SWM International has been successfully acquired by Evergreen Hill Enterprise. The company will now operate as an independent privately owned business with its headquarters located in Luxembourg.
SWM International is a leading supplier of premium, highly engineered lightweight materials. The company serves various industry segments, including tobacco, cannabinoids, battery, surface protection, packaging and medical. With a global footprint including facilities in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States, the company is home to nearly 2,000 employees worldwide, including an experienced management team.
“Today marks a milestone for our employees, our customers and our partners,” said SWM CEO Katrin Hanske in a statement. “Leveraging our profound engineering expertise in botanicals and natural fibers, we are dedicated to further advancing innovation in our distinctive products and technologies, all while expanding our manufacturing capabilities.”
The acquisition was first announced in August 2023. Headquartered in Singapore, Evergreen Hill Enterprise is affiliated with BMJ of Indonesia.
Driven by cost considerations and growing environmental awareness, do-it-yourself cigarette papers continue to gain popularity.
By Stefanie Rossel
Traditionally, roll-your-own (RYO) products thrive in difficult economic periods, and for the time being, it appears, the challenges won’t cease. As the Covid-19 pandemic ebbed, the world was shaken by war in Ukraine, worsening inflation and cost-of-living crises in many countries. Since October, global stability and confidence has been further eroded by the war between Israel and Hamas.
The economic slump means that many consumers are coping with lower disposable incomes. Among smokers, such a development often encourages a shift from factory-made cigarettes to more affordable RYO or make-your-own (MYO) products.
Market research companies are hence upbeat about the rolling papers market. Future Market Insights (FMI), for example, expects the value of the global cigarette paper market to grow from $714 million in 2023 to $1.19 billion by 2033, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 percent during that period. “The rising popularity of smoking rolled cigarettes along with an increasing number of states legalizing recreational cannabis are the key factors expected to augment the demand for rolling papers,” the report states. The U.S., where 24 states permit recreational cannabis use, accounts for 16.9 percent of the global rolling papers market.
In emerging economies, meanwhile, growing demand for rolling tobacco is creating opportunities for manufacturers to expand their footprints in untapped markets, FMI writes. In some of these countries, restrictions on reduced-risk products also play a role. India, for instance, which banned vape products in 2019, is predicted to witness a CAGR of 6.9 percent in sales of rolling papers through 2033.
Adult smokers increasingly seek all-in-one packaging solutions, rather than making multiple separate purchases.
Careful Navigation Needed
The global rolling papers market is dominated by several large players. Lately, however, smaller entrants to the category have been offering niche or novelty products in terms of sizes, colors and ingredients.
“In general, we see an upward trend in the global market for rolling papers being driven by increasing preference for hand-rolled tobacco due to the value offer they provide compared to factory-made cigarettes as well as the rise in prominence for more environmentally friendly and innovative products,” notes Jose Rubiralta, global manager of Rizla, which is part of Imperial Brands. “For Rizla specifically, the more recent negative global developments mentioned bear limited impact. We are actively expanding our presence in different markets to build on our position as the world’s most iconic rolling paper brand.”
Santiago Sanchez, executive president of France-based Republic Technologies Group, which is best known for its OCB, Zig-Zag and JOB brands, says that the Covid-19 pandemic had boosted his company’s sales. The more recent series of crises has made it difficult to find shipping vessels, however. It has also boosted inflation and caused a scarcity of raw materials. “I usually say that our products sell better during a crisis—and this is what is happening—though I personally regret very much the suffering of so many people in the present wars.”
Republic has been doing well in its core markets. “Besides, we see an opportunity in new markets, mainly on the American continent,” says Sanchez. “This is not yet linked very much to the RYO tobacco expansion but the depenalization of certain substances such as cannabis that were prosecuted until recently.”
For Xavier Garcia, commercial director of the RYO division at Miquel y Costas, the geopolitical challenges pose new hurdles that require careful navigation. “While we celebrate the positive impact of changing consumer habits, we must remain vigilant in the face of geopolitical complexities. The challenges are formidable, but they present opportunities for innovation and strategic adaptation.”
Smoking Paper, Miquel y Costas’ rolling paper brand that will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024, currently experiences significant growth in various markets. “The growth of the brand is something transversal and not specific to just a few markets,” says Garcia, who attributes its growing popularity of RYO and MYO products to shortages of affordable cigarettes and higher taxation of factory-made products, among other factors.
We see that consumers ask for new products that are more environmentally friendly.
More Regulatory Hurdles
The next challenge for tobacco-related rolling papers will be regulation, according to Sanchez. “We have the intrusion of the politicians with constant new regulations,” he says. “We will see what happens with the revision of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive and new laws trying to overregulate [the industry] such as [those] trying to have tobacco-free generations and forbidding filters.”
Another challenge comes from the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), which entered into force in 2021 and bans the sale of single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws and plastic/cotton bud sticks as well as food containers and expanded polystyrene cups. The law exempts cigarette filters but will oblige tobacco manufacturers to cover the costs of consumer awareness-raising measures and extended producer responsibility schemes tackling the cleanup of litter and its subsequent transport and treatment and other issues starting this December.
“While personally I have always been a great defender of the environment, I would have preferred a smoother application of the directive,” he points out. “The commission has not fulfilled its own timetable and now, in November, we still do not know about taxes to be paid next year, especially considering that some will be retroactive to 2023. Once again, the pressure for the smaller manufacturers is enormous and disproportionate.”
