The Covid-19 pandemic posed an assortment of challenges to suppliers and printers alike during 2020. Bottlenecks in supply chains created the biggest source of consternation, as material suppliers often struggled to meet surging demands.

UPM Raflatac, however, delivered for its customers while also developing multiple new products – specifically in the paper labeling segment. The Mills River, NC-based substrate supplier saw its supply chain remain intact, which has the company poised to handle future challenges.

“Through a lot of hard work and dedication, we minimized the supply chain impacts felt by our customers,” explains Jeff Buchanan, director of paper laminates, UPM Raflatac Americas. “Throughout the pandemic, most label material suppliers had longer lead times than we all would have liked, but our suppliers have been resilient in their performance and there have been many examples of great partnerships during the last year. Now, we have been implementing measures over the last several months that put us in a better position for the regular seasonal surge, on top of the demand we are seeing now.”

According to Buchanan, there have been some shifts in paper labeling demand. Due to the pandemic, the market shifted seeimgly overnight to logistics and consumer-packaged food labeling while moving away from many business-to-business (VIP) and office-related labeling needs.

“Logistics labeling has remained strong since last March, with no end in sight,” says Buchanan. “Certainly, logistics (VIP) labels are optimal for paper. They allow for variable image (think barcoding) printing and work well with cardboard packaging. Food labeling is also a great fit for paper labeling. Paper allows for a wide range of artwork for the brands at a good price point for the end-user. Demand for paper labels has been very strong since early last year with no end in sight.”

When choosing between paper and film, UPM Raflatac’s customer service team tailors its recommendations to the unique needs of the customer. “Our approach really is to take a look at the primary packaging construction and match up the best label substrate, especially when packaging recyclability needs to be considered,” states Buchanan. “Sometimes paper is best, while other times a film label might be a better option. For example, a cardboard box with a standard paper label can be recycled in the current paper recycling processes. As well, flexible plastic packaging with paper labels can be considered recyclable, when the main flexible packaging material is recyclable. Paper labels can have an impact on plastic packaging recyclate yield by increasing the risk of some contamination but typically with minor impacts.”

As UPM Raflatac has developed new paper products to meet these demands, the company has operated with an eye toward the environment. Throughout the uncertainty of this time period, UPM Raflatac has remained focused on sustainability.

“During the pandemic period, we expanded our UPM Raflatac RAFNXT+ sustainable labeling range and launched our UPM Raflatac LabelLoop Circular Economy paper label products,” he notes. “The market has responded with excitement to both of these industry leading innovations.

“Sustainability is the main driver for everything we do at UPM,” adds Buchanan. “UPM Raflatac is a business unit of one of the world’s largest pulp and paper companies. With this basis, we build sustainability into everything we do.”

In 2019, the company launched its UPM Raflatac RAFNXT+ product line in the Americas. To support its claim of the RAFNXT+ range helping to reduce emissions and to mitigate climate change, UPM Raflatac works with the Carbon Trust to verify methodology and confirm the company’s calculations for emission savings and positive impact on forests’ capacity to remove carbon from the atmosphere when switching from standard label material to RAFNXT+.  In addition to RAFNXT+, UPM Raflatac launched its LabelLoop product line in 2020. LabelLoop is a Circular Economy program the company developed with the help of several industry partners.

“The first step of this program is the collection of label release liner via our RafCycle by UPM Raflatac program or (or via other industry initiatives),” explains Buchanan. “The paper release liner is then sent to a recycling partner who repulps it into high-quality recycled pulp. This pulp is then used to produce semi-gloss face paper, and then sent to us for lamination back into pressure sensitive labeling materials. In addition to product topics related to sustainability, we have many ongoing initiatives in our factories as part of our Biofore Site Program. We were excited to announce in 2020 that all of our North American coating factories are now powered by renewable electricity. We’ve also undertaken several projects to reduce waste and energy use at our sites.”

In the future, UPM Raflatac will continue to develop its paper products to meet the market’s latest trends, says Buchanan. “Logistics labeling will remain strong due to the trend of at-home shopping,” he comments. “I don’t see this ever going away at this point. Brand labeling will continue to drive trends, too. We see continued growth in digital labeling, as well as more complicated artwork on flexo-printed labels. Plus, sustainability will continue to be a key driver. We are seeing moves toward more sustainable primary packaging, and this will drive labeling needs because the label impacts the recyclability of packaging. When the package goes from a clear clamshell to a paper container, better artwork is needed to catch the consumer’s attention.”