Blue Ocean Closures

Rottneros AB, one of the world’s leading suppliers of first-class market pulp, is now investing in Blue Ocean Closures and becomes a co-owner of the Swedish start-up, developing proprietary fiber-based packaging materials.

Since just two years, Blue Ocean Closures AB has developed technology to produce fiber-based closures for consumer packaging at large scale, aiming to replace current plastic solutions on a global market. The innovative technology and material have potential for many more high volume use cases and making an impact in terms of reducing plastic pollution and its climate effects.

Blue Ocean Closures is leading the way in a very exciting new field with their vacuum press forming technology. At Rottneros we see this field as complementary to our work in wet moulding and exploring the opportunities within dry processes fits very well with our market strategy.

Lennart Eberleh, CEO, Rottneros AB

Blue Ocean Closures is working in partnership with industrial leaders and brandowners, who are committed to the development of more enivonmentally friendly solutions.

With Rottneros deep knowledge in pulp and packaging, we further strengthen our position and ability to reach market.

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

The company has during its two years of operation been focused on developing high quality, biobased and recyclable as paper screw caps. This investment and the partnership will expand the important development in more market segments. We are thrilled to
welcome Rottneros as our new co-owner

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

Blue Ocean Closures is a newcomer on the prestigious NyTeknik 33-list 2023 presented 16 th of November.

It is enormously inspiring that we have been selected for the 33-list and take place among Sweden’s most prominent start-ups says Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

Our innovation journey has only just started, and we have already created technical solutions to meet global market needs for more environmentally friendly materials and products to replace plastic. This is a recognition for us as a company and for the potential of our new technology for large scale production of fiber-based closures

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

→ Read more on paperprovince.com (Swedish)

Today, Blue Ocean Closures is launching an offer to adopt its innovative technology for replacing plastics across a wide range of product categories. As part of their participation at The Greener Manufacturing Show & Plastic Waste Free World exhibition in Cologne on November 8-9 th, this start-up is introducing its revolutionizing fiber technology.

Blue Ocean Closures, with a mission to introduce fiber-based closures as a sustainable alternative to plastic closures such as caps and lids, is now extending its initiative to an even broader range of product categories.

As they participate and share insight at the Greener Manufacturing Show & Plastic Waste Free World conference in Cologne, Germany, Blue Ocean Closure’s CEO, Lars Sandberg, states,

We are dedicated to creating an impact in the field of replacing plastics and reducing climate effects. This is a way of maximizing that impact and increasing the pace of change into more environmentally friendly products. We are opening doors for other converters to adopt material suited for Blue Ocean Closures’ vacuum press forming technology, seamlessly integrated with our tailored machinery.

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

The proprietary material not only empowers precise and deep-forming technology but also enhances functionality. This material, developed in conjunction with Glatfelter Corporation, is optimized with the use of Quality Tools machinery and retains compatibility with a range of other forming concepts, thereby enhancing or complementing future dry forming approaches.

First material and machine offers are available in limited volumes starting in 2024.

Meet us at stand D122, Hall no 10.1 at Koelnmesse, Greener Manufacturing Show / Plastic Waste Free World 2023 to learn more about these product offerings.

Would it be possible to replace metal lids for consumer products such as jams and spreads with a lid made of biobased fibers? This is what disruptive start-up Blue Ocean Closures is now investigating together with neighbouring Swed-jam, a Swedish brand producing jams, marmalades, jellies, fruit drinks, smoothies, juices, fruit soups and compotes.

Swedish start-up Blue Ocean Closures is determined to reduce the climate effects of packaging. In a project funded by BioInnovation / Vinnova to research and develop substitutes using biobased materials, the company has partnered with Swed-jam, a food producer that makes jam, juice, drinks and smoothies, based in the same region and with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.

In our development, it is important for us to work closely with companies in other parts of the value chain to explore and learn together how fiber-based closures could work in an industrial setting.

