BRAZIL (News release) -- Klabin has announced investments of R$ 40 million ($8 million) in the technology employed to apply dispersible barrier in the paperboard used to produce diverse types of packaging present in everyday life.

The solution, which offers a barrier to water, water vapor and grease directly at the mill and is available on an industrial scale, retains the original recycling and composting characteristics of paper, while offering a more sustainable alternative to the options currently available.

The investment will be used to modernize a coating machine at the Monte Alegre Unit, whose annual production capacity will be increased to up to 60,000 tons. The major differential offered by the solution applied to paperboard is that it is dispersible which, apart from eliminating the use of additional packaging or application of additional coating, significantly increases the potentially positive impacts of packaging.

The modernization process is being done in two stages. In the first stage, the application technology will be upgraded, while the second stage will focus on increasing production capacity and intensifying the development of new products, especially those of renewable origin. Notable among the solution's technical differentials is the addition of the barrier at the factory itself, which enables the Company to ramp up scale.