Grass paper, the latest product family from Papierfabrik Scheufelen GmbH & Co. KG and the Lenningen-based company's contribution to the UN Agenda 2030, is part of a pioneering tradition in paper production. Product examples from relevant market segments have been successfully developed to market maturity and show enormous potential.
In 1969, the first non-flammable paper developed by Scheufelen flew to the moon on Apollo 11. This was a real milestone in the history of the paper industry, just as ground-breaking as the introduction of art paper in 1892. Scheufelen's grass paper now contains 50 per cent virgin fibres made from sun-dried Grass is used. In contrast to many virgin fibre pulps available on the global market, this material is produced in the immediate vicinity of the paper mill in the Swabian Alb biosphere region is obtained from a raw material that is renewable several times a year and will in future be processed directly at the paper mill in Lenningen in a plant operated jointly with development partner Creapapier GmbH from Hennef.
Conservative use of resources
The low environmental impact is reflected one-to-one in the environmental footprint of products packaged with grass paper and allows for a unique marketing approach. The virgin fibre packaging based on grass paper already meets all the requirements that will result from the planned Mineral Oil Ordinance for packaging materials with a view to even better consumer protection. The Food safety is confirmed by a corresponding ISEGA certificate, and the material is recyclable, compostable and FSC-Mix certified (FSC® C009951)
The team's extensive expertise in the development of innovative printing surfaces is an important feature of the Offset printability of the new material. This has already been proven by the pilot customer Rondo for products in the fruit and vegetable packaging sector. Scheufelen grass paper is suitable for the production of corrugated base paper, liners and folding cartons, but also for graphic applications. Product examples have been successfully developed to market maturity as part of a collaboration between Master's students at Stuttgart Media University and product developers at Scheufelen Paper Mill at the new Packaging Campus in Lenningen, which has been running since September 2016.
Grass paper has recently become available with different properties under the brands greenliner as corrugated base paper or liner, as Scheufelen grass paper for graphic applications and as phoenograss greenliner is available in an exclusive combination of grass paper with the bright white cellulose board phoenolux for special packaging solutions. Greenliner is currently available in basis weights of 80, 95, 105, 130 and 200 g/ m2, grass paper in 95 and 130 g/ m2 and phoenogras in 360 g/ m2.
