Made possible by investments of over R$100 million, the center has been advancing Klabin’s development of more sustainable solutions

Paraná, July 19, 2022 - With laboratories with the capacity to produce a broad range of forestry products and to conduct simulations of production lines, the Klabin Technology Center (KTC), located in Telêmaco Borba, Paraná, commemorates its fifth anniversary in 2022. The center has amassed a long journey of excellence in innovation, which includes developing solutions for capturing productivity gains and reducing environmental impacts. Inaugurated in 2017, the KTC’s mission is to improve product quality while anticipating trends and developing new technologies and sustainable applications.

The Technology Center’s inauguration has enabled Klabin to invest more in innovative solutions and to strengthen its culture of innovation. When the center was launched, the company organized its first Klabin Inova Week, during which clients, suppliers and partners participated in a series of talks about innovation, technology and trends that culminated in various actions connected with Klabin’s innovation strategy, such as the construction, in 2019, of a Pilot Plants Complex at the Monte Alegre Unit located in in Telêmaco Borba, Paraná. The center enables the company to conduct simulations of a production unit and industrial studies and tests on new research fronts, such as lignin and microfibrillated pulp (MFC).

Creating the center was part of an investment plan of R$70 million in Research, Development and Innovation (R&D+I) made from 2015 to 2017, which included acquiring new equipment, training and hiring technicians and researchers and modernizing the forestry research labs, and of R$32 million in 2019 in Klabin’s research & development program and the construction of a Pilot Plant Complex.

Francisco Razzolini, Chief Technology, Innovation, Sustainability and Projects Officer at Klabin, explained that, over these last five years, the KTC has improved the quality of the company’s R& efforts to position it among the industry’s most innovative companies. “Innovation is unquestionably the path for achieving a more sustainable and productive future. In recent years, we have made significant progress in developing solutions and strengthened our partnerships with universities and research centers, which has further leveraged and optimized our results. The effort involves all business areas of Klabin, which is constantly monitoring the demands of our clients and society,” explained the executive.

As such, the center’s R&D focuses on five fronts: developing the forest base; developing pulp; new forestry technologies; paper lines; and reducing environmental impacts. Key ongoing projects include improving forestry yields and quality; multiple use of wood components, such as lignin and microfibrillated pulp; researching properties to help improve performance of the Company’s papers; and developing barriers and biobarriers applied to packaging paper to improve protection for a wide range of products and conditions.

Innovative solutions

In 2020, with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers at the Klabin Technology Center, in partnership with the SENAI de Institute for Innovation in Biosynthetics and Fibers and with cosmetics manufacturer Apoteka, developed an all-new formulation of hand sanitizer made from microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). Extracted from wood, a renewable source, the product was used to substitute carbomer when the input’s shortage sparked high demand. At the time, over four tons of the product were donated to various organizations and hospitals in the company’s region, which further reinforced the importance of R&D to overcoming society’s challenges.

Seeking solutions to help stop transmission of the coronavirus, the KTC partnered with the Chemical and Textile Industry Technology Center (SENAI CETIQT) to develop a coating with antiviral properties made from 100% organic and metal-free composition.  The project is developing a coating for kraft paper with applications mainly in e-commerce packaging whose antiviral properties already are supported by efficacy studies and tests conducted by Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz, one of Brazil’s most respected organizations in this field. The tests showed that the new packaging was able to render the coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) inactive with proven efficacy of over 99% within one minute of contact.

The KTC has been making a significant contribution to the development of ever more sustainable solutions. Some products recently launched by the company were created based on the research and tests spearheaded by the professionals at the KTC. One example, launched in June, is Klamulti, which is a lighter and more resistant paperboard for the beverage industry (multipack) that features microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) in its composition, resulting in significant property and performance gains.

Another highlight is EkoMix, a cement packaging solution made from 100% dispersible paper, which can be integrated into the mixing process when preparing the concrete. One of the key benefits of the solution is the reduction of waste disposed of at construction sites, further streamlining the production process.

Eukaliner®, the world’s first kraftliner paper made exclusively from eucalyptus fiber, which has been produced on a large scale since last year by paper machine 27 at the Puma II Project, also was developed by the KTC. The product features a series of differentials that maintain its leadership position in the market, including a reduction in grammage of over 10%, while ensuring the packaging’s strength and lightness. 
 

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