Iggesund
As anyone who’s worked in packaging knows, you can craft some of the finest design of your career and still end up mortified by the final results. One of the top reasons for this, and certainly one of the cruellest, is cracking. However good you are at spinning a terrible situation, you quite literally can’t “paper over the cracks” when cracking occurs. The best way to avoid the heartbreak of a great design spoiled? Use a stock that simply will not crack in the first place.
For more than 30 years Iggesund Paperboard has supplied the U.S. with Invercote, a paperboard and coated cover that resists cracking thanks to a three-layered construction. In North America and overseas it is the go-to stock for numerous gift packs for wine, whisky and cognac producers such as Macallan and Martell. Chanel and Guerlain also insist on Invercote.
Yet in America its distribution has been concentrated primarily on the East Coast…until now.
Increasing interest in Invercote’s unique properties from brand owners on the West Coast and some key new business acquisitions made expanding west a natural next step. Iggesund Paperboard has established an inventory position and sheeting capabilities in Pomona, Calif. The goal: making Invercote readily available for quick turn market demand, and serving the commercial print and packaging cluster in California and beyond.
The Secret of Invercote’s Construction
All well and good, but how does Invercote seemingly accomplish the impossible by resisting cracking on the fold?
Made from pure virgin fiber from Northern European trees, the stock uses long spruce and pine fiber in the middle layer for stiffness and flexibility, and short fibers from birch to achieve the surface smoothness that creates an excellent printability.
Apart from this Invercote has a very high level of consistency, so that there is no need for adjustment between pallets or rolls. And when a job has to be repeated, the press settings remain the same as before.
Iggesund’s Western Expansion
And now, Iggesund is bringing its proprietary anti-cracking technology to the Western United States.
“Now is the time to increase our presence on the West Coast, where we know there is a density of brand owners who will appreciate the quality level we offer with Invercote,” explains Rickard Österlindh, president of Iggesund Americas.
The company will focus its sales and marketing efforts on premium packaging and graphical print applications, building on the foundation of offset and digital print business recently established through a network of merchant distributors.
“Invercote’s unique attributes truly distinguish it from other products in the marketplace, and as such Iggesund will seek to identify applications where those properties add value,” Österlindh says. “That’s why we’re also reinforcing our U.S. sales organisation by recruiting people who can help increase sales both in areas where we had no previous presence and those where we already have a position.”
“Invercote is a niche product in the U.S.,” says Neal Haussel, sales director & marketing manager U.S. “Unlike domestically produced paper and paperboard grades, Invercote is manufactured using a multilayer construction, which means that it will not crack on the fold; neither with nor against the grain. This is an incredibly powerful selling point, which is further strengthened by a second-to-none environmental sustainability platform.
“We are pleased to formally announce the addition of Paige Brinkley to the Iggesund sales team to help us develop brand recognition on the West Coast, and deliver Invercote’s unique proposition to that heretofore untapped market. Paige brings a long history of working both in fine paper and board markets and has an extensive background working on the West Coast.”
Enhanced distribution from coast to coast in the U.S. is just one step in Iggesund’s overarching effort to become a unified global entity by strengthening its service platform outside Europe. In step with that effort, the company has launched a broader service concept, which emphasises the resources and support functions offered to existing and potential customers.
“Care by Iggesund” includes the fast, easy ordering of samples and inspirational materials, product safety information and certificates, and access to the analytical services of Iggesund’s accredited Laboratory for Sensory and Chemical Analyses. Iggesund’s extensive environmental documentation is also part of the “Care by Iggesund” campaign, serving as a guarantee that customers will not have any unpleasant surprises regarding the origins of forest raw material.
Iggesund’s service offering encompasses everything associated with Invercote – from technical support in local markets to the paperboard expertise the company offers in the form of a wide range of reference materials.
“We don’t just want customers to buy our paperboard,” Österlindh concludes. “We want them to get the most out of the products we produce by making a resource base of knowledge available to them. All our documentation, together with an experienced team of local market technicians, exist to ensure that.”
