High quality products demand high quality paperboard - M-real shows lightweight, sustainable Carta Boards at Luxepack 2009

21/10/2009
M-real Corporation Press release 21 October 2009 at 14:00

M-real Consumer Packaging, Europe's leading supplier of high quality folding
boxboards, is showing its Carta range of lightweight and sustainable boards
developed especially for luxury packaging such as beautycare, high quality
consumer goods and confectionery.  Besides the Carta range, Chromolux, the
premium high gloss board, is completing the wide M-real offer. 

M-real will also share with visitors the results of its latest consumer
perception studies, examining how buying decisions can be based on signals sent
by a product's packaging and its appeal based on two senses - sight and touch -
as well as user experience. 

Sustainability is another issue of vital importance to the industry, and M-real
will demonstrate how lightweighting its products without loss of printability,
stiffness or other benefits can help brand owners and converters reduce their
own carbon footprint and waste, as well as effecting cost savings. 

Carta boards for attractive designs

Carta Elega, the newest member of M-real's range of efficient and
fit-for-purpose cartonboards, is ideal for fragrances, make up, toiletries and
other demanding packaging. This two-side coated folding boxboard combines
superior visual smoothness with high brightness, and an equal bluish-white
shade on both sides gives excellent print quality.  Exceptional surface
properties make it ideal for foil lamination and special features such as
embossing and hot foil stamping. 

The two other members of Carta Board family are Carta Integra and Carta Solida,
both recommended for high-quality packaging such as fragrances and make-up
products. Their brilliant visual appearance enables attractive print results,
and high brightness leaves unprinted areas with a clean look. These boards have
a middle layer of BCTMP (bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp), a pulp that
ensures excellent sensory properties thanks to its high purity.  This unique
pulp also contributes to sharper edges and a tidy appearance of the reverse
side. 

CHROMOLUX - value your packaging

The wide Chromolux range offers a multitude of design options for luxury brands
and tailor-made packaging solutions for customers with upmarket tastes. 
Synonymous with maximum gloss, Chromolux attracts the attention of customers,
and its extremely smooth and even surface opens up enormous design potential. 
It is the ideal material for all types of foil lamination and for high-quality
finishing techniques such as blind and relief embossing, ensuring a luxurious
brand appearance and the development of individual brand identities. 

Consumer perception studies

To learn more about the driving forces behind the consumer's buying decision,
M-real's most recent consumer perception study concentrated on different shapes
of carton as well as importance of the board grade used in the package. The
test was carried out by an external research institute, using specially
produced chocolate boxes. 

Participants evaluated five different shape designs.  Results showed that
consumers found the unusual forms carton shapes more interesting and they were
ready to pay more for a product in an attractively designed carton.  Also ease
of use, such as in opening of the carton was appreciated, to the extent of
overturning an earlier preference for an interesting shape and potentially
influencing repurchase decisions. 

Cost savings and sustainability through lightweighting and high consistency

Lightweighting of products has been a major part of M-real's strategy in recent
years.  Lighter weight boards offer the same properties of stiffness and bulk
as heavier conventional grades, but in lower substances. This means they can be
specified for luxury applications without losing a quality feel.  They offer
cost savings and benefit the environment thanks to lighter transport weights
and less waste at the end of their lifecycle. A key factor in lightweighting is
the use of BCTMP pulp, the development of which has been driven by M-real. 

M-real has also tightened its tolerances to be the tightest in the trade,
ensuring better consistency in board quality.  This results in clear savings
and improves sustainability.  For example, in board thickness M-real's target
value for consistency is plus or minus 3%, compared to the 5% considered the
norm in the industry.  Variations in thickness lead to inconsistency in
printing results, as well as stoppages and waste in converting and packing
lines. 

Link to photo:
http://databank.metsaliitto.com/metsaliitto/mreal.jsp?x=6061798&i=19925170169223
201164412222919484142142154231 

Notes to editors:

M-real's primary fibre boards available globally through M-real's sales and
logistics network: 

Carta Integra Fully coated BCTMP board with coated back. Recommended for
fragrances, make up-products, toiletries, medical products, hygiene products,
chocolate confectionery, and other demanding packaging as well as graphics.
Available in 170-330 gsm. 
Carta Elega Fully coated folding boxboard (GC1). Recommended for fragrances,
make up-products, toiletries, hair colouration products, and other demanding
packaging as well as graphics. Available in 200-380 gsm. 
Carta Solida Fully coated BCTMP board with white back. Recommended for
chocolate confectionery, fragrances, make-up products, toiletries, medical
products, and hygiene products as well as graphics. Available in 185-320 gsm. 
CHROMOLUX Cast coated range of modern white and coloured boards. Recommended
for confectionary, fragrances and other luxury packaging as well as many
different kinds of graphical applications. Available in 180-400 gsm. 


For further information about Carta grades please contact M-real Consumer
Packaging: 

Sophie Fily, Marketing Communications Manager
Mobile +33 688064868
E-mail: sophie.fily(at)m-real.com

For further information about CHROMOLUX please contact M-real Zanders GmbH,
Speciality Papers: 

Christian Drissler, Marketing Manager
Tel.: +49 2202 156662
E-mail: christian.drissler(at)m-real.com

www.chromolux.de

M-real in brief:

M-real is Europe's leading primary fibre paperboard producer and a major paper
supplier. The company's customers include brand owners, carton printers,
converters, publishers, printing houses, merchants and office suppliers. 

M-real supports its customers' businesses by providing high-performance
paperboards and quality papers for consumer packaging, communications and
advertising end-uses. Together with its customers and partners, M-real develops
products and services for demanding end uses. The company's paperboard is
mainly used for the packaging of beautycare and healthcare products, foods,
cigarettes, and consumer durables as well as graphics. Paper is mainly used for
office papers as well as wallcoverings and other speciality end uses. 

M-real's business areas are Consumer Packaging, Office Papers and Speciality
Papers and the reporting structure includes also Market Pulp and Energy
segment. 

M-real is headquartered in Finland. In 2008, the company's sales totalled EUR
3.2 billion, and it has approximately 6,100 employees. M-real, part of
Metsäliitto Group, is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.