Together with OutNature, Koehler Paper will be producing silphie-fiber-based paper and cardboard grades in the future.
OutNature, a brand of environmental service provider PreZero, is expanding its production of silphie paper to an industrial scale together with Koehler Paper. The two partners successfully started produc-ing paper and cardboard grades based on silphie fibers at the Koehler Paper plant in the Thuringian town of Greiz in July 2022.
The plan is for Koehler Paper to produce silphie paper within a grammage range of 130 to 330 gsm and expand it to cardboard grades accordingly. In addition, higher grammages will be added along the way. It is also worth mentioning that a combination of at least 35% silphie fibers and wastepaper is used for both paper and cardboard grades.
“Our partnership with Koehler Paper should enable us to expand the production of silphie paper to a larger scale. And with the new cardboard grades, we will be able to offer new product applications for the first time ever, particularly when it comes to folding cartons such as those used in the cosmetic and food industries,” happily says OutNature CEO Thomas Tappertzhofen.
“We see ourselves as a technology driver. We’re always on the lookout for alternative raw materials and effective resources that can be used for paper production,” says Udo Hollbach, managing director of the Koehler Paper Greiz site. “Using silphie fibers in combination with wastepaper is another great solution for pushing a circular economy when it comes to packaging, for example,” Hollbach adds. With OutNature, PreZero has tapped into an entirely new, regional raw material source for use in the paper industry in the form of cup plants. And the plants also have bright prospects when it comes to agricul-ture, as they are insect-friendly, store CO₂ in the ground, and protect the latter from wind and water erosion.
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