking forward to receiving new, high-quality products such as the Carta Dedica product family. Now that the manufacturing of

“NOT ONLY IS

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food service boards has been transferred to Husum, Metsä Board has been able to optimise the manufacturing of folding boxboards at its Finnish mills. This is why customers can expect improved availability for our other products as well.”

In addition to Carta Dedica, the new Husum board machine, BM1, manufactures Carta Solida, targeted mainly to the Americas.

“This is based on the brilliant logistics systems at our disposal. At Husum, we have our own deep-sea harbour, from which we make direct shipments.”

Husum’s BM2 manufactures the fully bleached linerboard Modo Northern Light, which is also part of Metsä Board’s food service board offering. “Together these boards create a unique portfolio.

The whole concept has been received extremely well,” says Piiparinen.

To perfect the range to a tee, Metsä Board is building a PE extrusion line next to the new board machine. The start-up of this line will take place during the first half of 2017. “After that, the Husum setup will be perfect. But customers don’t have to wait until 2017

Wish you were here? Jarkko Tuominen and Pasi Piiparinen enjoy the brisk late winter air.

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to receive PE-coated Carta Dedica, as we can already supply boards coated by external partners.”

Cold makes the cup sweat

Jarkko Tuominen, VP of business development at Metsä Board, explains why functional barriers such as PE coating are needed: “Different barriers have different functions.

The Husum coater will start using low-density polyethylene (LDPE) which provides resistance against, for example, water and moisture. The end use also dictates how the board should be coated.”

Tuominen gives an easy example: for cold drinks, the barrier is needed on both sides, because if you take the cup into the hot summer air, the outside of the cup starts sweating with condensation. Without the outside coating, this condensation can affect the cup. “But for hot drinks,” he continues, “the coating is needed only on the inside.”

The decision to invest EUR 38 million in the extrusion

coater makes the supply chain more efficient. And having its own extrusion coater, Metsä Board can better guarantee consistent quality. “There is also a plan to increase our knowledge of new barrier technologies. For example, we aim to have biobased barriers in our portfolio,” says Tuominen.

Because there is no need to transport the board to external partners for coating, the investment makes the board more sustainable. Taking these steps out of the supply chain not only reduces the amount of transported kilometres, but also the need for transport packaging, reel handling and storage space.

“To support the aim to increase sustainability overall, we look forward to replacing other materials such as plastics with fibrebased options. And with the light weight of Metsä Board’s boards, it’s possible to manufacture lighter packaging for foodon-the-go compared to packaging made out of solid bleached boards. Lightweighting saves on transportation, materials, waste and energy. All steps toward the right direction for the universe,” says Jarkko Tuominen.

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PARTNERSHIP

A PATENT FOR SUCCESS A patent lost in wartime gave rise to Comart, now the leading board supplier in the Iberian peninsula.

JUKKA LAURIMO

JUST A COUPLE OF kilometres away from Catalonia’s famous

Montmeló Grand Prix circuit, you will find the new headquarters of the board and paper supplier Comart. The company relocated to these state-of-the-art premises last year, which also marked their 50th year in business. The move to this 17,000 square metre facility was accompanied by a EUR 6 million investment in new machinery. This enhanced the company’s capability to respond quickly to its clients’ needs. The new Montornès de Vallès site is an important part of the growth and internationalisation of this company, which is already the market leader in Spain and Portugal.

Comart has definitely come a long way from its origins in a modest Barcelona location. The founding idea of the company was to provide the Spanish packaging industry with quality board along with excellent service. According to the CEO Ernest Ginjaume, who represents the third generation in this family business, “this has proven to be a visionary decision over the years”. Comart was founded in 1965 by his father, Lluis María Ginjaume Torras, but the origins of the company go even further back, as in 1929 Ginjaume’s grandfather had a patent in the Spanish market for spiral bind notebooks, which was lost, however, in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Since the very early days of Comart, there has been a commercial partnership with Metsä Board and its predecessors. In the words of Ernest Ginjaume, “this has been an excellent long term relationship”. Sales director of Metsä Board Iberia, Francisco González, has been with the Madrid-based offices for over 30 years, but the two companies’ partnership goes even further back. “Comart was already an existing customer when I started to work with Metsä Board”, points out González. Maybe the best evidence of this long relationship with the Nordic company is the fact that the founder of Comart, Lluis María Ginjaume

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TIM LANGLOTZ

Torras, is honorary consul for Finland’s Honorary Consulate General in Barcelona, a title that he now holds in emeritus.

