WestRock Company announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Plymouth Packaging, Inc. (“Plymouth”). Plymouth is a corrugated packaging company that derives approximately 70% of its sales from its “Box on Demand” systems and corrugated fanfold, and 30% from traditional corrugated box packaging. Plymouth’s market-leading “Box on Demand” systems are located on the customer’s site and use fanfold corrugated to produce custom, on-demand corrugated packaging that is accurately sized for any product type according to the customer’s specifications. Fanfold corrugated is continuous corrugated board, folded periodically to form an accordion-like stack of corrugated material. Plymouth installs “Box on Demand” machines on its customers’ sites under multi-year exclusive agreements for the fanfold corrugated supply. Click Read More below for additional information.

Packaging Corporation of America recently celebrated the start of construction of its new full-line corrugated box plant in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Attendees at the official groundbreaking included PCA management; the mayor of Marshfield and other city officials; the builders of the new facility; and employees from the nearby Colby plant, who were transported on coach buses to Marshfield for the event. PCA's new, state-of-the-art plant will replace the existing plant in Colby. Many of that plant's long-time employees will continue to work at Marshfield, which is about 20 miles from Colby. Click Read More below for additional information.

Continuing its focus on global sustainability leadership and aligned with its ‘from Plastic to Purpose’ campaign, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has released a pioneering mono-material oxygen barrier technology made of 100% cellulose fibers. The PureBarrier™ technology is based on Genuine Vegetable Parchment and boasts numerous attributes including oxygen and gas barrier properties as well as natural wet strength. It is naturally grease resistant, does not contain any loose fiber or added chemicals, and can be made heat sealable with a biopolymer which makes it suitable for a limitless number of applications. Most importantly, its sustainable ‘from Plastic to Purpose’ features including biodegradability and compostability, make PureBarrier™ a great alternative to non-renewable oxygen barrier packaging. “Our ‘ƒrom Plastic to Purpose’ campaign continues to raise awareness on the possibilities of fiber-based solutions as a renewable option,” said Robyn Buss, Executive Vice President of Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Food Packaging & Technical Solutions. “By educating the marketplace on paper-based packaging options available we are encouraging global industry stakeholders to consider fiber and paper-based alternatives where plastic and non-renewable materials are used today.”