Woodly – The cellulose-based plastic revolution
Type of post: COMPANY/PRODUCT
PROFILE.
Woodly Ltd is a Finnish cleantech
company and the developer of a wood-based, transparent packaging material
called Woodly®. The
development of this new material began in 2011. The company has already
manufactured packaging prototypes made of the wood-based plastic for companies
in the consumer goods sector. Now, Woodly
has been noted internationally as well, by being included in the Bioplastic News ranking of brands and companies. It was ranked as 12th on the list,
making it the lists’ highest ranked start-up company and it was positioned
above many established multinational companies. At
the moment, the team is working very hard to make sure you can find products
packed in Woodly at stores. Let us know more about its breakthrough
technology and products.
Figure 1. Woodly is a Finnish company
manufacturing a wood-based raw material granulate, that resembles small pearls.
These granulates are then used by industrial partners to manufacture packaging.
The product
What is Woodly®?
It is an entirely new, wood-based and transparent
packaging material. It is a carbon-neutral material with cellulose from
sustainably managed forests. Woodly can be used for packaging food and everyday
goods. It can be processed with all the conventional techniques: film blowing,
sheet extrusion, extrusion coating, injection moulding, blow moulding,
thermoforming…
Sustainable and biobased
Woodly’s main raw material comes from
FSC-certified forests. This means that the forests are managed according to
international ecological and ethical standards. Currently, Woodly has a
certificate guaranteeing that its products are made from 40-60% renewable raw
materials. The technical team is striving to constantly increase the ratio of
biobased feedstock, without detracting from their qualities.
Woodly’s carbon footprint is smaller than that
of other similar materials. In addition, it has been designed to be recyclable,
making it fully integrated in a circular economy. The quality and mechanical
properties remain after 5 cycles. If Woodly products end up in combustible
waste, the energy recovered yields 70% less fossil-based carbon dioxide than
burning traditional plastics.
Product line development
At the moment, the company is developing Woodly®
with its industrial partners into wood-based clear films, rigid packaging as
well as carton coatings.
Woodly® 100
|
Wood-based material for clear films that can
be heat-sealed and printed. The first product in this series is under testing.
|
Woodly® 200
|
Heat-formable material quality for use in
various transparent and clear rigid packages. This product series is
currently undergoing testing.
|
Woodly® 300
|
Wood-based polymer extrusion coatings for
cardboard. This product series is currently undergoing testing.
|
Figure 2. Woodly’s main raw material comes from
FSC-certified forests
The technology
Woodly® is based on proprietary technology making
cellulosic material into thermoformable plastic and thus enabling the wide
variety of converting techniques. It is commercially ready. The company is able
to produce 10 tons per month with the option of scaling-up to 1,000 tons next
year if there is demand. Further plans beyond that exist already.
Partners
The company is cooperating with two global
suppliers of sustainable packaging solutions (Wipak and Amerplast) and has
published cooperation with a local salad producer (Järvikylä). More agreements
are expected to come up soon.
Figure 3. Woodly is cooperating with the local
salad producer Järvikylä
Contact
Jaakko Kaminen
CEOjaakko.kaminen@woodly.com
+358 (0)40 590 0035
