Inspire Magazine by Antony Riley

A MAGAZINE FROM IGGESUND PAPERBOARD ISSUE 51 2015

THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABILITY & CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BEING GREENEST – that’s the key in today’s world. Ideally, being green without defining exactly what that entails, because it’s easier that way. Is it any coincidence that the supplements that fall out of trade magazines are often printed on green paper? While there seems to be no end of players whose claims of infallibility would barely stand up to scrutiny, there are also many large organisations and representatives of strong brands and retailers, that have a very serious sustainability management system in place as part of their corporate social responsibility strategy. Good sustainability management has been an increasing requirement from consumers, so those who interact with them are being driven in that direction. Iggesund Paperboard is a long way down the value chain, yet we are well equipped to provide our customers with

paperboard that meets stringent sustainability requirements. This is because as early as 25 years ago, the Nordic forest industry identified the climate risks associated with fossil carbon dioxide emissions, and it has been able to take a goal-conscious approach over time. Today, Iggesund Paperboard’s integrated paperboard mills in Sweden and the uk are leaders at producing paperboard with low carbon dioxide emissions: Invercote and Incada. As the person responsible for Iggesund Paperboard’s contacts with major brand owners, I see proof on a daily basis of how positively this is received. In this issue you can read about everything from the most important aspects of new research and creative luxury packaging, to inspiring invitations and the challenges of packaging fine chocolate. HÉLÈNE LE GUERN Manager Brand Owners and Retailers, Europe Iggesund Paperboard AB

EDITORIAL Address Iggesund Paperboard SE-825 80 Iggesund, Sweden phone: +46 650 280 00 inspire@iggesund.com • iggesund.com Publisher Jessica Tommila (reponsible under Swedish press law) Editor in Chief Elisabeth Östlin elisabeth.ostlin@iggesund.com Editorial committee Véronique Lafrance, Lydia Lippmann, Winnie Halpin, Ian Huskinson, Staffan Sjöberg, Elisabeth Östlin

Publishing Agency OTW Communication PO Box 3265, SE-103 65 Stockholm Editor and project manager Katarina Sjöström katarina.sjostrom@otw.se Art Director Kristian Strand Prepress Done, Stockholm Printing Strokirk-Landströms, Lidköping, Sweden Strand Packaging, Malmö, Sweden

Contributors Louise Eriksson, Emma Holmqvist Deacon, Thomas Ekenberg, Isabelle Kliger, Cari Simmons, Antony Riley, Kicki Risander Photos and illustrations Karina Eibatova (cover), Agata Wierzbicka, Jann Lipka, Julia Knop, Gustav Hugosson, Marie-Ève Boisvert Translations Comactiva Language Partner AB ISSN 1404-2436 Inspire is printed in English, Chinese,French, German, Japanese and Swedish

CONTENTS

Luxury packaging demands attention to detail. Hamburg designers Soraya and Max Kuehne explain the whys and the hows.

Reeling in the fish. The story of how a copy of Inspire magazine became true paper magic in the hands of Canadian artist Véronique Boisvert.

Paper researcher. Sofia Thorman, a Swedish PhD student, found a way to avoid waste when printing on carton.

Printing perfection. Fashion show invitations are sometimes more inspiring than fashion – and a good read in a new book.

Only the inside counts? Wrong. Producing packaging for a fragile indulgence like chocolates is sweetly challenging.

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AN EXPERT SENSE A conversation about luxury with Soraya and Max Kuehne

Hamburg-based Paperlux designs high-quality paper and Âpaperboard corporate communications materials. It all started with some experiments with lasers. TEXT LOUISE ERIKSSON PHOTO JULIA KNOP

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01 Jannick and Max check out the design. 02 Now entering cool production space. 03 Package for the Golden Camera statue.

ost customers of the German design studio Paperlux are associated with high-quality products, but the studio likes to avoid the term luxury. “Luxury truly has a different meaning for everyone,” explains founder Max Kuehne. “For some, luxury is a Hermès bag; for others, it’s time.” Together with his wife, Soraya, Max manages the 11-person team that makes up Paperlux. “I always had a great affinity for paper,” he says. “In the late 1990s I had the opportunity to experiment with large laser machines. We saw what happens when you put laser to paper. After burning quite a lot of paper, we were able to develop our own process for designing logos, lettering and other products by using the laser with paper and paperboard.” The name Paperlux is a combination of the English word paper and the Latin word for light.

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01 Inspiration – it comes from everywhere. 02 A side view of pure creativity.

