Mondi Group and Mondi Packaging

In various paper grades and packaging segments it is a leading player in Europe and South Africa. In 2006, the Mondi Group generated sales of EUR 5.75. The Mondi Group has been dual-listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges since July 2007.

Mondi Packaging, a member of the Mondi Group, is a global paper and plastic packaging company. The company is active in the corrugated, bag and flexibles businesses and is a packaging specialist for containerboard, corrugated packaging solutions, kraft paper, industrial bags, extrusion coating, release liners and consumer flexibles solutions. Mondi Packaging has over 90 production facilities in more than 30 countries. 16,000 employees are dedicated to developing customised packaging solutions for optimally protecting and promoting customers’ products.

Sustainability

Sustainable development for Mondi means constantly considering and acting on the environmental, safety, economic and social implications of every decision made.

To support this, an important element of the Sustainable Development Management System (SDMS) is a full set of policies.

These policies guide Mondi Packaging’s approach and actions in the following areas:

• corporate governance and transparency
• observing the company’s commitments to people, communities and the environment
• ensuring the implementation of best practice policies in:
  o sustainable forestry
  o environmental protection
  o climate change impact minimisation
  o product stewardship
  o corporate citizenship
  o global employment
  o safety and occupational health

These policies apply across all the operations owned and managed by Mondi Packaging and are supported by training, education, consultation, auditing and other resources needed.

Mondi Packaging Flexibles

Mondi Packaging Flexibles is an innovative supplier of plastic- and paper-based as well as barrier materials, providing technologies such as extrusion coating, laminating, blown film extrusion, siliconising and printing as well as bag and pouch converting.

The Mondi Packaging Coating & Release division, a major part of Mondi Packaging Flexibles, has a production and sales network with operations on both sides of the Atlantic with various unique production systems. Innovation is an important part of their approach, and customers around the world benefit from advanced, efficient product and service solutions.

Services

Mondi Packaging Coating & Release is committed to being more than a supplier of high-quality and efficient materials. The company is also a reliable partner offering intelligent product, service and logistics solutions that are closely oriented to their customers' requirements.

At the end of 2006 Mondi Packaging Coating & Release implemented a web-based B2B platform for electronic processing and exchange of documents such as purchase orders, order confirmations and delivery messages. This reduction in paper flow helps reduce administrative cost and speeds up communication: The customer has a full view of goods in stock and goods in transit and can even use the platform as an intelligent stock management tool – 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

Furthermore Mondi Packaging Coating & Release regards RFID as an important technology to achieve new logistics standards for vendor managed logistics services and to support the drive for product authentication against counterfeiting. In 2004 the division has established a specific inter-disciplinary task force to address these issues together with their customers.

Regional service and international key account management

Customer satisfaction is one of the highest priorities of Mondi Packaging Coating & Release. The sales force consists of experienced and dedicated sales representatives and application engineers who focus on innovation and continuous improvement. The company provides top-class support in meeting needs relating to production processes and market requirements in specific industries. In addition, the International Key Account Management programme enables Mondi Packaging Coating & Release to serve global customers directly and efficiently.

Mondi Coating Zeltweg GmbH

Mondi Coating Zeltweg is a leading supplier, amongst the Mondi Packaging Coating & Release division, in the field of extrusion coated and laminated substrates for the food industry, personal care and pharmaceutical applications.

The company produces a wide range of applications. Specially designed sealing layers provide the highest levels of seal integrity, combinations with different types of barrier materials allow customised structures and optimum barrier properties at attractive prices and with minimum ecological impact.

As part of recent customer- and market-driven projects in the pharmaceutical segment, Mondi Coating Zeltweg successfully replaced adhesive laminated structures with extrusion lamination. This had important benefits for customers as well as for retail consumers:

• Increased machine speed
• Improved seal integrity
• Reduced waste
• No supply shortfall due to the REACH regulation
• No risk with regards to residual solvents
  
• No PAA migration potential

Mondi Coating Zeltweg is certified according to industry standards ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:1996 and BRC/IoP and offers technical assistance in analytical and development areas via Mondi's state-of-the-art Research & Development (R&D) centre near Vienna and experienced teams of application engineers.

Two high-quality flexo printing lines, with exclusively environment-friendly water-based inks and advanced in-house pre-press capabilities provide economical printing solutions for pharmaceutical packaging materials.

These are complemented by an extensive European sales and distribution network which provides competent and reliable service to the pharmaceutical industry.

Mondi Packaging Flexibles R&D Centre

The R&D Centre in Korneuburg, Austria was opened in summer 2006 and was established with an investment of more than EUR 5 million. It houses two laboratories and a pilot production line including digital printing equipment. Experienced packaging experts at the new site are firmly committed to supporting customers' requirements.

Innovation to serve dynamic markets

Providing cutting-edge products is one of the core components of Mondi Packaging’s business strategy. In the past, R&D experts were located at the production sites. This centre pulls those resources together and offers the combined know-how to various business units within the group. One of the key tasks of the R&D team at Korneuburg is to work closely with customers to develop packaging solutions that appeal to the retail consumer at POS and thereby enhance the product success.

Developing more competitive solutions

The goal of the R&D Centre is to optimise products by analysing their individual components and features. A pilot line on-site allows the R&D team to check the runnability and printability of the materials they develop under near-industrial conditions – and to make adjustments quickly and at low cost. Materials developed by Mondi Packaging are assessed at customers’ sites and suggestions are made concerning more cost-effective solutions for material processing.

Equipment for development and monitoring

The centre has two laboratories (an analytical lab and an applications lab) with the very latest equipment. In addition to analysing new materials, the labs are also used for quality assurance and claim processing for the group’s production plants. Another important activity is the monitoring of compliance with food safety, environmental and other regulations.

Applications from A to Z

The competencies at the R&D Centre range from A for adhesive lamination to Z for zipper pouches. The centre offers know-how for various extrusion processes, offset, flexo, rotogravure and digital printing, lacquering, glue and adhesive lamination, slitting and laser perforation and bag and pouch production with various functional add-ons (e.g. valves and spouts). The main industry served is the food industry, and there is particular emphasis on the dynamic markets for convenience foods, household detergents, pharmaceutical applications, tobacco products and the growing segment of pet food. The R&D Centre focuses on materials such as biodegradable polymers, transparent barrier materials, paper and polymer membranes and many more.

Managing innovation effectively

Effective project management ensures that all innovation projects are given due consideration, and that time and cost schedules are closely adhered to. The R&D centre is also in charge of intellectual property management. The centre continually optimises high-quality packaging solutions by analysing individual components and features and by enhancing processes, not only during production but also at customers’ packaging lines.