Diversified global packaging company Sonoco’s board of directors has given clearance to enhance its uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) mill system in the US and Canada. The board has approved an $83m investment for the initiative.
The majority of the investment will be used in modernising its Hartsville, South Carolina, corrugated medium machine (No. 10 machine). It will be converted into an advanced URB machine by early 2022.
Following conversion, it will have a production capacity of approximately 180,000 tonnes per year. The transformation will support Sonoco’s industrial and consumer converted products businesses and external trade customers.
Sonoco president and chief executive officer Howard Coker said: “We are calling this investment Project Horizon, as we will be creating a much brighter future for our domestic URB mill system while resolving the volatility we have experienced as an independent producer of corrugated medium from our No. 10 machine.
“These investments will drive significant operating cost savings, ensure the long-term viability of our Hartsville paper mill complex and place our US and Canada URB mill system into the top quartile of performance from a cost perspective.”
For other businesses, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is proving a good opportunity to re-evaluate plastics alongside other materials.
A representative from global plastics manufacturer Hi-Cone Gateway said: “Covid-19 has changed the world as we know it, from consumer habits to recycling capacity. Staying indoors provides us with more time on our hands.
“Jennifer Perr, the sustainability director of Hi-Cone, believes this is a time when we can learn to recycle more and truly understand different materials’ impact on the circular economy.”
The representative added that Hi-Cone has put effort into researching the environmental impacts of different materials, including plastic and paperboard.