Quality still in demand

Many things have changed over the years but quality is something that clients are still looking for. Spain has traditionally been a market where price dominates, but many of Comart´s clients work for the export industry, so they are not solely dependent on the local marketplace. Some of its clients come from luxury-product segments such as perfumes. Ginjaume points out that “the packaging of this kind of products is a way to transmit brand image”. For example, Comart works with clients that supply Puig, one of the big names in the perfume industry, with a portfolio including well-known brands such as Carolina Herrera, Jean Paul Gaultier or Shakira.

In the perfume sector, packaging reinforces the brand image, which is built upon focused marketing and advertising efforts. In this industry, packaging is also part of the overall customer experience, with design elements such as colours, shapes and an overall high-quality feel. Often customers at the point of sale see the box first, then the bottle.

In the process of making the perfect customer experience, every detail counts. Board quality is key to further stages in packaging production such as printing and inclusion of special effects like embossing.

Besides transmitting brand messages, the package has many other – often equally important – functions, such as guaranteeing product safety and providing protection against falsification. In Ginjaume’s opinion, “packaging may have started as a means to protect the product itself, but now it can be a tool to protect customers from imitations”. Packaging can also ensure product safety, which is extremely important, for

Comart CEO Ernest Ginjaume (right), with sales director of Metsä Board Iberia, Francisco González.

example, in the case of medicines.

Comart’s clients also demand quick responsiveness to demand. Ginjaume explains that “the market has changed in that there are now many demand peaks and consumer campaigns in a year, so we usually do shorter orders than before”. The Spanish economic crisis was one factor behind this development – clients simply stopped placing orders for months ahead as the market became unpredictable.

Caring for the carbon footprint

The sustainability of the packaging material is also an important factor. Ginjaume points out that “clients demand a strong local supply chain. They are aware about recycling and certificates and for them it’s also important to know from which part of the world the raw material comes from.”

Board material from Metsä Board mills is shipped to Bremen in Germany and arrives in Barcelona by train. “I believe in the future of train transportation. It’s ecological, safe and efficient,” Ginjaume notes.

One part of overall eco-friendliness is decided when the board is cut. The aim in Comart is to reduce leftover material through the use of fully automated cutting lines where every board roll is registered and weighed after use. Any usable leftover material is also carefully recycled. At Comart there’s a large storage area exclusively dedicated to leftover pieces that are waiting for proper use.

In reducing carbon footprints, board quality can also play a part. As Francisco González puts it, “premium board material can produce the same rigidness in packaging with fewer grams per square metre. This results in less raw material use.”

PACKAGING MAY HAVE STARTED AS A MEANS TO PROTECT THE PRODUCT ITSELF, BUT NOW IT CAN BE A TOOL TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS FROM IMITATIONS.

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BOXING CLEVER The latest and greatest packaging innovations are within reach.

METSÄ BOARD

METSÄ BOARD

A retail-ready display need not be a hassle.

Simply rip off the top and this package becomes a showcase. Note the colour reproduction – the colour of the carton and the retail-ready packaging must be identical, a result now within reach.

Outer: Modo Northern Light Flexo 120 g/m2 Fluting: Modo Northern Light 130 g/m2 (e-flute) Inner: Modo Northern Light 160 g/m2 (uncoated)

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We’re all familiar with bag-in-box when enjoying wines and juices, but Metsä Board’s new patent-pending elevated drink box allows the consumer to fill and refill without awkward positioning at the table edge.

Outer: Kemiart Lite+ 175 g/m2 Fluting: Modo Northern Light 130 g/m2 (e-flute) Inner: Modo Northern Light 160 g/m2

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This chocolate box is full of surprising details.. When you open the outer box – just as you would open a book – two separate boxes with opening mechanisms of their own are to be found inside.

Carta Allura 320 g/m m2 m2 Carta Integra 285 g/m Carta Solida 260 g/m m2

Who has time for weighing out portions in the heat of the moment? This pre-portioned spaghetti packet is for consumers with better things to do. Our paperboards – made from fresh forest fibres – are the ideal safe material for your food.

Simcote mcote 260 g/m2

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mini-wave New mini wave fluting allows ws for great stiffness and a superb white printing surface. The perfect combination of light and d strong needed for a corrugated ated frozen pizza box.

