Carton, Board & Paper
Ensuring efficient, sustainable operations through the pandemic and beyond
normally work in a mill. There will be a new set of challenges for us to overcome, as a company, but also together as an industry. Sustainability, innovation, and of course
paper quality are key areas we continue to be focused on. Increasing awareness of the fragility of the environment coupled with huge consumer behaviour shifts are placing new demands on the packaging industry. Providing sustainable high quality, high performing packaging papers i¬¬s key to providing the sustainable packaging solutions that both our customers and society demand. Customers are not only demanding
Niels Flierman, operations director as DS Smith, discusses overcoming pandemic problems, and how to maintain sustainability and worker’s safety throughout
industries. Ensuring safe working environments during the pandemic whilst remaining efficient in operations to keep the supply chain moving is key. Our top priority has always been the health and wellbeing of all employees and a series of effective measures have been introduced throughout our paper mills, and of course all our sites across DS Smith. Examples include glass and Perspex
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separation walls in offices, stock preparation control rooms and reception areas to ensure social distancing compliance. Floors have been marked with tape to remind everyone to respect the social distancing, and shoe disinfectors have been created to reduce the risk of potential virus spread. Using these and other learnings from across our sites, our Packaging division have adapted their production capabilities to launch a range of social distancing products made from recycled cardboard on our ePack online store. These important and stringent measures
along with the dedication and professionalism of our teams have enabled us to keep our production and service to our customers on track during the pandemic. Our logistics team, alongside DS Smith transport partners, have taken immediate measures to safeguard the flow of vital materials, allowing our supply chain to continue to operate efficiently. From the delivery of paper for recycling to paper mills, through to the provision of new packaging
10 June 2020
s an important part of the supply chain, DS Smith produces packaging for the essential food and pharmaceutical
products that enable the delivery of vital food and pharmaceutical products into shops and homes. I am incredibly proud of the teams at our
paper mills who have worked diligently through these challenging times to keep the business moving, but also of the amount of community and hospital support through donations, sewing scrubs for the NHS, phones and tablets for patients in hospitals, as well as care packages for people in need. At the outset of the pandemic, and
countries going into lockdown, we saw a softening in demand from some sectors of industry, such as Automotive, but we also saw spikes in other sectors, such as grocery retail, as people started stock piling goods. Going forward, we expect some of the trends seen during the pandemic to continue. For example, there has been a growing trend towards e-commerce for some time. This has sharpened in the last three months and we expect that trend to continue as people adapt to new ways of living. I think there will definitely be changes in the
paper and board industry after Covid-19. With consumer shopping habits changing, the demands on our products will change. Besides changes in product requirements and supply chains, working environments will also change. Working from home for those roles that can, will become more widespread. How we perform maintenance and infrastructure projects will require a different way of working since, for example, the number of people working on site during downtime can be up to 10 times the number of people that
sustainability in products but sustainability in production. There is a huge focus on sustainability strategies and success in reaching those targets in the business. For example, in terms of fibre sourcing, we have a target to use 100 per cent recycled or chain of custody certified papers. We are constantly measuring and
monitoring production to provide our customers with the quality assurance they need. We have developed considerable in- house knowledge and technical expertise on the detailed measurement and analysis of recycled fibres in real-time to better control final paper properties. Advanced data analytics, high-speed image analysis and Machine Learning, for example, are all used to better inform the papermaking process and to further optimise product consistency and performance. Near Infrared technology, moisture detection sensors and fibre separation innovations have ensured the paper entering the pulping process is of the purest and highest standards. In terms of innovation, we continue to see
demand for specialist and high performing papers. Research and development, partnering with universities and developing graduate programmes are essential to unlocking the future potential of both people and technology. The industry is preparing for the upcoming EU wide ban or restrictions on certain Single Use Plastics from July 2021, and our talented R&D team are focusing on performance papers for packaging in all areas especially in foods. We will continue to support our customers
during these challenging times with paper and packaging developments to fit the new working environment, as well as keeping our sustainability and innovation projects moving forward. With the desire to move away from single use plastics, the paper and board industry has a huge opportunity to capitalise on the fact that paper fibre is a renewable and recyclable resource that has the highest recycling rate of all packaging materials.
udssmith.com
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