SONOCO ALCORE MAIN NAVIGATION Menu BREADCRUMBS Home About Us Manufacturing Process MANUFACTURING PROCESS Learn how we make 100% recyclable cores Step 1 – Raw Material Supply and Sourcing Step 2 – Integrated Coreboard Manufacturing Step 3 – Core Design Step 4 – Core Manufacturing Step 5 – Core Drying Process Step 6 – Product Packaging Step 7 – Scrap Coreboard and Recycling Step 1 - Raw Material Supply and Sourcing Did you know? The main raw material used to produce a core is old corrugated containers (OCC). Old Corrugated Containers (OCC) A core is composed of recycled OCC, which is turned into coreboard and bound together using adhesive. Sonoco Alcore is an integrated manufacturer, ensuring that quality coreboard is used to produce your core. Local Sourcing Many of our paper mills, such as our Karhula, Finland facility, source OCC from local markets. Structured Sourcing Many of our paper mills have an OCC sourcing structure, ensuring the desired quality of OCC. Back to top. Step 2 – Integrated Coreboard Manufacturing OCC is delivered to our paper mills, where it is transformed into coreboard. During this process OCC is thoroughly cleaned, removing impurities such as plastics and metals. We use the OCC to produce coreboard, which is delivered to our manufacturing sites, making Sonoco Alcore an integrated core manufacturer. Depending on the type and quality of the core, we use a variety of board grades. Material Reuse At our Karhula paper mill, plastic impurities are removed and transferred to a local biomass power plant, where they are used to create energy. Resource Stewardship Wastewater is delivered to a local water treatment plant, where it is treated and ready to return to its source, the Kymi River. Back to top. Step 3 - Core Design Sonoco Alcore’s R&D team and core competency centres calculate the optimum build-up of the core based on your requirements. This allows our R&D team to specify the most effective paper grades, reducing the use of unnecessary raw materials and production-related energy costs. Core Experts We have core competency centres in Duren, Germany and Karhula, Finland. Both of these locations focus on optimisation projects, core testing and research and development projects. Back to top. Step 4 – Core Manufacturing Coreboard is wrapped around a spindle on a spiral winder and secured with our specialised adhesives. We manufacture our own adhesives, allowing us to optimise the amount of adhesive used and monitor its quality. Excess glue is collected and directed back into the manufacturing process. Biodegradable Adhesives Our adhesives come from natural or biological sources and are 100% biodegradable. Back to top. Step 5 – Core Drying Process The core is then removed from the winder and dried to solidify the glue, ensuring the core’s efficacy as an integral part of your manufacturing process. Responsible Energy Near our Grunsfeld, Germany plant there is local biomass plant that produces heat and electricity. We use this heat to warm the thermal oil used in our drying process, create a hot water supply at the plant and heat the main production hall. Back to top. Step 6 – Product Packaging As part of our quality initiative, we use standardised packaging for our core products throughout Europe, saving considerable material and decreasing waste. Recycle and Reuse At Sonoco Alcore we complete the following actions when possible: Reuse packaging woods Collect, inspect and reuse lifting hoists Recycle pallet-related plastics Back to top. Step 7 – Scrap Coreboard and Recycling We collect scrap coreboard and leftover cores, which are sent to the paper mills and used to produce new coreboard. Landfill Diversion Scrap cores are collected at our Tavernerio, Italy, manufacturing site and taken to our Cirie, Italy paper mill, where they re-enter our manufacturing process. Back to top. CASE STUDIES OUR PRODUCTS AT WORK HI-RADIUS CORE Our Hi-Radius core has a smooth, rounded edge on the unwinding end, which allows the producer to avoid using plastic caps. This solution is especially effective if our customer is spinning and texturizing the yarn in-house. Read the case study MONDI Sonoco Alcore will purchase Mondi's existing core equipment and then replace it with newer state of the art technology equipment. In addition, Sonoco Alcore will manage 28 employees responsible for core production on site. Read the case study CONTACT US WE CAN HELP Need help? Want to share an idea? Get information about Sonoco Alcore Request a tubes or cores quote Request a paper supply quote Inquire about becoming a supplier Learn about employment opportunities Contact Us SITE NAVIGATION Site Map Privacy & Legal Notice YouTube LinkedIn SONOCO Sonoco Alcore is a proud member of the Sonoco Family, a global provider of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging and packgaging supply chain services. © 2016 Sonoco Alcore | Website by Cyberwoven