Corrugated Board in Germany and Internationally

Corrugated board is ubiquitous these days. The material plays a crucial role for many industries, it is now the most important packaging material for transport packaging, product packaging and much more worldwide. Compared to other materials, such as plastic, corrugated board has numerous advantages. Corrugated board is not only extremely strong and cost-effective, but also recyclable and sustainable.

From a sustainability perspective, precisely configured packaging is always better. Small start-ups benefit from this just as much as large companies.

What exactly is corrugated board?

Corrugated board is a paper product used mainly for packaging. Corrugated board consists of smooth and corrugated paper webs. The individual layers are joined together to create a particularly hard-wearing and stable board. For cardboard boxes, multiwall cardboard is produced, for which up to nine paper webs can be glued together. The more layers, the more stable the board becomes.

The production of corrugated board in detail

The production process is quite complex. This is because corrugated board is made from at least three layers of paper. The two outer paper webs are smooth, the web in between is corrugated.

The starting material for paper production is a paper pulp that now consists of 80 percent recycled waste paper. The remainder consists of finely shredded vegetable fibers, including wood from sustainable cultivation. The paper pulp is first used to make the paper webs.

To produce the corrugated paper for the intermediate layer, it is strongly heated and moistened. The paper becomes flexible in this way. A machine then presses the pre-treated paper between two corrugating rolls at high pressure into the desired corrugated shape.

The wave shape varies, the paper can be formed into different types of waves depending on the desired texture. The wave types are called , for example, graphic wave, fine wave, medium wave, coarse wave or maxi wave. The individual wave types differ in the wave pitch and wave height and thus also in their properties.

There are also differences in the smooth cover sheets; they can be made of different paper grades , such as kraftliner, testliner, or schrenz. This results in board products with different specifications.

Depending on the type of paper and the corrugated shape, the packaging and cartons made from it are , for example, particularly stable, flexible or moisture-resistant.

The individual paper layers are bonded together during production. Here, too, sustainable, environmentally friendly materials are used. The paper webs are glued together with a non-toxic glue based on wheat, corn or potato starch.

The simplest variant is 1-wall corrugated board, which consists of three layers. By adding further corrugated paper sheets and correspondingly smooth intermediate or top sheets, stable 2-corrugated or even 3-corrugated cardboard of high load-bearing capacity is produced. 3-corrugated board consists of a total of 9 layers of paper.

How long has corrugated board been around?

Corrugated board in its present form has existed for over 150 years. The history of this packaging material began in 1856 in the fashion industry. Edward Charles Healy and Edward Ellis Allen used corrugated paper for the first time in hat manufacturing to stabilize high top hats. They were inspired by the wavy pleated collars (popular at the time).

The template for later machines for the production of corrugated paper was the pleating machine developed in the USA in 1870. It was capable of folding fabrics by applying pressure. Albert L. Jones of New York eventually developed a corrugating roll for paper, for which he applied for a patent in 1871. This marked the beginning of the industrial production of corrugated paper, which was used as hygienic packaging for wrapping glass bottles, among other things.

The combination of a corrugated layer with a smooth layer can be traced back to Oliver Long, who invented corrugated board in 1874 and also patented a hand machine for its manufacture.

The first mechanically operated machine for the industrial production of corrugated board was built by the Thompson & Norris company and put into operation in 1882. In 1883, Thompson & Norris opened the first production plant for corrugated board in Germany in the Rhineland. However, Robert Gair, a Scotsman living in New York at the time, is considered to be the actual inventor of the corrugated board box. He developed a machine that could produce cartons from corrugated board.

Corrugated board was further developed over the course of time. The first independent German corrugated board mill, founded by Fedor Schoen in Cologne in 1892, played a leading role. This plant was already producing double-sided, more stable corrugated board.

What are the advantages of corrugated board?

Corrugated cardboard is the most commonly used packaging material because it offers many advantages. We would like to show you these advantages:

High stability and low dead weight

Due to the corrugated structure, corrugated board is very stable with a low dead weight at the same time. As a packaging material, it protects even sensitive goods. Corrugated board can be processed into folding cartons in different thicknesses. For example, 1-corrugated, 2-corrugated or 3-corrugated cartons of high stability are produced. Cartons made of corrugated board protect products during transport and storage.

