goes to the Woodland Trust.” If nothing else the challenges and hardships faced by the paper sector in the past few years have demonstrated just how vital it is to everyday life, making for a great turning point for print service providers or paper merchants when selling the benefits of printed materials. Key account manager, Rachel Melville, from paper production company Sylvamo, states: “Paper is essential in the modern world. Thanks to its versatility, the role of paper continues to evolve in our changing world, where we are all susceptible to digital overload. Paper has a vital role to play in education. A global study by Naomi Baron, professor of linguistics at American University in Washington, D.C., found that 92% of university students concentrate best using printed books and that e-reading can often result in distraction, eyestrain, and headaches. “Paper can deliver a more tangible approach to learning. Still, some studies show that while digital technologies offer many potential tools to support reading, printed books can aid people with dyslexia with some aspects of reading comprehension.” All these changes and new research is leading to stronger pitches for the use of paper and its by-products in spaces like direct mail, events, and packaging. 2023 opportunities As paper stock has varied over the past few years, so has its popularity and uses in different sectors. Printers and machine manufacturers felt the effects of the pandemic as offices were closed, and less sectors were operating. As a paper manufacturer Sylvamo has seen many of the peaks and troughs of the past few years. Through that experience the company can also see new opportunities and areas for expansion. Melville explains: “Sylvamo is the world’s paper company. We believe in the promise of paper to educate, communicate, and entertain. Our purpose is to produce the paper you need in the most responsible and sustainable ways. We operate in Europe, Latin America, and North America. We have a mill in Saillat, France, and import from Brazil to serve European customers. Our regional headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium. We focus mainly on our REY and HP Papers brands in Europe.” Speaking about sectors that have continued to weather recent storms, Melville comments: “We comprehensively focus on uncoated freesheet paper in Europe, including cut size office brands. This segment has been much more resilient than others have. We concentrate on the many different applications in this sub-category, including healthcare, education, government, finance, and insurance.” As well as stability in certain areas, acquisitions and new partnerships are continuing to change the products on the marketplace. While larger businesses can mean less competition, companies can benefit from bigger product ranges and different branches of a larger parent company. Speaking about changes worth noting in 2023, Percival says: “Antalis is very pleased to confirm that in November 2022, we acquired a worldwide portfolio of leading creative paper and board brands from historical supplier Arjowiggins Scotland.” Percival adds: “Supported by market-leading manufacturers, this acquisition enables the continued supply and long-term future of iconic brands such as Conqueror, Curious Collection, Keaykolour, Pop’Set, and Rives for the print market.” As with other providers, Premier has also seen increased stock orders from specific sectors, with a resurgence in the events industry, and new innovations in e-commerce and marketing. Goldsmith says: “Sustainable products have continued to grow in popularity with more companies seeking products with clear and quantifiable environmental benefits. We’ve seen a rise in demand for PVC-free alternatives and as such, products like Oppboga, Ultraboard and eTEC PVC-Free from Premier’s Display Graphics range have really grown in sales in 2022. At Premier we continue to add to and enhance our choice of products, that meet important environmental criteria.” Goldsmith adds: “The demand for packaging has been consistently high since the Covid pandemic, particularly transit packaging, where e-commerce has driven demand.” Sylvamo operates the Saillat mill in France, the Luiz Antonio mill in Brazil (pictured), along with many others across the globe A global study by Naomi Baron, professor of linguistics at American University in Washington, D.C., found that 92% of university students concentrate best using printed books Factoid January / February 2023 49
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