Outer: Modo Northern Light Litho itho 160 g/m2 Fluting: Modo Northern Light 100 g/m2 (e-flute) 00 g/m2 Inner: Modo Northern Light 100

Embossing, combined mbined with excellent ellent colour reproducroduction, gives the e highquality ty feel that premium emium coffee capsules s have to represent. nt. The bottom of the e pack gives the consumer sumer convenient access to the product. oduct.

Carta Solida 270 g/m2 C 23

HUSUM FOLDING BOXBOARD’S NEW HORIZON Metsä Board has continued the EUR 170 million investment programme at its Husum mill in Sweden.

The mill’s new folding boxboard machine, BM1, was inaugurated in April 2016. BM1 is Europe’s most modern folding boxboard machine, and its production is targeted at the Americas and the food-service market globally.

METSÄ BOARD

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METSÄ BOARD

Visit

metsaboard.com/videos to see a video of the construction of the new machine.

Mill started in 1919 as a pulp mill with capacity of

20,000

annual tonnes

1972–1985

three paper machines were started up

Port operated by

Metsä Board employees One vessel leaves for North America

New folding boxboard machine, BM1, started up at the beginning of

2016 Machine speed

1,000 m/min

weekly The most modern

FBB machine in Europe

765-metre dock,

equipped with its own ice-breaker Grammage range

175–350 g/m2 Three vessels

can berth simultaneously

Machine width

6.6 m Around

700 vessel calls per year

Machine length

162 m 25

This creative design for the Victorinox Rescue Tool won an iF Design Award for consumer products packaging. The unique and innovative package creates a new opening experience for the consumer, simulating Victorinox’s knife-opening mechanism.

A VICTORIOUS team has a golden track record: in less than three years they have won three Hong Kong Print Awards in Asia, a PCD (Perfume Cosmetic Design) Award in Paris, and an iF Design Award in Germany.

“The recognition by the prestigious iF International Forum Design GmbH in particular was warmly welcomed, as for over 60 years the iF Award has been recognised worldwide as a badge of design excellence,” explains design and innovation director Cyril Drouet. iF’s high-profile international jury assessed more than 5,000 entries from 53 countries in order to determine who would receive this coveted seal of design excellence. Metsä Board were among the award winners, for a package that Cyril Drouet and his team designed for Victorinox.

METSÄ BOARD’S PACKAGING SERVICES

Working the magic

To achieve such recognition, the packaging services team works their magic on every aspect of the packaging design: visuals, structure, branding and overall efficiency of the

Metsä Board Board’s Cyrill Drouet (left) and Risto isto Au Aue uero collect the iF uero F Auero Design gn n Award for Consume mer Product s Consumer Products packaging. k i

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manufacturing process.

“We usually meet with the customer several times. First to receive their brief, and later with our counter brief. For these meetings we usually put together a few mood boards based on market research. With the customer’s reaction these mood boards as a starting point, we begin the actual design process.”

The outcome is usually three different versions of the same packaging – a superb idea as customers love to be presented with options. Usually these vary in ambition level from a “standard” to an “all-in” version.

“For example the all-in version highlights the brand and provides the consumer with a real experience,” says Drouet.

Sustainability is another important aspect of the process; packaging materials and the ways in which the products are manufactured also support sustainability. The chosen paperboard can bring lightweighting benefits or the packaging can have a glue-free structure, for example. “An important aspect of the process is incorporating Metsä Board’s materials for the best possible end result from every point of view.”

GET MORE INSIGHT INTO THE PACKAGING DESIGN PROCESS ON PAGE 34!

TEAM

When making something new, why not make it a true innovation?

TYTTI HÄMÄLÄINEN

Trends and innovations

The packaging must also have contemporary features that catch the consumer’s eye – as well as that of the jury. “This is driven by market benchmarks and innovation. We aim to be a few steps ahead of the game.”

Innovation is more than just a word for the team. Recently, they filed for a patent on a new design for bag-in-box packaging (the ingenious Elevated drink box concept is presented on page 20).

Naming a recent popular trend is easy for Drouet; he immediately nominates exceptionally sharp corners with no overlapping corner folds. “This is what we made for the iF Design Award winner. It really sets that package apart from traditional rigid boxes.”