Max, a trained sign painter, is responsible for the creative side, while Soraya, who serves as managing director, handles the business side. “First I fell in love with the man, then with the company, and then I came on board,” she laughs. Both acknowledge that jointly heading a company does not lend itself to a clear distinction between work and private life. THE COMPANY is housed in an old horse stable in

Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel district, with the lower floor used as a workshop. The work’s origin lies in the creative process. Asked what factors turn creative work into luxury, Max and Soraya cite time, quality and confidence. “Grandiose things can of course crop up in a short amount of time, but it generally helps if the creative team is able to experiment,” Soraya says. “It’s always helpful to put something down, get a good night’s sleep away from

THIS IS PAPERLUX An 11-person team, half of whom work on the creative side. Schanzenviertel district, Hamburg. An old horse stable provides a generous creative space. Originally a production office with its own finishing processes (paper etching), it is now a design and production office. Corporate design, event design, branding, communications. Paper enthusiasts – with their own laser technology for engraving paper and cardboard. Customers include Hermès, Die Goldene Kamera, Falke, Adidas, MS Europa, TUI Cruises and Seidensticker.

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it and then pick it back up.” Customers tend to have the same idea and place their trust and their projects in the team’s hands. But Paperlux once cancelled an order because there was not enough time to meet its own quality standards and the customer’s standards and expectations. THE FIRST STOP on the road

to design is usually to engage with the material. Every material tells its own story, Max explains. There are even conventions for colours and shapes. “However, there is no final word on which shapes or colours signal luxury,” he says. “Luxury today is expressed more by the type of material and the workmanship.” Soraya adds, “The material – the feel of the paper – is incredibly important. And consumers respond automatically. It is not uncommon for someone to feel a business card that has been pressed into their hand, though they’re unlikely to reflect on whether it’s cotton paperboard or something else.” This leads to a lively discussion on the packaging of toothpaste tubes. The same tube with different packaging may convey a completely different image. Impressions can be made through the use of colour and typography, but luxury in particular may very well be signalled by the choice of materials. “You can always upgrade something through the selection of a material,” Max says. “If, for example, you take a piece of standard toothpaste packaging and simply use a different material, you will have already created an entirely different representation of the product – another sense that the product has become a little more valuable. Materials are just an incredibly interesting factor in a product’s packaging undergoing an upgrade.”

“Stories are a great inspiration. Stories make things fit together like a puzzle. Then we experiment with our hands and with materials to get the right combinations. Our presentations are composed of a narrative part and a design.”

01 Fashion remade The Petit Fou paper clutch. 02 Inspirational reading, Inspire! 03 Happy workers Soraya designing. 04 On the guest list Invitation for the Golden Camera.

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How do the designers know what works and what doesn’t?

“You can rarely codify the needs of customers who make luxury products and turn to us,” Max says. “You can’t just use the classic marketing toolbox. This is easier for discount products. The sector we work in involves an expert sense of the right material and the right combination of materials. The right hot foil on the right material but with the wrong typography will be just as much a failure as the wrong hot foil on the right material.”

01 Moodboarding Surfing the paper wave. 02 Paper tools Presenting material for a new project.

And where does the inspiration for all this come from?

“I am a collector, I collect everything – with my eyes, my ears, my nose and very often with my hands,” Max explains. His wife agrees. “I can confirm that,” she says. “Thanks to my husband’s eyes, we discover incredible things, for example when simply walking around a new city.”

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GONE FISHING "The cover of Inspire magazine gave me the inspiration to create a fish like no one had ever seen before", says Canadian graphic artist Véronique Boisvert.

How a recycled copy of Inspire became something completely different in the hands of a creative artist. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE FISH VÉRONIQUE BOISVERT, GRAPHIC DESIGNER PROULX COMMUNICATION, QUÉBEC, CANADA PHOTO MARIE-ÈVE BOISVERT AND ELIANE TURGY

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Yesterday’s newspapers and magazines are commonly dismissed as fishwrap, but a recent issue of Inspire served as the inspiration for a unique work of art. Véronique Boisvert, a graphic designer in Quebec, Canada, turned the magazine’s pages into a three-dimensional paper fish, a handmade creation that evokes modernity and femininity with a sly sense of humour. Véronique Boisvert "The beautiful textures, colors and finishes of the Invercote cover gave me all I needed to create my own fish story," says Boisvert.

A MAGAZINE FROM Iggesund paperboard ISSUE 40 2012

2012-02-10 09.18

The cover that inspired the fish.

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LUXURY OR RUBBISH? Recycled fibre in paper and packaging can signal luxury and social responsibility, or something cheap and dirty. It depends onwhom, and where, you ask. TEXT THOMAS EKENBERG ILLUSTRATION AGATA WIERZBICKA

