PulPac has introduced the Production Unit 300 ton (PU300), a standardised production line which the company says makes shifting from plastic converting or traditional fiber molding to dry molded fiber easier than ever.
The PulPac PU300 is engineered as a modular industrial production line, ready for food grade production of high-volume dry molded fiber products. The first demonstration line has been set up in PulPac’s Tech Center in Sweden, where manufacturing of sustainable spoons made of cellulose fibers has begun. Starting annual capacity is 230 million spoons. Single-use cutlery demands billions of units each year, especially with the EU-wide ban on non-sustainable plastic cutlery coming to effect July 1st this year.
“The versatility, cost structure and market readiness of dry molded fiber opens exciting opportunities for both fiber and plastic converters. In a few years, it will be possible to manufacture dry molded fiber bottles and other complex products. But already today you can commercialise affordable high-volume products like spoons, trays, lids, bowls, – paper products that can hold grease and water without toxic chemicals – which are all ready for production with the PU300 platform,” said Sanna Fager, CCO at PulPac.
The dry process enables the line to run extremely fast, PulPac claims, with cycle time and production rates on par with plastic manufacturing. The process does not waste valuable water resources nor impact the wastewater infrastructure. Its claimed to be more energy-efficient than conventional fiber molding and enables material efficiency of up to 99% with in-line recycling.
“The PU300 machine platform is a milestone for making affordable fiber-based packaging globally available. To meet the massive interest from brands and converters, we are now scaling supply chains by building a global community of world leading dry molded fiber suppliers. We welcome converters, machine builders, brands and fiber providers to join us and transform the industry from within,” said Linus Larsson, CEO and Co-founder.
The first dry molded fiber products will reach the market in a variety of segments this year.