Winning awards is a major point of pride for Cyril Drouet and his team: “They show that our packaging service team in Shanghai is able to help customers enhance brand value by delivering sustainable, secure and innovative packaging solutions. Our aim is not only to win awards but primarily to

METSÄ BOARD

help brand owners to be more successful in their markets. For example, since the launch of the new packaging, Victorinox’s Rescue Tool tripled in sales,” he says.

Global teamwork

The team is small and the members come from different countries. This widens the perspective the team can deliver to the customer. Cyril Drouet is French; Adi Gunawan, senior graphic design specialist, is from Indonesia; and Viki Lin, graphic design specialist, comes from Taiwan. There are also two Chinese members: Alan Li, structural designer, and Freedom Song who works as a senior photo retoucher.

The services of the packaging team are offered to Metsä Board’s key customers. The service network is global, with a presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia. This way, the same design can be adjusted easily to different markets.

This box won the Championship for Environmentally Friendly Printing in the Hong Kong Print Awards 2014 and a certificate for sustainable development and respect of the environment at the 2015 Packaging of Perfumes, Cosmetics & Design exhibition in Paris. The glueless rigid box demonstrates how innovative packaging can be made using 100 per cent recyclable paperboard, avoiding plastic wrapping, while the inner cartons provide a unique user experience.

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PHENOMENON

CDP-WINNING ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING MARI SUONTO

According to an international environmental report, Metsä Board is at the forefront of sustainable development.

WHEN YOU OPEN A BOX of chocolates, do you ever wonder how the production of the paper-

board in that box has affected our planet? How many litres of water were used? What kind of effects did the paperboard production have on forests? What were the CO2 emissions and the overall impacts on climate change?

Metsä Board assesses these kinds of impacts continuously, and discloses its data to CDP, the largest international organisation working with shareholders and corporations to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of major corporations.

Reports by the CDP help investors assess the environmental risks in their portfolios and direct investments into more sustainable businesses.

In 2015, Metsä Board was ranked among the top-scoring companies in three of the CDP’s programmes: ‘Water’, ‘Forests’ and ‘Climate Change’.

On the vanguard of water stewardship

CDP’s Water programme seeks to galvanise corporate action to address the fresh water crisis, one of the most significant challenges facing our global economy. Out of 405 businesses, Metsä Board was included in the exclusive Water A List, for its strong actions on improving water security.

Among the eight A-listers, Metsä Board was the only European company and the sole representative of the forest industry.

Metsä Board’s strongest asset for water security are the plentiful northern waters it has access to. “The raw material for our paperboards comes from northern forests, which draw only on natural water resources. We do not need to resort to ground waters or processed water in production either, as our sites are located near surface waters such as rivers and lakes,” says Katja Tuomola, product safety manager at Metsä Board.

Metsä Board has also put great efforts into improving water and material efficiency, as well as wastewater management at production sites. “Around 95 per cent of the water used for our

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Fresh forest fibres are pure and safe

The production of lightweight boards uses less energy, water and raw materials

Lightweight boards generate less waste. They can also be recycled after use.

Consistent board reduces waste in the converting and packing processes

production is returned to its source, and carefully cleaned before being released back into the watercourse. The environment around Metsä Board’s mills is not affected by their water usage,” states Tuomola.

“Reaching the exclusive CDP Water A List is of great merit, and a reflection of the work we have done to minimise our impact on water scarcity,” Tuomola says.

Cate Lamb, head of water at CDP, also praised the Water A-List companies for their efforts: “The business case for action to improve water security has never been stronger or more urgent.

The companies on the CDP Water A List are responding to market demand for environmental accountability and at the same time are making progress towards the realisation of sustainable economies.”

Northern forests a key advantage

In the Forests programme, CDP gave Metsä Board leadership status in the materials sector, based on the quality of information the company disclosed. It was one of the nine companies included on the leadership list, out of 180 businesses who disclosed information to CDP. Metsä Board has the advantage of procuring its raw material – fresh forest fibre from northern European woods – through a sister company, Metsä Forest, which is engaged in fighting deforestation and protecting forest biodiversity. “All the fibre we use can be traced to its origins in certified forests in Finland, Sweden, Russia and the Baltics. Northern forest fibre is of high quality and annual forest growth in these areas exceeds the amount of harvested wood,” explains Tuomola.

The growing stock in Finnish and Swedish forests, where Metsä Board procures most of its wood, is currently increasing by 30–40 per cent annually.

