Description

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is a global leader in fiber-based materials, supplying innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers. Our mission is to expand the role of fiber-based solutions for sustainable everyday life.

Our offering include filter materials, release liners, food and beverage processing materials, decor papers, abrasive and tape backings, electrotechnical paper, glass fiber materials, medical fiber materials and solutions for diagnostics as well as a range of specialty papers for industrial and consumer end-uses. Our annual net sales are about EUR 3 billion and we employ some 8,000 people. The Ahlstrom-Munksjö share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki and Stockholm.

Products

Our products are used in a large variety of everyday applications, such as tea bags, coffee capsules and filters, food packaging and baking papers, face masks, health care materials, products for diagnostics and surface finishing decor papers.

Plastic-free and compostable fiber-based tapes.

Obstacles are in tape impregnating process where styrene acrylate – a petrochemical material – is used to avoid glue absorbing into the tape material and the other one is the used glue. There are already existing solutions in the market to replace glue with bioadhesive product, but previously there was no solution to avoid the use of styrene acrylate.

We have developed and patented a production method in which we have replaced the need of impregnating tape base with styrene acrylate. Our product is called the D-tape. With bioadhesive glue, the tape is fully biodegradable and a fiber-based tape doesn’t leave any plastic or microplastic remains. D-tape is a plastic-free and environmentally friendly product.

Currently, the price is ca. 3 times higher than BOPP tapes, but if we consider tape being only a fraction of the packaging material costs – changing into plastic-free and biodegradable solutions will have a very limited price impact. According to a survey, 10% of the BOPP manufacturers are likely to change to D-tape even at the higher price and 20% of German end-users view biodegradability extremely important.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö committed to more sustainable World. Our slogan “imagine fiber” pushes us to the boundaries to challenge the limits and we will continue developing innovative products to replace plastic.