Atlantic Packaging Products recently announced plans to re-open the company's Whitby mill in Ontario, Canada, in March of 2013. Atlantic’s former newsprint mill has been upgraded with technology that will allow it to produce 100% recycled lightweight paper used to manufacture high performance corrugated packaging products.
"In North America, the term lightweight has been primarily used in reference to the basis weight of the paper, with little or no emphasis on strength, said Dave Boles, President of Atlantic Packaging.
"What we're talking about is a disruptive technology that is capable of producing low basis weights (lighter paper) with sustainability and strength characteristics unlike anything in corrugated packaging today," Boles explained.
"Sustainability objectives from large retailers are driving the industry forward, and soon Atlantic will be in a position to provide our customers with the most sustainable corrugated packaging option available in North America," he added.
The Whitby mill, which had the capacity to produce 150,000 tpy of 100% recycled newsprint, was closed in March of 2010. At that time, Atlantic cited the steep drop-off in North American demand for newsprint and overcapacity in the market as contributing factors to the closure of the mill.