It is possible to make more packaging from lightweight boards

Light but stiff board reduces the amount of waste by protecting the packed product 29

AMOUNT OF CERTIFIED WOOD

75%

FOSSIL CO2 EMISSIONS PER PRODUCT TONNE

-42%

USE OF PROCESS WATER PER PRODUCT TONNE

-16% FIGURES: 2015

Sustainable development throughout the value chain

Climate change has been one of the most pressing sustainability topics in recent times. In CDP’s Climate Change programme, Metsä Board achieved a full score of 100/100 on the quality of the information disclosed. This means Metsä Board is doing the right things to mitigate climate change impact, while benefiting from the thorough, group-wide sustainability work executed by Metsä Group as a whole.

“The Group manages the entire value chain from forests to end products. It is relatively easy for us to acquire information on the broad environmental impacts of our operations. This would not be possible if our procurement took place through external suppliers in distant locations,” says Tuomola.

The sustainability metrics for CDP’s programmes are reported in great detail. “We report, for instance, every staff car trip to the r nearest kilometre,” Tuomola states.

The best performer fo Metsä Board’s excellent reporting scores are, L’Oréal in 2015 of course, just a starting point for the company’s nts me mit réal presented its com At the end of 2013, L’O sustainability strategy. Metsä Board continu0 202 by ent able Developm with regard to Sustain ously strives to improve, for instance, material mme. gra pro All” h Wit uty Bea through the ”Sharing l, efficiency in all of its operations. “Our goals t of the environmenta par l gra inte an are “Suppliers réal,” says are set high, and our customers also appreciate mitments made by L’O social and ethical com r –printing cto dire ry ego our transparent disclosure on the environcat g sin cha pur , our Mathieu Duf ive is that mental impacts of our products,” summarises l. “The Group’s object & specialties at L’Oréa rs will be réal’s strategic supplie Tuomola. by 2020, 100% of L’O tly its Curren ability programme.” involved in our sustain l’s carbon réa L’O of resent 28% suppliers’ activities rep emissions. lved its 2009, L’Oréal has invo Consequently, since carbon footprint its ng uci red and suppliers in measuring CDP Supply k with the CDP in the by asking them to wor Chain programme.

CDP supply n participating in the Metsä Board has bee ir score year the ing rov imp 3, 201 ce chain programme sin Packaging B in 2015. “Among our on year to reach 100 Compoformer for Board is the best per nents suppliers, Metsä Board’s action tsä Me in aga e onc 2015. It demonstrates kle climate change.” and commitment to tac

30

Q&A with Philippe Milliet, Bobst, head of Business Unit Sheet-fed

To get a wide perspective on what is going on in printing and converting, we turned to Bobst. Bobst is the leading supplier of equipment and services to packaging and label manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible materials industries.

CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, KEY AND BOARD 1.

Which board properties do you find important when you think about:

A) Printing?

B) Converting?

I would say that consistency of colour is the most important property of all. Whether it is in a paper destined for flexible packaging production or corrugated pre/post-printing, or in a board to be used for making cartons, lack of colour consistency presents the biggest headaches to our customers.

It’s sometimes said that the paper is the fifth colour in CMYK printing and that’s particularly appropriate in the industries we serve – packaging and labels. We are pushing forward with innovative technologies such as digital print and extended gamut printing, and here the colour of the paper or board can be very important.

In todays markets, where brand owners are pushing for homogeneity across all their packaging and media, even our many customers who print onto unbleached paper liners using corrugated flexo printing lines need consistency of colour if they are to meet their clients’ demand.

It’s consistency again, but more in the caliper and structure of the paper or board.

Firstly, you have to get the board through the die-cutter or hot foil stamping press or down a folder-gluer line. If it is warped, or varies in thickness, then production suffers because the sheet or blank will stop in the machine feed.

Secondly, as brand owners increasingly push for lighter packaging to cut costs, it’s important that the board maintains its structural integrity and strength. If it doesn’t, our customers experience all sorts of problems. Even on the best equipment, such sheets can start to break up during the die-cutting process – which means that the customer may have to run the job more slowly and put many extra nicks into the sheet to get it through. That obviously affects both productivity and the visual appearance of the final box.

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Lauri Järvinen, technical marketing manager at Metsä Board, keeps a close eye on trends in the printing and converting fields.

2.

Future trends in printing and converting?

