Sonoco announced it has completed the acquisition of Clear Lam Packaging, Inc., a family-held developer and manufacturer of flexible and forming plastic packaging films, for approximately $170 million in cash. Founded in 1969, the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based company is projecting 2017 sales of approximately $140 million and operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Elk Grove Village and Nanjing, China, with nearly 400 total employees. Clear Lam is a technology leader in the development, production and conversion of high barrier flexible and forming films used to package a variety of products for consumer packaged goods companies and retailers, with a focus on structures used for perishable foods. Clear Lam President and CEO James Sanfilipo and other key members of its management team are expected to remain with the company. Clear Lam’s financial results will be added to Sonoco’s Consumer Packaging segment. Click Read More below for additional details.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is bringing the market an improved version of MetsäBoard Classic FBB, pushing the industry forward with its higher-than-ever print quality and a lower-than-ever carbon footprint. Known and loved for its stable quality, stiffness and light weight, and its ability to consistently deliver, MetsäBoard Classic FBB is already the leading choice for fast moving goods, such as food and healthcare packaging. Thanks to an approximately EUR 60 million modernisation of the Simpele folding boxboard mill, it will now deliver further improved print quality that extends the end use area of the grade to even more demanding print jobs. “By combining curtain coating and blade coating, the newest version of MetsäBoard Classic FBB delivers more visual uniformity and brighter and more vivid images, which we believe is going to help our customers’ products truly stand out on store and pharmacy shelves,” says Maarten Florizoone, Vice President, Growth, Folding Boxboard. “It’s kicking off a new era in folding boxboard.” Energy consumed at Simpele mill to produce MetsäBoard Classic FBB has already been 89% fossil-free, and that number is estimated to reach 98% by the end of 2025.

Sonoco announced it is implementing a $50 per ton price increase for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) in the United States and Canada, effective with shipments beginning November 16, 2020. Sonoco cited significantly longer backlogs at its mills along with continuing inflation of input costs, especially freight and papermaking chemicals as the drivers for this pricing action.