A journey towards new paper solutions
It all started in 2002 when we rebuilt our first newsprint machines. The alterations to PM11 allowed us to produce a new kind of paper that was stable and thick yet lightweight and had great surface properties. It quickly became a favourite among publishers of direct mail and catalogues since it gave them the opportunity to use a lower grammage but still get the same thickness of the paper. The change took of well, and grew to other segments. A key was the even paper qualities we could achieve thanks to our focused development and reliable production processes.
Close collaboration
One of the most important factors behind the success was close collaboration with our customers. Listening to their needs and challenges is what inspires us to keep evolving and to develop new products. So since then we have introduced products like Holmen VIEW, Holmen UNIQ, Holmen TRND and Holmen EPIC, followed by mechanical paper market leader Holmen BOOK and the fairly new Holmen NOTE. In the early 2020’s we stepped in as a packaging paper supplier, with the void fill product Holmen SURE and Holmen INNR for containerboard. Each one of these papers with different characteristics that our customers could not find in the traditional paper market, and brought new advantages.
The role of paper in society today
Paper has an important role to play in today’s society. It is a renewable material, one of the most recycled materials in the world. There are other means for communication available – digital and print now existing side by side. But the tactile aspect of interacting with a physical item such as a book, booklet or magazine should never be downplayed. The situation when we read on paper compared to from a screen is different, regarding how the human mind concentrates, understands and remembers.
And in a world where goods and products are distributed globally and often directly to households, it becomes even more important that the packaging materials are sustainably produced and based on renewable materials. The packaging industry benefits when paper components are light but still live up to the requirements regarding thickness and stability, for lighter distribution.
Traceable, sustainable and recyclable
Working at Holmen Paper means going in every day and doing good. We make products that are traceable, sustainable and recyclable. The wood chips and pulp wood used in our paper products comes from sustainably managed Swedish forests that thrive.
The amount of forest in Sweden has doubled during the last 100 years and it just keeps growing. Our production processes are highly regulated and we constantly strive to decrease consumption of fuels, water and chemicals. The water we use in our production is returned to the sea cleaner than when it entered the mill. Our water purification plants use advanced multi-stage processes to remove and take care of any potentially harmful substances.
The paper we produce has a long and productive life, since the individual fibres are needed for making new paper. They can be recycled up to seven times. When they are too short and worn to serve as paper fibres, they end their days as bio energy for power or district heating. Would you like to know more about our sustainable production? Read all about it here.