Aside from light-weighting, which I’ve already mentioned, we are seeing developments at both the high-quality end of the market and at the high-volume end.

Following the global economic crisis, many brands changed to a more ‘basic’ look for their products, to reflect consumers’ concerns about money. Now, however, we are seeing brands returning to higher-quality print, more embellishment and more complex structural designs, as they try to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Even retail-ready packaging is now becoming increasingly sophisticated as designers try to make their brand stand out on the shelf. It means that they need presses which can print with higher definition and they need converting equipment that can handle much more complex designs.

There’s also increasing demand for ‘zero fault’ packaging quality – basically making sure that no ‘out of specification’ product gets out of our customers’ plants. We’ve been working on these sorts of systems for some time and they are becoming increasingly popular.

At the volume end, there has been a huge growth in the food service sector. Our customers’ machines churn out billions of chip scoops, pizza boxes, sandwich packs and cake boxes every day. That growth doesn’t seem to be slowing,

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yet even here we are seeing increasing sophistication in both design and functionality. For these products, productivity is everything, so we are always working on new, more highly automated machines, new systems and new services – the objective being to shave time from makereadies, increase uptime and running speeds, and take away potential headaches such as the risks of mineral oil contamination.

There are also interesting developments in both conventional and digital printing technologies, including the idea of Digital Flexo™, where cameras and servos replace operator intervention meaning job changeovers can happen on the fly.

Then, of course, there is the trend towards more sustainability. Many of our customers already use paper and board which comes from sustainable sources, such as yours, and we are seeing this increasingly reach into markets beyond western Europe and North America. As an engineering group, we have to address the sustainability issues inherent in the equipment we make. We are working hard to lower the carbon footprint of our machine manufacturing processes, while we are also now designing our machines to be much more energy efficient, less wasteful of resources such as water, and to minimise process waste.

Cyril Drouet, design and innovation director at Metsä Board, has been working intensively with Bobst on the new Elevated juice packaging launched at Drupa.

You can read more about this patent-pending innovation on page 20.

3.

How will digital printing develop/affect the future?

What is new to brand owners is the availability of industrial levels of digital print and all that this offers in terms of versioning, personalisation, shorter runs, and faster time to market for new products.

We have had some interesting discussions with brand owners while developing our digital machines. What is becoming clear is that brand owners have started to take on board that the benefits of digital print can be maximised if

4.

the packaging becomes fully integrated into a digital product marketing concept. By grasping the full potential of digital print, packaging really can become a personalised interactive communication tool with the end user.

The packaging industry is set to profit from the exploitation of new technologies to enhance the consumers’ experience.

Digital packaging is the latest truly disruptive media.

How do you see the future of litholamination?

It’s an interesting time for the litholamination industry. There has been a huge growth in demand for litholaminated products to replace both folding boxboard products and transit cases — because they are lighter and more protective than the former and more attractive than the latter.

We expect to see continuously escalating demand in high-

growth countries such as India and China, where straightforward equipment is sought after. In established markets the demand will continue to be for quality enhancement and cost reduction, especially in technology that can reduce adhesive use while ensuring the stability and strength of the litholaminated sheet.

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PACKAGING DESIGN PROCESS 1

• • • • •

A GLIMPSE INTO THE WORKING METHODS OF METSÄ BOARD’S AWARD-WINNING PACKAGING SERVICES TEAM.

BRIEF

Meeting with client Brief to be written Tasks + schedule Product sample need Package sample need

2 to 3 days

2

• • • • • •

RESEARCH

3

DESIGN

• Brand integration • Brand development • Structural packaging

Market research Trends research Brand history Brand identity Packaging analysis Packagingg process

• • • • • •

Graphic design Technical innovation Sustainable solution Security solution Packaging mock-up Packaging photos

5 .0% LIGHT WEIGHTING STRUCTURE 1 5 .6% LIGHT WEIGHTING PAPERBOARD UNIQUE OPENING EXPERIENCE 19. 1% LESS PACK AGING MATERIAL USED

< 10 days

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< 10 days

4

• • • • • •

PRESENTATION

5

• • • • •

Meeting with client Design proposal 3D rendering Packaging samples Feedback Task + schedule ed u l e

ARTWORK

File sharing Image retouch Colour correction Finger printing Print–ready artwork

METSÄ BOARD STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE

SPRING ISSUE 2016

<5 days

<5 days

THE END

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