— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

South African packaging and paper producer Mondi (Johannesburg; www.mondigroup.com) has announced the opening of a research and development centre in Steinfeld, Germany, geared at flexible packaging solutions.

Called FlexStudios, the innovation hub is located near a production plant. Its 2,300 m² contain an R&D area, laboratory and testing facilities, as well as pilot lines to develop and demonstrate product performance.

With its new centre, Mondi said it is aiming for a close collaboration with customers and less time-to-market for new solutions.

Related: Mondi and traceless team up to test alternative paper coating

A company spokesperson told Plasteurope.com this was the first such innovation centre for Mondi’s flexible packaging, but declined to disclose how much the company invested in the hub.

To meet the growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions, in different news, Mondi has announced the start-up of its new extrusion line at Mondi Coating Štĕti in the Czech Republic. The extrusion line is part of a wider investment that includes a new production building with machinery with coating and slitting capabilities, for example.

The investment expands the production of FunctionalBarrier Papers and other high-quality coated papers, offering paper-based solutions with customised barrier properties. Applications range from food- and non-food-contact packaging to industrial solutions, such as case linings for solid board and barrier liners for corrugated case materials. The packaging company did not give any details about investment costs and the additional production capacity.

In H1 2024, Mondi reported sales of EUR 3.7 bn (-3.6% against H1 2023) and an underlying EBITDA of EUR 565 mn (-17% against H1 2023) from continuing operations. In an update on trading for the three months to 30 September 2024 published in October, the company said the underlying EBITDA for the third quarter was lower than the previous quarter, at EUR 223 mn (Q2 2024: EUR 351 mn), primarily due to more planned maintenance shuts and a forestry fair value loss, in addition to softer seasonal demand and higher input costs.