Isabel Malone, Project Manager, Blue Ocean Closures

For some product types, no alternatives to metal screw lids exist on the market today. The project is based on a clear hypothesis, backed by requests from global customers, that a concept for recyclable lids made of paper fibers would meet requirements and market needs of more sustainable solutions.

To replace metal with a biobased material, would mean a great impact in terms of decreased climate effects, potentially more than 500 000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.

The technology development in this project is really exciting, says Birgitta Björk, CEO of Swed-jam. It will be interesting to see what benefits can be achieved from an environmental, cost and market perspective.

BioInnovation Program Manager Per Edström comments;

BioInnovation funds projects that pave the way for a circular bioeconomy, and this project is well qualified by addressing a clear market need for biobased replacements of metal lids with a potential to global market scale-up.

Blue Ocean Closures is the Swedish start-up developing proprietary fiber-based screw caps who is now the 102nd member of the 4evergreen alliance. Together the members represent the entire life cycle for fiber-based packaging, working to develop tools and guidelines for an even more sustainable sector.

Community Manager, Ulrika Ganterud Evermark at Blue Ocean Closures sees the bigger picture;

As a small start-up we need to build on and be part of the community of people, businesses and other organisations in society striving to make a real difference in sustainability. With our innovative closures we can contribute to reducing plastics in packaging and reducing climate effects. Joining 4evergreen is a great opportunity to be part of a cross-industry alliance focusing on sustainability and circularity.

As a cross-industry alliance, 4evergreen fosters synergies among companies promoting low-carbon and circular fibre-based packaging. The goal is to raise the overall recycling rate of fibre-based packaging to 90 % by 2030.

Recyclability is key for Blue Ocean Closures and Caroline Locre, Project Manager, affirms;

We are convinced that fibre-based packaging is the future and look forward to contributing to the alliance and reaching global, practical solutions that make sense for the whole value chain, the customers, and our planet.

From leading brand owners, to packaging producers, designers, recyclers, and researchers, our members at 4evergreen represents the whole fibre-based packaging industry. This is the unique added value of our alliance – says Susanne Haase, Program Director of the 4evergreen alliance. We are extremely pleased to welcome a start-up like Blue Ocean Closures, with its disruptive and innovative ideas. Together, we will make huge steps towards perfecting the circularity of fibre-based packaging.

Blue Ocean Closures, the Swedish start-up developing proprietary fiber based screw caps, has obtained a second investment from co-owner ALPLA Group in order to further develop and speed up the process of bringing environmentally friendly closure solutions to market.

Quite precisely one year ago Blue Ocean Closures was founded and the ALPLA Group, an Austrian family run corporation leading in plastic packaging and recycling, partnered up as a part owner. The decision has now been made to further invest in Blue Ocean Closures, increasing possibilities to grow its sustainable operations and activities in the field of fully biobased, biodegradable and recyclable caps and lids.

We have seen great progress, moving fast to meet the goal of developing usable fiber solutions, and as part of ALPLA’s important strategic development in circular economy, we have now decided to invest further in Blue Ocean Closures.

Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at ALPLA Group

Since Blue Ocean Closures’ start, ALPLA has participated closely in the development with an option to expand their engagement. Glatfelter Corporation, a global manufacturer of engineered materials, is also a founding partner of Blue Ocean Closures, the partners have come a long way since its inception.

Achievements include significant product and material, production and people development. The ALPLA management team visited Blue Ocean Closures’ production facility in Säffle in August, where the first continuous production plant for fiber based closures is located.

It is a very important step that a fully functioning machine is already installed, up and running together with a skilled and knowledgeable team.

Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at ALPLA Group

We now have a product with the potential to replace plastic closures in several important global product segments and markets. The intention is to go commercial with our fiber screw caps in 2023.

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

A dedicated and growing team and the additional investment from ALPLA is for sure evidence that we are on the right path and means that we can significantly strengthen our business resources

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

Blue Ocean Closures (BOC), a start-up based in Sweden, announces a key partnership with Italian company SACMI, who is showing the latest developments on fiber caps at the trade exhibition, K-fair in Düsseldorf, this week.

