PRO Flexconvert: Mr Aalto, you hold a number of important positions at Matthews. To start with, could you give us a brief overview?
Esa-Matti Aalto: I am Senior Vice President at Matthews International. As Managing Director, I represent the brands Olbrich, Saueressig and Polytype Converting, which are relevant for the converting industry. I have been working for the group of companies since 2008 and in the field of plant and machine engineering since 2003. Due to my Finnish background, I had developed an affinity for the paper and pulp industry from the very beginning of my studies. Since then, I have always had contact with paper, finishing and converting – all in all, it‘s a very exciting field!
PRO Flexconvert: What trends are you currently observing in the converting industry – and what are the resulting priorities for your daily work?
E.-M. Aalto: One megatrend is clearly sustainability, which is now permeating all industries and layers of society. We are addressing this topic by implementing various applications and projects in industry. More on this later. Another big topic for us is digitalisation. It has already caused disruptions in many industries – and the converting industry will be no exception! We see ourselves as being very well positioned overall at Matthews because we not only offer coating, printing and embossing lines, but also coding and marking systems, solutions for warehouse automation and robotics. Our customers get all these things from a single source – and we are at their side, providing forward-looking and sustainable support, especially in these really challenging times.
PRO Flexconvert: Let‘s talk about current innovations. What new developments would you like to highlight?
E.-M. Aalto: One focus of our innovations for the converting industry is calender technology. We have developed a truly groundbreaking technology for calendering high-viscosity adhesives as a joint project between Olbrich and Saueressig, which offers the customer many advantages. Until now, it has not been possible to apply these adhesives using die technology or the proven roller application process. It is only thanks to the calender technology that we offer that we can coat these adhesives without the use of solvents. This means that the entire subsequent process (e.g. drying) is no longer necessary. We have implemented another innovation together with BASF: our PGS printing chamber doctor blade system has been further developed to such an extent that the coating accuracy now comes very close to die technology in terms of quality. We now have hardly any distribution differences across the working width and only apply what is needed. In the classic printing process (gravure), the screen roller naturally always causes fluctuations. Normally, we are talking about 5-8%. With PGS, only 1% fluctuations are to be expected. Over the course of a year, this results in a huge cost and quality advantage for our customers! The fact that only what has been conveyed into the chamber is applied also means that the customer no longer needs a return line. Compared to current systems, where up to 250% of the coating material has to be transported in the return line to ensure foam[1]free application, our solution eliminates the need for material preparation systems, pumps, and containers in which the adhesive or coating must come to rest. All that remains is the feed pump and the application itself – an enormous cost advantage in the almost seven-digit range for one of our reference customers!
PRO Flexconvert: Can you give us an example of a current lighthouse project involving Matthews?
E.-M. Aalto: In the area of décor, we have worked with the company SURTECO to develop a truly innovative process in which electron beams are cross-linked. The structures embossed in the décor paper and the print itself are very natural. The result is a genuine wood look that is also very close to the natural product in terms of feel. Thanks to electron beam crosslinking, there is no need for drying in the traditional sense – and production can be carried out with considerably less energy consumption, thus conserving resources.
PRO Flexconvert: Last September, we visited the Barrier Day of Polytype Converting in Fribourg. After a few months – what is your assessment of this event?
E.-M. Aalto: The feedback from the industry was excellent! The customers who were there had a keen interest in further advancing the topic of barrier coatings on paper. Since then, we have seen a significantly higher demand for developments in this area, but also for solutions for implementation in the real world of industry. That‘s why we will definitely be repeating this format in the future! Then, we don‘t just want to address the paper industry, but also involve the brand owners – and the big packaging giants who would like to be involved. I see this technology as a megatrend for the next 10-20 years and expect further groundbreaking inventions. However, I don‘t think that paper will replace plastic. Instead, there will be a healthy coexistence in which both materials will find a good place – both in industry and in consumer goods themselves.
PRO Flexconvert: Following on from that, there is also news on the subject of multilayer coating – in cooperation with Mitsui.
E.-M. Aalto: Exactly. We apply several layers at once, instead of running the product through the machine multiple times during production – or having to build a system with three or four consecutive coating stations. We can coat substrates with different barriers in a single step – for example, oxygen and moisture barriers, but also protective coatings and primers for further printing. Many players have tried this process – together with Mitsui, we have found an industrially feasible solution that is also in demand.
PRO Flexconvert: We will see each other very soon at ICE Europe. Matthews wants to make digitalisation a tangible experience there. What can we expect?
E.-M. Aalto: Our team has developed VR solutions that should enable our customers to actually go inside selected machine concepts. It‘s not enough just to look at the machine – it can also virtually demonstrate splicing processes. This gives the customer a much better idea of which elements they want in which place. Even before deciding to buy, they can get a much better idea of the overall machine concept. In addition, maintenance and servicing can be virtually networked in the future – for faster intervention and better service. We will also be presenting a configurator at ICE that can be used to configure the desired machine and can be thought of as a kind of virtual furniture studio. This is initially possible with a laboratory calender, with other models to follow.
This interview was published in PRO Flexconvert. Magazine for Converting Professionals, Ausgabe 6, 2025.