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ecycled fibre in paper and paperboard means different things to consumers in different countries. In Europe and parts of North America, recycled fibre is a good thing, a way of doing something responsible for the environment. Others are concerned with impurities like ink residue and mineral oils that are present in the recycled material. Asian consumers seem more worried about the origin of the wood fibres rather than with manufacturing practices. “Environmentalists and various organisations are striving to increase the content of recycled fibre to ‘save the forests’,” says Håkan Ekström, ceo of Wood Resources International llc in Seattle. “Also, wholesalers and other intermediaries who sell paper sometimes demand a high recycled fibre content to reduce the risk of being branded eco-villains.” Few consumers realise that virgin and recycled fibre have the same origin – trees. In fact, they are two kinds of fibres, dependent on each other, within the system of paper materials. If everyone stopped using virgin fibre the whole system would collapse, since the consumption of virgin fibre is the basis of the availability of recycled material. When it comes to packaging, there has long been a trend to add more and more recycled fibre, although there are exceptions. These include food and luxury items like perfume, where virgin fibre is used to meet purity requirements and convey an impression of whiteness and quality. Furthermore, the fresh fibre offers more flexibility and resilience thus enabling more advanced structural design. One of the downsides of increasing the level of recycled material in a packaging board is that it generally

lowers the protective properties. To compensate for this, the producer will have to increase the grammage of the board to reach a given level of protection. The increased grammage means higher packaging weight and lower efficiency in the printing, packaging, filling and logistical processes. Johan Carlsson, principal consultant at Pöyry, who has worked extensively with recycling and recycled fibre in the forest industry, says the arguments for or against recycled fibre are often the same. “The environmental argument is used by advocates of recycled fibre and virgin fibre alike,” he says. “Some say that the carbon footprint, for instance, is lower for virgin fibre, while others claim the opposite. It all depends on how you measure it.” Another important argument is that wood fibre, regardless of whether it is virgin or recycled, is a renewable raw material, and some manufacturers like to emphasise that they plant new trees for every package sold. In some countries, such as Sweden and Finland, there is a legal obligation for anyone who harvests forestland to regenerate the forest. Ekström can see that the environment is an important consideration in markets like North America and large parts of Europe. “Sometimes you can charge more for a product with a high recycled fibre content, even though the quality is actually lower,” he says. “These are often special products for niche markets where the environmental aspect is an important selling point.” According to Carlsson, developments are largely costdriven. “The environmental argument is used to sell something or other, but production is governed more by the price of different fibre ranges and the availability of recycled and virgin fibre.” It is hard to predict what the future trend will be. Ekström can see some strong pressure in many countries in Europe to add more recycled fibre. At the same time, less recycled fibre is available, due in part to a decline in printed newspapers. A shorter supply of recycled fibre causes quality to fall and prices to rise, which would suggest that the percentage of virgin fibre is set to increase.

RECYCLED FIBRE Wood fibre is tough and can be used five to seven times. However, it weakens the more times it is used, so it is often mixed with virgin fibre to produce the desired quality of paper or paperboard. Recycled fibre is mainly used in the production of newsprint, containerboard, hygiene paper and some types of paperboard. Recycled fibre from newspapers, paper and paperboard is an

important source of raw material for the forest industry. There is a considerable quality variation among recycled fibre, depending on its geographic origin and whether it is post-industrial or post-consumer waste. Globally, roughly half of the wood raw material used in paper and paperboard production comes from recycled paper. The rest is virgin fibre from the forest. iggesund.com

TAKING THE TEST Improved printability with new Swedish research Print quality is a key factor in producing competitive packaging. Good print quality not only makes the package more aesthetically pleasing, but it also contributes to the efficiency of the print process. But how is it measured? Sofia Thorman, a PhD student from Vipp industrial graduate school at Karlstad University, has developed a new testing method that can be used to verify the print quality of board material. TEXT CARI SIMMONS PHOTO GUSTAV HUGOSSON

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ackaging is an important part of a product. It protects and preserves its contents, provides information and, ideally, invites potential buyers to make a purchase. If the board material offers satisfactory print quality, a greater proportion of the board that is manufactured and transported to printers will be used, thereby generating less waste.

True science Sofia Thorman´s research led to a method of measuring the carton´s ability to absorb print.

SOFIA THORMAN recently completed her licentiate thesis from Vipp industrial graduate school at Karlstad University, marking the halfway point to her phd. She has done research at Innventia, a leading Stockholm-based research institute that works with innovations based on forest raw materials, to develop a new method for testing how evenly board absorbs liquid. “We’ve believed for some time that the absorbency of the board affects its printability, but there’s never been a way of actually measuring it before,” she explains. Thorman’s research studied coated board material used for high volume flexo printed packaging such as milk and juice cartons, and catering utensils. The results suggest that an uneven absorption of printing ink can lead to printed Innventia is a world-leading research institute that works with innovations images and text looking motbased on forest raw materials. The tled or uneven.

