Questionnaire
Data collection for corrugated base papers
The data was collected via a bespoke questionnaire issued to the mills requesting information on the flows into and out of the integrated pulp and paper mill. The questionnaire was designed to cover the main inputs to and outputs from the pulp and papermaking processes, including the supporting ancillary processes such as energy production, wastewater treatment, etc. The questionnaires were reviewed by technical experts and the peer reviewer before issuing to the industry. The questionnaires were issued during 2023, and data was provided representative of production scenarios in 2022.
The data for semi chemical fluting and kraftliner represent about >90% of the total annual production of corrugated base papers from primary fibres in Europe. These paper grades are produced in large mills, located in Austria, Finland, France, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. Their total production was 4,896,000 tonnes net saleable paper in 2022. The mills each have an annual production of semi chemical fluting or kraftliner of between 91,000 and 1,000,000 tonnes net saleable paper. The data for the production of testliner (including white top testliner) and recycled fluting were collected from mills, together producing about 71% (17,805,000 tonnes) of the total annual production of corrugated base papers from recovered paper in Europe (EU-27 countries plus Norway, Switzerland and UK). They were provided by paper mills in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The mills each have an annual production of testliner and/or recycled fluting of between 27,000 and 1,235,000 tonnes net saleable paper. The data for the production of white top testliner are included in the average of testliner.
For all papers, data was collected covering the average market and technology situation for the calendar year 2022. The collected data was sense-checked by technical experts and compiled as a weighted average representing production of each paper grade in 2020..
Data collection for corrugated board and box production
In order to gather data relating to converting, a questionnaire was designed covering the main inputs to and outputs from corrugated board production and corrugated box production processes. The questionnaires were reviewed by technical experts and the peer reviewer before issuing to the industry.
The data on corrugated board production and production of corrugated boxes are based on 385 plants (out of a total of 574 plants across Europe [8]). These were mostly integrated plants with corrugated board and box production on the same site. The plants were located in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Together they produced 13,442,000 tonnes saleable product, which is approximately 56% of the total annual production of corrugated board products in Europe. The production sites have an average annual production of corrugated sheets and boxes of 35,660 tonnes, varying from <500 – 140,000 tonnes each.
[8] FEFCO Annual Statistics 2022