Corrugated board is environmentally friendly

Corrugated board has a very good eco-balance, especially compared to plastic. It can even be said that corrugated board is the most environmentally friendly packaging material that can be produced in large quantities for the world market today. It can be produced with between 70 percent and 100 percent recycled content. Most of the paper used in its manufacture is waste paper.

The other components are also environmentally friendly. This applies to the wood fibers from sustainable forestry as well as to the natural starch-based glues used.

The addition of bleach or paint is usually avoided in the manufacturing process, so the cartons and the resulting waste products are not a heavy burden on the environment.

Last but not least, corrugated board itself is also recyclable. It is made from paper pulp and can later be reused for the production of new cardboard boxes. Corrugated board is therefore a closed-loop product.

Corrugated board saves energy

Cartons made of corrugated cardboard are also environmentally friendly for another reason: because of their low dead weight, they save energy and thus CO2 during transport.

Production often takes place locally, with recycled paper produced locally being used as the starting material. The transport routes of the raw materials to the production site are often short. Energy and thus CO2 are also saved on this route.

Handling, storage and flexibility

Nowadays, boxes made of corrugated board can be produced in many shapes and sizes. This makes the material very flexible, it can be adapted to different requirements. Customers nowadays can design and order boxes according to their own wishes, for example, via an online configurator.

In storage, corrugated cardboard boxes are very convenient, because they can be stored flat before use, thus saving space.

Figures on corrugated board in Germany

A few interesting figures on the German corrugated board industry show how important the material corrugated board is for the German economy.

In 2021, the sales of the German corrugated board industry amounted to 6.6 billion euros. 1.3 million tons of corrugated board were exported throughout the world from Germany alone. The proportion of recycled paper has been continuously increased; last year it was 80 percent in Germany.

The corrugated board industry also secures many jobs in Germany. In 2021, 21,477 people were employed in this industry. With a share of 65.1 percent of all transport packaging, corrugated board was again the most important packaging material in Germany last year. Consumption in this country was 11,315 million m².

In 2021, demand for corrugated board was even exceptionally high. This was due, among other things, to increased demand for various household and consumer goods. The companies organized in the VDW (Verband der Wellpappen-Industrie e. V.) reported an increase in sales of 6.9 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year.

However, the overall balance for 2021 will be diminished by the sharp rise in paper and energy prices. The current high gas prices are also having a major impact on the paper industry in Germany.

The importance of packaging material in international comparison

Sales of corrugated board have risen continuously in most industrialized nations in recent years. Especially in China, consumption is increasing year by year. China is the world leader with a consumption of 85,469 million m².

The European Union came to a total consumption of 61.344 million m² in 2021. In the USA, 38.719 million m² of corrugated board was processed.

The importance of corrugated board for packaging manufacturers

Corrugated board is an ideal starting material for packaging manufacturers. It can be processed into cartons in many different shapes. Corrugated board is flexible, the more layers, the more stable it is. This means that corrugated board can even be used to make extremely strong packaging.

Packaging manufacturers can now also offer their customers individual configuration options. For example, customers can use a configurator on the packaging manufacturer's website to create boxes according to their own requirements and then have them produced. No other packaging material enables this flexibility.

The importance as a packaging material

With a share of over 65 percent, corrugated board is the most important packaging material both in Germany and worldwide. Corrugated board is comparatively inexpensive to produce, extremely stable and tear-resistant, and can also be processed into cartons of any size and shape.

The material has a low own weight and is therefore very popular in logistics. Corrugated cardboard boxes are also indispensable in warehousing. They can be unfolded and thus stored in a space-saving manner. Since the issue of environmental protection is also a high priority in the logistics industry, corrugated board made from recycled paper is rightly the most popular material.

Corrugated board is generally made from 80 percent recycled material (waste paper, cardboard, used corrugated board) and only 20 percent virgin fiber. When the cardboard boxes are no longer needed, they are in turn disposed of via waste paper and can be reprocessed into new packaging. This creates a sustainable cycle.

We have aroused your interest about corrugated cardboard and other sustainable materials, we look forward to hearing from you.

Conclusion

Corrugated board is a fascinating packaging material. It is lightweight, strong and flexible to use. It is also a sustainable packaging material, as it can be made from 80 percent recycled materials and is recyclable itself. Its low dead weight also saves energy during transport. Due to its numerous advantages, corrugated board is now the most important packaging material in Germany and worldwide.