ABOUT INNVENTIA

WHEN BOARD is produced, its

ajority of its operations are carried out m in project form via research programmes involving multiple partners or in development projects with individual customer companies. Innventia also carries out a large number of direct commissions in the form of analyses, testing and demonstrations in its lab and pilots.

properties are checked according to a variety of criteria. For example, surface smoothness is known to be a property that impacts printability, but even though an even surface generally supports better printing results, it is not unheard of for problems to arise even when the board is smooth. According to Thorman, quality control for printability would be more reliable if it also included a test to measure the ability of the board to absorb ink. Thorman’s method involves spreading a thin layer of dyed liquid on a piece of board and allowing it to absorb for less than two-tenths of a second. The liquid is then removed, revealing a piece of board that has either been evenly stained or contains uneven spots of colour. If the dye is blotchy, it means the material does not absorb printing ink evenly. “Carrying out this test on newly developed materials, or before a major print run, would allow the manufacturer to make improvements to the material before printing, thus eliminating the risk of the board being wasted due to a failed print run,” Thorman says. She believes this new method could lead to the development of better-quality board materials in the long run. “If you can measure a feature, you can also learn from it and use it to make improvements,” she says.

“The method looks promising in the studies we’ve done so far,” Thorman says. “I look forward to carrying out trials on a larger scale, in order to confirm that the technique can provide valuable information for board manufacturers.” SO FAR, most of Thorman’s research has examined flexo-

graphic print quality for coated board material used for liquid packaging. While some absorption tests have been carried out on high-quality board types, such as folding box board and solid bleached board, which are usually printed in offset presses, it is not yet clear if similar test methods can be developed for board of this kind. So how can manufacturers measure absorption? “Innventia can carry out absorption tests on behalf of board manufacturers,” Thorman says. “Alternatively, we can help manufacturers to set up the test in-house.”

FACTS All paperboard from Iggesund is supplied with ink absorption values. Measurements are carried out by applying ink to the print surface for two minutes, then measuring the brightness of the untreated paperboard and comparing it to the brightness of the ink setting on the paperboard being tested. One advantage of the method developed by Sofia Thorman is that it is closer to reality, as the short exposure time is more like real-life production conditions. However, this method does not really measure absorption, but rather the printed medium’s tendency to become mottled or uneven in the printing process – an area where there are no standardised measurement methods. Whether measuring mottling or ink absorption, these would be methods that manufacturers could use to assure and develop the level of quality, rather than something that individual printers or converters would need to use.

Eyes on the prize Designers compete fiercely for attention during fashion week. Jean Paul Gaultierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paperboard binoculars stirred interest well ahead of the Spring/ Summer 1992 showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unveiling.

HOLD ME TIGHT The fashion show invitation is the perfect tool with which to build anticipation, sometimes even surpassing the offerings on the catwalk for creative ingenuity. BY EMMA HOLMQVIST DEACON

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The joker in the pack The late Alexander McQueen, enfant terrible of the fashion world, summoned press and buyers to his spring/summer 2005 show with a playing card invite suggesting “it’s only a game”.

ondon Fashion Week is about to kick off. The doorbell rings. Burberry Prorsum’s invitation has arrived in a crisp envelope. As I unfold the thick double card within, an intricate pop-up cityscape of London takes shape. This is one for the mantelpiece. Although seemingly a small part of a brand’s seasonal package, the fashion show invite is significant; luxury brands and niche labels alike invest considerable time and money to perfect them. In the foreword to a newly published book on the subject, Invitation Strictly Personal, by Iain R. Webb, New York designer Anna Sui writes that she agonises as much over the weight of the paper and printing effects as the colour of the envelope. She even considers which stamp to use, as every detail must echo the vision of the collection she is about to unveil. SHOW INVITATIONS come in many different guises.

Some fashion houses seek to build continuity, sticking to one particular formula for a few seasons running; Italian brand Marni’s vividly coloured, logo-adorned paperboard card is one such example. Others prefer to surprise their audiences with something new every season. Emerging British menswear designer Kit Neale’s versions are as quirky as his collections. A recent presentation involved an all-over print crawling with rats and cockroaches in fond homage to the south London area of Peckham. Come show time, Neale has had the fashion crowd lining up clutching anything from colourful car-freshening trees to paper dolls. IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY take a label as idiosyncratic

as Kit Neale to dream up boundary-pushing concepts. Global powerhouses cut from a more conventional cloth often summon the fashion elite with a sense of fun. Brit-

ish brand Mulberry’s designs hold definite appeal. For the spring/summer 2012 show, press and buyers received an ice cream wafer that played a cheerful tune upon opening. Central Saint Martins art school alumna Sarah Thorne is the brains behind it. What triggered the idea? “Mulberry’s collection was inspired by the ‘Great British Seaside’, so the wafer came directly from that theme,” Thorne explains. “I had been interested in musical birthday cards, hoping I could use that mechanism somehow. The Mulberry team had decided to park an ice cream van outside the show venue, so the two merged together.” Are there any dos and don’ts when in the delicate process of designing invites? “They shouldn't give too much away, just subtly set the scene and build anticipation,” Thorne says. “I imagine opening it and how that would feel. I make lots of mock-ups, playing with board and different types of paper. I try to make everything in 3d as opposed to on-screen. Beyond that, it should just be as amazing as possible, and hopefully become a memento after the show.”

