Emily Frieden from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York triumphed in USA Packaging Design Impact Award (PIDA) and earned this year’s Gold Award. Her entry “Lavash” impressed the jury most with its “attention to detail in every aspect of the brand, design, and execution.” Lavash is a volcano-shaped package for a shower set. The design features all stages of volcanic activity – dormant, active, and extinct. Even the typography mimics volcanic eruptions. “When I was researching different elements of nature I was really inspired by the juxtaposition of the restorative parts of volcanoes,” says Emily Frieden. “It’ s just cool, fun, nature. I thought there’ s a lot I can do there, how I can bring that experience to packaging. It was a lot of fun.” At PIDA, design students from universities and colleges from seven countries compete with their creative packaging designs. The competition is organized as five separate events: the USA, Sweden, France/Belgium, the UK, China*, and Germany/Austria. The winners of the Gold Award at each event will meet in a Grand Finale at Luxe Pack Monaco in October.

Norske Skog Skogn is proud to announce that the company’s major conversion project from recycled paper to pure wood fiber is now yielding concrete results. As part of this initiative, Norske Skog Skogn is launching a new packaging product made from 100% fresh wood fiber. The product is certified for direct food contact and represents an important milestone in Norske Skog Skogn’s transformation toward sustainable solutions. “The launch of this new packaging product marks a major step in our sustainability strategy and our ability to adapt to market demands,” says Håvard Busklein, Managing Director of Norske Skog Skogn. “The use of pure, Nordic spruce fiber without plastic or chemical coatings gives us a competitive advantage, especially in a market increasingly demanding safer and more environmentally friendly options for food packaging.”

The Mayr-Melnhof Group has reached an agreement to acquire Kotkamills Group Oyj from the previous owners for an enterprise value of around EUR 425 million; this corresponds to approximately 7.8 times the EBITDA of the last twelve months. With the takeover of Kotkamills, MM Karton will expand its position in the attractive market for virgin fiber board (FBB) and Food Service Board (FSB) and complement its established market position in recycled cardboard. The planned transaction will have an immediate impact on earnings. Kotkamills operates two cardboard/paper machines at the integrated location in Kotka (southern Finland): one FBB / FSB cardboard machine, which was commissioned in 2016 after an investment of more than 180 million EUR, with a current sales volume of around 260,000 t and one planned capacity of 400,000 t; a machine for Saturated Kraft Paper / impregnation paper with a capacity of 170,000 t, which makes the company one of the world's leading suppliers. Kotkamills employs around 500 people and in the last twelve months achieved an EBITDA of around EUR 55 million on sales of around EUR 380 million.