Holmen Launches Incada Duo Paperboard for Premium Packaging

Swedish papermaker Holmen has expanded its range with Incada Duo, a high-grammage laminated folding boxboard (430 to 710 g/m²) produced at its Workington mill in the UK. Crafted from traceable virgin fibers, this new substrate directly targets the demanding premium packaging markets, such as spirits, cosmetics, and confectionery, offering remarkable thickness without compromising material efficiency.

High Visual Impact on the Shelf
Incada Duo stands out with its multi-layered structure, where the outer faces consist of fully bleached chemical sulfate pulp. These layers benefit from a full coating, guaranteeing very high-quality print reproduction and an optimal visual finish—essential elements for maximizing the shelf presence of luxury brands. Furthermore, all raw materials used are strictly certified for food contact, ensuring total health safety as well as perfect organoleptic neutrality (absence of taste or odor transfer) for sensitive products.

Sustainable Production and Local Supply Chain
The manufacturing of Incada Duo is part of a strong industrial sustainability approach. The Workington mill, powered exclusively by fossil-free bioenergy since 2013, produces the base board before its lamination in the UK. This localized production streamlines the supply chain and significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with transportation. It thus meets the growing demand from premium British brands (particularly in the Scotch whisky and gin sectors) for packaging solutions that combine luxurious aesthetics, mechanical protection, and eco-responsibility.

Additional Context: Lamination and the Mechanics of Paperboard Structures
This section details papermaking processes and mechanical properties not included in the original release.

In packaging materials engineering, the rigidity of a paperboard (its bending resistance) is not proportional to its grammage (weight per square meter), but increases cubically with its thickness (caliper). To achieve the very high thicknesses required by luxury packaging without making the material excessively heavy or rigid to fold, papermakers use the lamination process. This technique consists of gluing together multiple webs of paperboard (often with an aqueous starch-based adhesive). By using inner layers rich in mechanical fibers (which provide volume, or bulk) and outer layers made of chemical pulp (which offer high tensile strength), the laminated paperboard acts mechanically like an I-beam. This architecture maximizes geometric inertia and structural rigidity to support the weight of heavy products (such as glass bottles), while offering a highly flat outer surface, ideal for complex finishes like hot foil stamping, spot varnishing, or embossing.

Edited by industrial journalist Lekshman Ramdas, with AI assistance.

www.holmen.com