GET NOTICED 01

Iain R. Webb, author of Invitation Strictly Personal, is an esteemed fashion journalist and a visiting professor of fashion at the Royal College of Art in London. How have fashion show invitations changed since you received your first one in the early 1980s? Down the years invitations have been used for a variety of purposes: to impart information (time, date Iain R. Webb and location), prick the imagination or offer clues about the forthcoming collection. Elegant gold-edged cards have long since been forgone in favour of embroidered handkerchiefs, masks, faux passports and credit cards. Like fashion, invitations can be influenced by cultural, social and even political events. Tell us about an invitation shaped by forces other than the designer’s own creative statement. When terrorists attacked Paris during the summer of 1995, security at the spring/ summer 1996 shows was duly tightened. To aid guests through the numerous security checkpoints, Hermès sent their invitation in a transparent plastic version of their trademark Kelly bag. It became the cult accessory of the season.

01 John Galliano Autumn/Winter 2007 02 Mulberry Spring/Summer 2012 03 Zandra Rhodes Spring/Summer 2007

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You’ve included some 300 different versions spanning four decades in your book. Which single invite would you save in a fire? If I was forced to choose only one, I might pick the Alexander McQueen "Black" show invitation as it is not only a fab object (x 2 cardboard and Perspex business cards) but the show, which took place in June 2004, was a totally unique event – a retrospective of the designer’s greatest hits that opened with Kate Moss dancing with punk ballet dancer Michael Clark. Totally a fashion moment!

EXPO OBJECTS FROM IGGESUND TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER

RED GOLD ELEGANT SIMPLICITY Italian packaging designer Pozzoli has used Invercote G to create an exclusive yet simple packaging solution for its client Auriège Paris. “We combined Invercote G with metallic silver film to create a box that is both sophisticated and understated,” says Carlo Bosani, sales and marketing director, Pozzoli S.p.A. “This is achieved by contrasting the shiny and matte silver shades.” Lift CC Cream by Auriège Paris is a high-class, exclusive product, and Pozzoli wanted this status to be reflected in the packaging. “The box is printed with gold and silver Pantone colours and decorated with thin, elegant reliefs on the front and on the sides,” Bosani says. “We used the Invercote G because of its excellent yield and performance, even with <<I think this is what he means, rather than “in spite of”>> fine graphics,” he continues. “With its extremely smooth surface, we were able to combine it with the metallic film to achieve a full silver mirror effect.” CUSTOMER: Auriège Paris DESIGNER: Pozzoli S.p.A. MATERIAL USED: Invercote G 300 PRINTING TECHNIQUE: Offset printing FINISHING OPTIONS: Metallic silver film, embossing, debossing PRINTER: Pozzoli S.p.A.

Saffron, with its rich colouring and unique flavour and aroma, is the most expensive spice in the world. When Dutch saffron importer Golden Result Saffron needed a packaging solution to reflect these exclusive qualities, it looked no further than Invercote. Saffron is known as “red gold”. However, it is actually more expensive than gold, due to the complexity and cost of harvesting it. “I wanted the packaging to trigger a ‘wow’ effect,” says Peter Stutterheim, managing director of Golden Result Saffron, a high-end saffron importer in the Netherlands. “First, there’s the soft touch of the paper, before discovering the ‘red gold’ in a special glass jar. It’s like buying a can of caviar or an exclusive face cream – they’re all packaged to create a sense of anticipation.” Stutterheim found out about Invercote from Belgian printing company Grafische Groep Matthys, whose people told him they could create his packaging concept from paper without using any glue. He didn’t believe them at first, but after seeing a dummy, his mind was made up. “With Invercote, you experience the difference as soon as you touch it, and that made my decision easy,” he adds. “I have a special product, of the highest quality, and that requires the best paperboard – it’s as simple as that.” CUSTOMER: Golden Result Saffron, www.goldenresultsaffron.com DESIGNER: Grafische Groep Matthys, Belgium MATERIAL USED: Invercote G 280 g/m² PRINTING TECHNIQUE: Four-colour offset and in-line cold foil printing FINISHING OPTIONS: Soft touch varnish PRINTER: Grafische Groep Matthys, www.groepmatthys.com iggesund.com

PAPER CHAIRS CARRY HEAVY LOAD

“Cut Clock plays with the dimensions by switching between two- and three-dimensional shapes, so we decided to do the same with furniture,” explains rausgebrannt owner Bernhard Rameder. The result is a foldable paper chair, or Pop UP Chair. Although it is made entirely of paper, it is designed to carry a maximum load of up to 105 kilograms. “We wanted to create a new sensory experience in the furniture industry, using a sustainable, recyclable material,” Rameder says. “You wouldn’t imagine that you could sit on a paper chair, but so far the people who’ve tried it haven’t noticed that it isn’t made of plastic.” Rameder and his colleagues tried a variety of paper products before being tipped off about Invercote by German design magazine Novum. “None of the other materials we tried came anywhere close to the performance of Invercote,” he admits. “We’re using the Bio coating for water resistance, and as a result the folded edges don’t break either.” The Pop UP chairs were initially created as a design study for Vienna Design Week 2014, but following considerable public interest, rausgebrannt is looking into putting them on the market. “As they’re foldable, they take up next to no space, making them ideal for events,” Rameder says. “But they can be also personalised with customer logos and designs for meeting rooms, entrances and so on.” iggesund.com

