The 3D Muoto® innovation replaces plastic
Metsä Group’s 3D fibre product has been produced at Metsä Group’s and Valmet’s demo plant in Äänekoski since May 2022. Using brand new technology, the products are pressed from wood fibre into their final form and their properties can be tailored during the production process according to the intended purpose. Ready-to-use three-dimensional Muoto products are suitable for such applications as food packaging. If the market interest and product viability can be proved on a large scale, Metsä Group will consider building a larger production unit.
impacts of different materials, and with concrete packaging solu- tions for improving recyclability and material efficiency. In 2022, we organised 45 packaging development workshops at our Excellence Centre in Äänekoski. Metsä Group and Fortum’s ExpandFibre programme promoting the circular bioeconomy continued in 2022. Among other things, the programme focused on organising cooperation with packaging design companies and packaging technology companies and developing solutions to packaging challenges identified in develop- ment workshops. One example of these efforts was the moderni- sation of the pastry packaging used by bakeries, with Viipurilainen Kotileipomo as the pilot company. The packaging was developed with usability, ecology and layout in mind. The result was a pastry package that is easy to assemble, and that reduces the need for material by 25% and carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 34%.
potential products are being tested in the laboratory, and some proceeded to production testing last year. In accordance with our product development process, the prerequisites for sales and production will first be determined before making decisions about commercialisation. In 2022, we established a systematic development programme for reducing the use of all fossil-based raw materials. As part of this, we work with suppliers to find ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the raw materials we purchase. We have set as our goal that by the end of 2030, all the solutions and polymers developed for paperboards will be based on fossil free raw materials. Deeper customer cooperation We used our 360 Services to further strengthen our customer relationships. The services cover five areas: Sustainability Service; Packaging Design Service; Technical Service; R&D Service; and the Supply Chain and Digital Service. We helped our customers, for example, with life-cycle assess- ments of packaging, data-based comparisons of the environmental
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Business operations and value creation | METSÄ BOARD ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022
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