Allow me to take you on a little journey reflecting on a busy first half of 2022 and looking forward to some major events that are upcoming in the calendar.

We proudly welcome three major players who have joined Pro Carton as stand-alone members.  We extend a big thank you to Buchmann Karton, La Rochette Cartonboard and FOLBB.  We thank you for your trust and for strengthening Pro Carton with your membership.

For the past two years, most TICCIT activities in Europe were put on hold.  In the last few months we have seen face-to-face classroom activities resume in Germany and in Spain.  The UK has confirmed support for new activities in the second half of the year.  Please do take a look at a pictorial summary of TICCIT In Action activities on our website.  Do contact us as soon as you initiate a programme with your local schools – it really is a memorable learning experience for all.

In our work with the media, our focus has been on byline articles and videos that communicate the benefits of cartons and cartonboard and demonstrate our leadership position on the road to circularity.  We have managed to raise substantial interest from leading magazines in all major European countries, for example we have collaborated closely with La Papeterie in France, Nord Emballage in Sweden, Lebensmittel Praxis in Germany and SPN / Packaging Europe in the UK.  Please take a look at our latest Press Coverage in our members area.

I would also like to direct your focus to the short interviews that we carried out with industry experts from across the value chain, where we discussed the importance and benefits of the 4evergreen design guideline. Please also find a round table format video with different stakeholders from the industry that highlights the contribution of cartonboard for a circular economy.

EU legislation keeps us busy before the Summer break.  Members will find a summary of FPE positioning papers on our website. On 29th June FPE organised  a Paper Packaging Day with the participation of key decision makers.  Please take a look at the summary of the event on our website.

We have just received the first data for the 2022 Cartonboard carbon footprint study which is a project we carry out in conjunction with the RISE Institute in Sweden. We expect the consolidated results to be available around October 2022.

We have now completed the judging for the 2022 European Carton Excellence Award (ECEA) – thank you for the many impressive entries.  We also received a record number of entries for the Pro Carton Young Designer Award (PCYDA) and judging was completed in June.  We were also impressed by the creative entries for the 2022 Pro Carton Student Video Award (PCSVA).  For all the Awards, public voting is now open. Share the good news with friends and family, each vote acknowledges the great work done . I am sure there will be substantial interest in securing the top positions in all 3 Awards.

On September 14th we shall hold our 2022 General Assembly which will be linked to the ECMA Congress in Krakow.  Horst Bittermann will send out an invitation to attend shortly. ECMA Congress takes place in Krakow on September 15th and 16th and one of the highlights will be the European Carton Excellence Awards Night on September 15th.

We are now preparing for our presence at Fachpack in Nürnberg/Germany from September 27th to 29th where we will join forces with FFI to meet a wide audience of industry, retail and media representatives.  Please come and see us in Halle 9 – Stand 345.

I wish all of you a great summer.  Enjoy the warm temperatures for some outdoor activities with family and friends.

Best regards,

Winnie Muehling, General Manager