CUSTOMER: Created for Vienna Design Week 2014 DESIGNER: Bernhard Rameder, rausgebrannt MATERIAL: Invercote Duo 770 g/m² PRINTING TECHNIQUE: Logo printed with UV direct printing FINISHING TECHNIQUE: Laminated with Invercote GP 230 g/m² + 23 g/m² Bio PRINTER: Plandruckplus in Vienna

PHOTO JANN LIPKA

Austrian design studio rausgebrannt is passionate about paper. Having made its name with the eye-catching Cut Clock series, it has turned its attention to furniture – with its new Pop UP chair, made of Invercote.

LUXE ON DEMAND What is a luxury experience, and how does it differ from other experiences? It’s not just the price – in fact, if that’s your criterion, you’re probably just thinking of quality, which is altogether different. TEXT ANTONY RILEY PHOTO MICHAEL TRAVERS, SOCHI OLYMPIC GAMES

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n a bright Barcelona day Michael Travers is booked into the Hotel Arts, one of the city’s top hotels. He is in Barcelona to oversee an event involving a premium product launch, and this afternoon the head of the corporation is arriving in town, yet Travers is the personification of calm. OVER 30 YEARS of experience in live events manage-

Michael Travers

ment and what is now known as Experiential Marketing have made Travers the go-to guy for many international organisations. But most intriguing is how he developed his skill of delivering faultless events of true quality, and in particular conveying that most desirable of feelings – luxury. Starting in hotel management, he studied his craft at some of the world’s most renowned luxury establishments. The extreme attention to detail and service expected at this level was something he later took with him into the world of live events management. “With events you have to create something which people can aspire to and is attainable, if only for a window in time,” Travers explains. “Events themselves may not always call for luxury, but certain companies and venues are always associated with luxury. When you enter the Savoy Hotel, it’s immediately clear you are in a luxury hotel.” Placing a high-quality product in a luxury setting manages to elevate its status. “A product may be seen as a quality product. However, when seen in the context of a hotel with genuine antiques throughout and alongside the dishes of a world-class chef, all is raised to a new level, thus creating a true feeling of luxury for the attendees of the event.” SEPARATING QUALITY from luxury is important to Trav-

ers. “If something is good quality, it means we get what we expect to pay for. However, luxury is beyond that.” iggesund.com

A client in Sweden once approached Travers to create an event to define Swedish luxury. Travers spoke with a friend in Gothenburg who owns a Michelin-starred restaurant. Looking for a venue, he visited every four- and five-star hotel in the city but could not find one that had what he would describe as luxury elements that one would expect in a similarly rated hotel in, say, Cannes. When Travers asked his friend to direct him to Gothenburg’s definition of luxury, he found himself in a small back street where he discovered an exclusive boutique hotel. “It exemplified luxury,” Travers says. “Before you enter you feel like you are about to open a box of the finest luxury chocolates money can buy. In the lobby you are delighted by the vision in front of you. You don’t need to touch to see that every detail of the fabric and décor is of the highest quality, providing a feeling of luxury.” Everything about the hotel in his opinion emanated luxury, from the cut-glass decanters containing fine sherry placed on a silver tray to the silk fabric furnishing. “I wanted to stay in this hotel and bathe in the luxury,” he says.

PROJECTS A selection of projects: VMworld 2014 'No Limits' – Barcelona 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Volvo P312H Tour – European Roadshow South African FIFA Confederation Cup Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, G20. Asian Games, Doha Athens 2004 Olympic Games 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

UPDATES FROM IGGESUND

TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER PHOTO HÅKAN NORDSTRÖM, ROLF LAVERGREN AND JASMINE LEE

IGGESUND EXPANDS PRESENCE IN NORTH AMERICA

Iggesund has established a new inventory and sheeting capability in Pomona, California. Its goal is to make the company’s flagship product, Invercote, readily available to commercial print and packaging customers in California and beyond. Invercote is a niche product in the United States, and this move is a response to increasing interest from brand owners on the West Coast. “We’ve been in the U.S. for more than 30 years, but our distribution footprint has been concentrated on the East Coast,” says Rickard Österlindh, president Iggesund Americas. “Now is the time to increase our presence on the West Coast, where we know there is a density of brand owners who will appreciate the quality level we offer with Invercote.” Iggesund is arranging an event in San Francisco on November 5, 2015 with in depth seminars on quality and sustainability with the overall theme A touch of Sweden.