Blue Ocean Closures AB, set up in November 2021 is a sustainability driven start-up developing screw caps and lids made of recyclable paper fibers. The goal is to contribute to circularity and help solve major environmental problems by replacing plastics used for closures with a biobased solution. From the start, the business is backed by multinationals ALPLA and Glatfelter, who are also part owners and investors in this important technological development.

Blue Ocean Closures is working with several leading machine and tool manufacturers and is now revealing a collaboration with SACMI, one of the leading suppliers of press forming and downstream equipment for plastic caps and closures.

We have been working with SACMI for a long time and are delighted to take the opportunity at the K-fair to now go public with our cooperation. It is great that we can show the partnership at the SACMI booth, Hall 13, stand 13A63.

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

Working with partners, Blue Ocean Closures is taking a holistic approach, not only to produce but to continuously develop core technologies for materials and tooling enabling advanced, high quality and environmentally friendly closures to replace existing plastic industry standards.

An industry in transition is the key theme for the 2022 Fachpack fair taking place in Nuremberg, Germany on 27th – 29th of September. The start-up Blue Ocean Closures (BOC) exhibits for the first time in Europe prototypes of their innovative fiber closures at the booth 5-308 of its partner ALPLA.

It is a great opportunity for us to participate with our partner ALPLA to meet with industry representatives, existing and new partners. I look forward to many interesting discussions

Florian Heider, CCO at BOC

ALPLA, who is a global industry leader in plastic packaging and recycling, partners since 2021 together with Glatfelter and Blue Ocean Closures to develop innovative natural fiber-based closures using vacuum press forming technology.

We are investing continuously in the research and use of alternative, bio-based packaging materials to complement our product portfolio and to make an impact on sustainability in the field of packaging

Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at ALPLA

Christian will give an inspirational seminar on ALPLA´s 4R approach and will report on the progress of the company´s cooperation with start-ups in the field of bio-based packaging materials, among other topics.

The focus of ALPLA at Fachpack is to present latest developments along their 4R strategy, namely Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace. It is in the Replace section where BOC will participate alongside recent bioplastic innovations of ALPLA.

We will display some samples of caps and lids currently being developed at our brand-new production facility in Sweden

Florian Heider, CCO at BOC

The Absolut Company, part of Pernod Ricard, is working with Blue Ocean Closures (BOC), a start-up based in Sweden, to develop an innovative natural fibre-based closure cap for Absolut Vodka’s iconic bottle.

Made from bio-based materials, the cap’s pioneering design reduces the amount of plastic used in packaging by combining a body made of sustainably sourced FSC fibre material with a thin top-seal barrier layer, making it recyclable as paper and ocean biodegradable.

Together, BOC and The Absolut Company will develop the cap for use on current glass bottles, as an addition to existing cap solutions as well as a possibility for future packaging innovations. The partnership will see several iterations of the cap through prototyping and testing stages in 2022, with plans to share it commercially in 2023.

This is part of a wider ambition from The Absolut Company and Pernod Ricard to create a fully circular business, working with suppliers and partners to ensure that 100% of its packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

We know that collaboration across the whole value chain sits at the heart of long-term progress and true environmental, economic, and social impact. As part of our circular way of thinking, we are delighted to be working with BOC to continue designing out single-use materials and using packaging innovation for the benefit of the planet. says Eric Näf, Director of Packaging Development at The Absolut Company

We are proud to partner with Absolut Vodka to bring an alternative cap solution to the market. My first job was actually on the Absolut Vodka factory floor, so I’ve seen how quality is a key focus across every part of the production process.

Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures

We are excited to welcome Absolut Vodka to join us in the important development of our caps, alongside industry leaders such as ALPLA and Glatfelter.

Ulrika Evermark, Community manager at Blue Ocean Closures

→ More information on sustainable innovation by The Absolut Company