Paper packaging materials- and solutions provider BillerudKorsnäs (Sweden) and plastic packaging solutions provider ALPLA announced that they will embark on a joint venture. They do so with the vision to develop a fully biobased and recyclable paper bottle.

BillerudKorsnäs and ALPLA this week announced that they will form a joint venture in the Danish paper bottle company ecoXpac. When the transaction has been completed, BillerudKorsnäs and ALPLA will own equal parts of ecoXpac. A minority post will be held by the founder family. BillerudKorsnäs is currently the majority owner and has been a shareholder in the company since 2015. BillerudKorsnäs has been a driving force in the ongoing development of a paper bottle, which was started by ecoXpac in 2010 and with Carlsberg Group since 2015. 

ALPLA and BillerudKorsnäs share the ambition to drive packaging innovation in a sustainable direction. The two companies intend to leverage the development by combining their resources, competencies and strengths to support scaling ecoXpac in the commercialization of a fully biobased and recyclable paper bottle.

In late 2016, Carlsberg Group revealed a first physical prototype of a paper bottle, the Green Fiber Bottle, and the first generation of paper bottles has since then been in a testing phase. The plan now is to continue the development to be able to launch and then scale up production. Following generations will be both fully biobased and have biodegradable barriers thereby fully realising the vision and enabling consumers all over the world to live more sustainably. It is to realise this vision the two companies come together on this journey of innovation.

• With BillerudKorsnäs we have found an ambitious partner creating a new packaging market segment that offers a complementary consumer experience to our current rigid packaging solutions. ALPLA is sharing the passion for technical challenges and innovation. I want to emphasise the long-term vision of the joint venture to introduce fully biobased paper bottles. ALPLA is contributing capital as well as technical know-how to the joint venture to accelerate the development and market introduction of the paper bottle, says Günther Lehner, CEO of ALPLA.
• "I believe that with our shared and honest ambition to break new ground, ALPLA and BillerudKorsnäs now make an important commitment to contribute to a more sustainable future. The question is not "if" but rather "how soon" this joint venture will introduce a fully biobased and recyclable paper bottle to the market. When we do, it will enable a significant shift in consumer behaviour globally, says Petra Einarsson, CEO and President BillerudKorsnäs." EcoXpac was founded with a strong vision for the future. Today we are privileged to have the best players in their fields sharing our vision. It makes me proud of what we have achieved so far. The vision has never felt closer to reality than today, says Martin Grosen Petersen, CEO of ecoXpac.

The formation of the joint venture is subject to customary regulatory approvals such as merger control clearances. It is expected that the transaction is completed in Q3 2019.