Tullis Russell turns to biomass energy for production of new packaging materials
The company, based in Fife, Scotland, has carved out a name for itself as a manufacturer of secondary packaging for whisky, but is also expanding its footprint in the field of premium cosmetics and fragrance packaging.
This year the company is launching a new premium cartonboard addition to its Trucard range, which is targeted at the cosmetics and fragrance segment, as well as launching two major environmental initiatives.
Trucard Bright targets superior level of whiteness
Trucard is a comprehensive range of SBS cartonboard, to which the company has added Trucard Bright, a cartonboard that is said to have a superior level of whiteness in the coated board category, in addition to having environmental attributes.
The company says the new board was developed in response to demands from its customers, who were on the look-out for additional brightness to give packaging a cleaner, higher quality effect.
Likewise, the ubiquitous word in the packaging industry these days is sustainability, which means that new packaging products and technologies need to be developed with this in mind.
Big investment in biomass technology
In line with this, Tullis Russell says that by October 2013 it will be switching to a new $320m biomass combined heat and power plant, which it has developed in conjunction with RWE npower renewables at its UK production facility.
The company says the facility will provide all the electricity and steam requirements, and will also be the largest and most advanced of its kind in the UK, and will reduce its CO2 emissions by 250,000 tonnes a year, as well as feeding excess energy into the local grid.
The plants completion will also be made in conjunction with the launch of the Tullis Russell Environmental Education (TREE) Centre, a project that aims to involve the local community with wider spread sustainability initiatives.
The TREE Centre has been built at a cost of $1.6m using eco-friendly methods that aim to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 92 percent, compared to conventional buildings
