With a share of more than one third of group sales, which fell 3% to EUR 7.27 bn in fiscal 2019, flexible packaging is the largest business unit of packaging and paper company Mondi (Vienna; www.mondigroup.com). This is followed by corrugated base paper and packaging (around 28% of sales), uncoated fine paper (24%) and engineered materials with diapers, hygiene and incontinence products (13%).

The turnover generated by the flexibles fraction in 2019 was EUR 2.71 bn, the same as the previous year. According to a company spokesperson, polymer-based flexible packaging accounts for around 20% of this, the remaining solutions – including industrial bags made of kraft paper for the building materials and food industries – are made from cellulose fibres.

Adjusted EBITDA at Flexible Packaging increased 18% year-on-year to EUR 543m in 2019, with higher average selling prices, positive currency effects and “good cost control” more than offsetting lower paper bag volumes, according to Andrew King, CFO at Mondi. King will succeed Peter Oswald as CEO on 1 April 2020. Oswald is moving to the same position at competitor Mayr Melnhof – see Plasteurope.com of 15.01.2020.

Earlier in 2020, Mondi had announced the closure of two UK flexibles plants in Deeside and Nelson in the second half of the year. According to the spokesperson, UK demand for products manufactured at these sites – films for food, pre-made bags and valves for the “SteamFast” packaging system for steam cooking in the microwave – is limited.

Together with cleaning agent company Werner & Mertz (Mainz / Germany; www.werner-mertz.com), Mondi has developed a completely recyclable mono-material bag made of polyethylene with a detachable banderole during a four-year cooperation. This bag was recently awarded the “WorldStar 2020” packaging prize for its “100% recyclability”. About 80% of the “StripPouch” is unprinted. Since the printed banderole is free of adhesives and bonding agents, it can be used in new applications. The spout and closure are also made of PE.

The design of this stand-up pouch even had an influence on the design of the sorting facilities of Germany’s “dual system” waste disposal scheme. This is because, until now, there was no sorting and recycling option for the category “film pieces smaller than the [international paper] size DIN A4.” Instead, they were sent for thermal recycling. “The proportion of film in ‘yellow sacks’ [Germany’s packaging collection] is about 40% and thus holds an enormous potential that has not been exploited to date,” says Werner & Mertz packaging developer Immo Sander.