In our podcast ‘The Voice of Converting’, we spoke to Esa-Matti Aalto, Senior Vice President and General Manager Coating & Converting Industries at Matthews International. We discussed industry trends, barrier papers and the upcoming ICE Europe.
Megatrends
“One megatrend is clearly sustainability, which is now permeating all industries and layers of society,” says Aalto. “We are addressing this topic by implementing various applications and projects in industry. Another big topic for us is digitalisation. It has already caused disruptions in many industries – and the converting industry will be no exception!”
Lighthouse project
Asked about outstanding projects at Matthews, Esa-Matti Aalto responds: “In the area of décor, we have worked with the company SURTECO to develop a truly innovative process in which electron beam crosslinking is involved. The structures embossed in the décor paper and the print itself are very natural. The result is a genuine wood look that is also very close to the natural product in terms of feel. Thanks to electron beam crosslinking, there is no need for drying in the traditional sense – and production can be carried out with considerably less energy consumption, thus conserving resources.”
VR tool for ICE visitors
Learn more about Matthew’s strategy, Esa-Matti Aalto’s personal motivation and a VR tool that will be showcased at the upcoming ICE Europe in our Podcast interview!
This Podcast episode is sponsored by the M2N Converting Gipfel, which will take place from 26-27 June in Hamburg, Germany. Learn more about the conference of the German-speaking key players in the converting industry by clicking on: https://converting-gipfel.de