Alpla becomes the majority owner of Paboco
The Danish joint venture Paboco develops and produces fibre-based packaging solutions using pulp-forming technology. The company, based in Slangerup, Denmark, was founded in 2019 by Alpla and Billerud. By taking over all of Billerud’s shares and investing in Paboco, packaging and recycling specialist Alpla, as majority shareholder, is pushing the rapid industrialisation of the fully recyclable paper bottle made from FSC-certified fibres. From the end of 2024, Paboco plans to produce a fully recyclable paper bottle at a new state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Denmark.
Since 2021, Paboco has been testing the first products on the market together with the Paboco Pioneer Community members: The Absolut Company, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble. After the successful test phase, series production of the next generation of recyclable paper bottles is scheduled to start at the end of 2024.
“The vision of the fully bio-based and recyclable paper bottle has driven the team to create amazing results in just a short development period. With the bottle configuration now, we are targeting the beauty and fabric and home-care segment, but continuous development will also enable us to bring our next-generation bottle into further applications. We are happy that Alpla is fully committed to supporting us on this journey,” explains Tim Silbermann, CEO of Paboco.
For the market launch, the company plans to set up a new state-of-the-art manufacturing site and development centre in Denmark. There are currently 18 employees at Paboco – the number of employees is expected to increase significantly by the time series production begins.
“We at Alpla work intensively on alternative materials, invest in promising projects and actively shape technological progress as a “Family of Pioneers”,’ emphasises Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at Alpla and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Paboco. The newly formed Board of Directors of Paboco is completed by Ricardo Rehm, CFO of Alpla, and Rainer Widmar, Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe at Alpla. The transaction took place at the beginning of October. The contracting parties agreed not to disclose the details.