PLANT A TREE WITH IGGESUND Iggesund has launched a new type of gift card, whose value is symbolic rather than monetary. For every gift card that is activated by its owner, the company has pledged to plant 10 trees. As part of its “Adopt a Tree” initiative, Iggesund has reserved a forest area with enough space to plant tree seedlings for 3,000 customers. “The forests are our planet’s lungs and a prerequisite for our long-term survival,” says Iggesund Paperboard CEO Annica Bresky. “Our well-managed forests transform carbon dioxide into life-giving oxygen and function as nature’s own carbon sink.

“We want to make it clear to all our customers that the price of Invercote or Incada includes replanting, which will create at least as much new forest as the amount we harvested,” Bresky says. “We’d like people to know that our paperboard is one of only a few packaging materials that actually gives something back to nature.” Iggesund is part of the Holmen Group, which is on the United Nations’ list of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies. The Group produces more than 30 million tree seedlings annually as part of its replanting strategy.

Annica Bresky

NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTRE IN ASIA

Iggesund has opened an enhanced sheeting and warehousing facility in Taiwan. The new facility will not only create a new distribution channel for Asia, but it will also keep Invercote in stock and offer local sheeting from a service point in Taiwan. The aim is to shorten lead times and provide better service to Asian customers. “We’re continuously evolving together with our customers’ needs,” says Ivan Chong, business area director, Asia Pacific. “Just the announcement of the enhanced availability of Invercote in Asia Pacific has gained new business.”

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THE OUTSIDE COUNTS TOO! “The packaging should exude luxury”

Packaging company Model AG’s clientele includes Läderach, a Swiss family-owned company that produces luxury chocolate of the highest quality. The company’s exclusive, fragile luxury chocolates place particularly high demands on the packaging. “If you’re selling a luxury product, customers also want to feel that quality in the p ackaging,” says Martin Sutnar, senior product manager at Läderach AG. TEXT KICKI RISANDER PHOTO MODEL AG

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witzerland is renowned not only Capturing flavor and keeping up for luxury products like exclusive appearances. For watches and high-quality cheeses, luxury brands there is no other way but also for its first-rate chocolate. than luxury packagThe first Swiss chocolate factory was ing. established in 1819, and it was here that the milk chocolate bar was first developed. But when it comes to real class, only one thing counts: luxury chocolates. The Swiss family of chocolatiers behind Läderach ag has been producing handmade Swiss chocolate and confectionery specialities of the highest quality for more than 50 years. FrischSchoggi, which is available in more than 20 flavours, is famous among chocolate The Swiss consume the most cacao in the world – over 5.9 lovers around the world. Besides kilograms of cacao per person. the company’s 50 boutiques of its Of the chocolate sold, 20 percent own, the chocolate is also sold is dark chocolate, 75 percent is through distributors in the Middle milk chocolate and 5 percent is white chocolate. East and Asia, and through selected retailers in Europe. For the past five years it has also been possible to buy Läderach’s chocolate via the online shop. However, selling products online places extra high demands on the packaging. For this reason, the chocolates available online

DID YOU KNOW?

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are limited to a specially selected range that can cope with the temperature variations that can arise during the delivery process. This is particularly important because Läderach’s chocolate is renowned in particular for its freshness. Since the company makes the chocolate itself, it has full control over the The Company was founded by Louis entire value chain, from cacao Model in 1882. Today the company has bean to sales counter. This sets 15 subsidiaries in nine countries and has more than 3,100 employees in SwitzerLäderach apart from its competiland, Germany, Austria, France, the Czech tors and enables it to guarantee Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and top-quality sustainable products. Croatia. Its headquarters is in Weinfelden, But a high-class chocolate in north-eastern Switzerland. Model’s largest customers are in the food, cosneeds the right packaging: the metics and luxury goods industries. packaging is crucial to retaining the product’s flavour, aroma and consistency. When packaging fragile luxury goods like chocolates, it is important to use tried-and-tested packaging components that provide the best possible protection. But the packaging material must not migrate into the product. The packaging must also exude luxury and live up to the brand, and of course it must be organic and environmentally sound. 01 Pleasure in the making “The packaging is an integral part of the quality of the 02 Organic chocolate and should form a well-balanced whole with Only the best works the contents,” says Martin Sutnar, senior product manager.

MODEL GROUP

PROTECT THE TASTE Whenever foodstuffs are packaged, there is a risk that some of the packaging materials will “migrate or transfer” into the food itself. Packaging manufacturers go to great lengths to keep this from happening. For luxury goods like high-end chocolates, it is of utmost importance that nothing migrates from the packaging to the product and influences is taste. Regulations that govern the migration have been sharpened in recent years, and Iggesund Paperboard performs stringent migration tests to make sure that its board materials meet all the requirements. These tests involve bringing various types of food simulants into contact with the board and storing them for specific time periods at specified temperatures. After this contact period, the amounts of substances that have migrated can be used to estimate total migration, or specifically analysed to identify and quantify the substances. The limits apply to packaging materials made of several components.Paperboard made of virgin fibre pulp has the highest possible purity and provides packaged products with the best odour and taste neutrality. While the board is often the basis of the packaging, other components such as printing inks and varnishes may contribute considerably to the migration.

