Hansol Paper

SEOUL, June 24, 2021 (Press Release) - Hansol Paper will take market-related downtime at the Janghang mill at the end of June. The planned downtime is caused by an unprecedented disruption for container shipping, skyrocketing shipping costs and piled containers at the destination ports. It is extremely hard to find cargo spaces and vessels for many countries, especially the USA and Europe. And the congestion at the ports is unlikely to be resolved in the foreseeable future. The company has therefore decided to take the inevitable downtime for four days. Hansol Paper expects that this measure will ease the order backlogs and lower the inventory level at the ports. *Janghang mill produces printing and writing paper, as well as thermal paper. Source: RISI 

Based on its 2020 sustainability performance assessment of global companies, EcoVadis has awarded the Gold Sustainability Rating to Hansol Paper. EcoVadis is a global ratings service company that evaluates the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of more than 65,000 companies from 160 countries in some 200 industries. Every year, the company releases an assessment report of each supplier’s environmental and social responsibility so that companies can use such information as a reference when choosing suppliers or deciding whether to maintain partnerships with their current suppliers.  The EcoVadis Gold Rating, which Hansol Paper received, is only granted to the top five percent of all assessed companies, a feat stemming from Hansol Paper’s enhanced performance in the four CSR categories assessed: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. In particular, the company was highly recognized for its outstanding performance in the environment category.  Hansol Paper values resource circulation & recycling and has been striving to develop new eco-friendly products. Since 2014, the company has published an annual sustainability report.  The attainment of the EcoVadis Gold Rating will serve as an outstanding indicator of Hansol Paper’s sustainable management. Moving forward, Hansol Paper will continue to contemplate and implement better ways to achieve sustainable management.

▲ Protego, an eco-friendly packaging material that can replace plastic and aluminum Hansol Paper’s Protego, originally a Latin word that means “to protect,” is an alternative eco-friendly packaging material developed as a replacement for traditional flexible packaging materials (e.g., plastic film and aluminum foil). Protego is mainly used for individual packaging of snacks & cookies, dry foods, and medications. Unlike multi-layered packaging materials, where two or three layers of plastic films, aluminum foil, or other materials are glued together for the preservation of quality and particularly for insulation from oxygen and moisture, Protego utilizes a single material, which greatly reduces production costs and streamlines the lamination process.   ▲ Aroma diffuser packaging made of Protego for insulation from moisture and oxygen Furthermore, Protego-based packaging can be disposed of separately as recyclable paper waste and then recycled. More than 90 percent of Protego is also biodegradable, so it can reduce CO2 emissions by some 45 percent, thereby helping to solve one of the most serious global environmental issues. In this respect, Protego’s strength is its eco-friendliness. Amid the government’s more stringent environmental policies and the so-called “Green Survival” trend in which consumers are keen on using eco-friendly products, interest in and inquiries about Protego have been steadily increasing. Against this backdrop, Hansol Paper has applied for Protego-related patents in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.   ▲ [USO X Taegeukdang X Hansol Paper Pop-Up Store] Taegeukdang’s Monaka Ice Cream packaging made of Protego   ▲ Protego-based packaging of Seoul Boree barley tea product sold via URBANBOOKS   ▲ Soap, solid toothpaste, drip coffee, cosmetics, and dust mask packaging made of Protego By combining special treatment and coating technologies, which had been difficult to apply on paper materials, experts at Hansol Paper were able to create a barrier coating layer on Protego to ensure insulation from oxygen and moisture. This barrier technology was awarded FDA certification in the U.S. and globally recognized UL safety certification, in addition to a Korean patent. In recognition of such outstanding qualities, Protego was awarded the MOTIE Minister’s Award at the 14th Korea Star Awards 2020, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

Since China imposed a waste import ban in February 2018 and sent shock waves around the globe regarding waste treatment, plastic recycling has been a particularly thorny issue. In agriculture, the use of plastic is both essential and problematic. Mulch film that covers soil on farmland can help retain moisture in soil, control soil temperature, deter the growth of weeds and germs, and prevent soil erosion, thereby allowing farmers to increase their yields. However, removing these films after use requires a great deal of labor and incurs high costs, while incinerating them for disposal can lead to serious environmental pollution. Furthermore, according to research by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), weathering can break mulch films into fine pieces that can remain in the surrounding agricultural areas, and the higher the mulch residue, the lower the crop yield and soil microbe activity.   ▲ Hansol Paper’s eco-friendly mulch paper is currently used on farms   An answer to such shortcomings is mulch paper. Made of 100 percent pulp, it has outstanding heat insulation properties. Since mulch paper is biodegradable, it does not require removal after harvest and can serve as compost that facilitates crop growth. Moreover, since paper is inherently porous, the holes allow soil to breathe and enhance crop immunity, thereby promoting sustainable cultivation. Hansol Paper has been encouraging Korean farmers to use mulch paper as it is an eco-friendly material that does not cause soil pollution while helping to maintain a sustainable agricultural environment.

Such efforts paid off handsomely in the form of record sales revenue, despite the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hansol Paper’s transfer paper sales volume increased by 68 percent year-on-year, setting an all-time sales record in November. According to the Specialty Paper Sales Team, the company swiftly responded to market trends by releasing Expert, a new transfer paper dedicated to fast printers, along with a new product line consisting of Origin, Expert, Quick-Dry, Eco, and Tacky. In September, it also participated in a virtual trade show organized by the World Textile Information Network (WTiN) in an effort to expand customer contact points.

Amid the challenging circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hansol Paper’s Label Sales Team participated in K-LABEL 2020, an exhibition show part of the K-PRINT 2020 held at KINTEX, Ilsan in November, to explore new sales channels and expand customer contact points. During the four-day exhibition, a wide range of visitors, from B2B (the majority) to B2C customers, visited the company’s booth, providing Hansol Paper with an opportunity to reinforce direct customer communication and networks as well as meet potential customers.   During the event, Hansol Paper emphasized its status as a comprehensive label materials manufacturer through the slogan “All That Labels” while reconfirming its status as Korea’s leading producer of base paper for labels.   At K-LABEL 2020, Hansol Paper exhibited a total of eight products: three types of facestock (i.e., Thermal Paper SL, Thermal Paper CL, and Hi-Q Label C1S) and five types of release liner used for the bottoms of labels (i.e., Hi-Q Label Glassine Paper, Hi-Q Label SCK, Hi-Q Label CCK, Hi-Q Label Release Liner, and Hi-Q Label IP Paper). In particular, Hi-Q SCK and Hi-Q CCK garnered significant attention among visitors as they were first introduced during the exhibition as the company’s newly-released liner product.