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This is why Läderach is working closely with Model ag to produce packaging that reflects the quality of the exclusive contents. Besides the visual aspects such as colours, surface treatments and tactile effects, the choice of material plays an important role. “Needless to say, special safe inks are used that are approved for use in food packaging,” says Miroslav Gligoric, sales manager at Model ag. “Food safety is our number one priority.” Gligoric likes chocolate himself. “Chocolate is a joy to eat, and well-designed packaging should inspire an emotional purchase decision among consumers,” he says. “The packaging we’ve developed for Läderach is very appealing. It bears testimony to our innovative creativity, while it also meets high quality requirements and represents suitable brand positioning for Läderach.”

WHEN THE PRODUCT REQUIRES THAT LITTLE BIT EXTRA… Packaging refined luxury goods such as perfume or chocolates requires that little bit extra. Model Group, which specialises in complex, attractive transport packaging made from paperboard and containerboard, knows this. “It’s our responsibility to ensure the contents are packaged in the optimum way, which is why we create specially adapted packaging solutions in consultation with the customer,” says Miroslav Gligoric, sales manager at Model AG, Au. Model Group develops and produces smart, innovative packaging solutions from solid paperboard and containerboard. Each package is specially designed to suit the product. “Our speciality at Au is complex, attractive luxury packaging for confectionery, made from solid paperboard, paper and composite materials,” explains Miroslav Gligoric, sales manager at Model AG. Each package creates an impression

Miroslav Gligoric

and stirs a range of emotions in the consumer. What does it look like, how does it communicate the brand, how does the material feel in the hand, what is it like to open, what does it smell like? Basic transport packaging is fine for some goods, but other, more delicate goods such as chocolates, perfumes and food require more complex, bespoke solutions in exclusive paperboard with creative, refined paper wrappings. Model Group produces an array of folding boxes, displays, decorations, trays, luxury and gift packaging, transport packaging and packaging for transporting hazardous goods, among other products. “As a service we also offer copackaging and recycling as well as flexographic, offset and digital printing in large volumes,” Gligoric says. The tailor-made solutions are devel-

oped in close collaboration with the customer – all the way from concept and product development to production and delivery. “First and foremost, the packaging must fulfil the customers’ needs,” Gligoric says. “Other important criteria are good product protection and a well-devised, ergonomic design.” In other words, there is a lot to consider when producing the optimum packaging for each product. However, choosing material from Iggesund was easy. “Iggesund Paperboard meets our high demands when it comes to printability and further processing for the food industry,” Gligoric says. “Its different types of paperboard are ideal for packaging adapted for the confectionery industry.”

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DESIGN S It was designed as a prize, and now it has won a prize. A three-dimensional ‘S’ made of Invercote is just one example of this paperboard’s multifunctionality. TEXT CARI SIMMONS PHOTO BVD

NVERCOTE G turned out to be the

perfect material when Stockholm-based design and branding agency bvd was conceptualizing the national Design S prize, the Oscar Award of Swedish design. The Swedish Society of Crafts and Design awards the s to professional designers, architects and companies for exceptional design.

OVER THE YEARS, the bvd team has made the biennial award out of everything from recycled glass to pine to cast iron. Continuing in this vein, and aiming literally for a lighter touch, bvd turned to paperboard for the 2014 competition. “It was really liberating to work with paperboard,” says Rikard Ahlberg, bvd’s design director and partner. Working with paper designer Egil Jansson, bvd developed an s that Ahlberg says turned out even better than he had anticipated. “Invercote was the natural choice for Egil,” Ahlberg says. “He had worked with it a lot before, and he knew that it was flexible and would bend and fold well.” Inspired by origami, the s was accordion-pleated. The paperboard was folded inside out, exposing the uncoated side to achieve a matt feel and finish.

BVD and Egil Jansson’s Invercote S won a Bronze Pencil in the printing and paper craft category at the international One Show competition.

SWEDISH SIMPLICITY and light were also

inspirational while working on the letter. “The white paperboard really reflects the light well, creating interesting shadows,” Ahlberg says. “Working with paperboard feels more playful than other media.” Holding the s up to the wall where shadows settle on and behind the 3d piece, he adds matter-of-factly, “s is the best letter. It’s the most beautiful of all the letters with its never-ending form.” Obviously he’s not the only one to feel this way. Not only was the graceful S a hit with the customer, but it also took home a Bronze Pencil award at the 2015 One Show competition in New York. iggesund.com

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