Whether driven by regulation or other factors, eco-friendliness is a major trend in rolling papers, according to Rubiralta. “In line with key consumer trends in the broader fast-moving consumer goods industry, there is a growing demand for more environmentally sustainable products,” he says. “As part of our ongoing efforts, we are actively exploring strategies to reduce the impact to the environment. This includes different product and packaging initiatives of Rizla products, amongst other contributions.
“This summer, for example, we have introduced our Natura filter tips as well as our plastic-free tips in selected markets, such as Greece. This is our first plastic-free tips range, made with biodegradable paper, which is a milestone that our team takes great pride in. This complements our recent environmentally friendly paper launches of Rizla Classic, which are unbleached papers, Natura hemp papers and our innovative Rizla Bamboo papers offer, which have received favorable consumer responses.”
Sanchez’s experience is similar. “We see that consumers ask for new products that are more environmentally friendly,” he says. “For centuries, our industry has used flax and hemp as fibers to produce rolling cigarette paper. Different fibers are now in demand, such as bamboo and rice. There is a preference of some people for rice paper, a raw material that was used many years ago to produce paper. With the improvement of paper technology, these fibers were abandoned because of their fragility. Many products still claim to be ‘rice paper,’ although they’re not made of rice. Republic has gone back to the origins, and it is now producing a special blend of rice plus organic hemp paper, which is the only product in the market containing real rice.”
Several months ago, Republic Technologies introduced the first bagged filter paper. The company is also reviewing all its packaging to remove plastic wherever possible. “Most of our boxes are no longer plastic-wrapped but they still can guarantee the freshness of the product,” says Sanchez. “We have never been fans of closing devices such as magnets because we feel it goes against the environmental target, so we have developed a new way to close some of our booklets just with a paper flap.”
While we celebrate the positive impact of changing consumer habits, we must remain vigilant in the face of geopolitical complexities. The challenges are formidable, but they present opportunities for innovation and strategic adaptation.
Seeking Convenience
In addition to natural papers and innovative materials, demand is also shifting toward larger paper formats and more advanced products, such as thinner papers, according to Rubiralta. Convenience is a big driver as well. “Adult smokers increasingly seek all-in-one packaging solutions, rather than making multiple separate purchases,” he says. “In response, we are placing a strong emphasis on our combi-packs, expanding our product offerings, and ensuring that this product is readily available to our key customers where this format is relevant.” The company launched its combi-packs of papers and paper filters in the U.K. this year.
“Customers are steering the industry toward a future marked by sustainability, exploration of materials and a demand for convenient solutions,” confirms Montse Bonjorn, director of marketing of Miquel y Costas’ RYO division. “At Miquel y Costas, we’re not merely observing these trends; we’re actively shaping the future of smoking experiences in alignment with our customers’ evolving preferences.”
The company recently introduced a range of eco-friendly, biodegradable paper filters. “As part of our commitment to setting new industry standards, we are set to launch Smoking Supreme, a product that transcends the ordinary,” she says. “Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, this new rolling paper is characterized by its feather-light weight of 12 grams and an ultra-soft surface texture—a harmonious blend for a supreme smoking experience.”
In 2021, the company launched Smoking Cones, a collection of pre-rolled cones crafted in a unique spiral design, a layout that requires less paper and glue to manufacture.
Potential for Growth
Cannabis is playing an ever more important role for rolling papers manufacturers. As further legalization of recreational cannabis is expected in the U.S. and Europe, Sanchez expects demand for RYO papers to increase. “We have developed a patented system to infuse CBD in the natural gum used in the papers. These new products are now available under the Roor trademark that the group acquired a few years ago. Moreover, we have developed a new slim paper, including tips with a length of 125 mm, for the cannabis market.”
“While global trends indicate a surge in cannabis-related products, our focus remains on identifying markets with the greatest potential,” Bonjorn explains. “Regions where cannabis legalization or cultural acceptance is on the rise are particularly promising. Latin America, North America and parts of Europe are among the regions showing considerable potential for growth.”
Miquel y Costas is actively navigating the evolving dynamics of the cannabis market. The company, says Garcia, is ready to contribute innovative solutions to cater to the evolving needs of cannabis enthusiasts. “As we anticipate developments, our strategic approach includes identifying markets where the potential for growth aligns with our commitment to quality and innovation,” he says.
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
Mativ Holdings reported sales of $679 million in the quarter of 2023, up 66.9 percent from the comparable 2022 period. The company attributed the increase to the benefits from the July 2022 merger between Schweitzer-Mauduit International and Neenah, which created the holding. In a press note, it stressed that financial results for periods prior to the merger reflect only the legacy SWM results.
GAAP loss was $7.7 million and GAAP operating profit was $9.3 million, which all included merger integration and purchase accounting expenses. Adjusted Income was $13.7 million. For the engineered papers business, adjusted EBITDA decreased approximately $15 million, accounting for roughly two-thirds of total year-over-year EBITDA decline, mainly due to labor strikes in France and manufacturing inefficiencies.
Price increases more than offset the impacts of higher input costs, according to the company; however, lower volumes primarily from customer de-stocking and manufacturing challenges drove margin pressure
Mativ Holdings expects $25 million incremental synergy realization in 2023, with procurement and supply chain activities building upon 2022 operating expenses actions, The company also anticipated easing input costs to support sequential margin improvements
“The first quarter of 2023 was impacted by a combination of customer de-stocking across the business, operational inefficiencies in our French facilities, where we experienced a number of strikes in response to governmental actions related to social benefits, and inefficiencies in several U.S. sites,” said Mativ CEO Julie Schertell.
“We believe the key issues affecting first quarter margin performance will prove temporary, as customer indications suggest we are currently moving past the peak de-stocking impacts, and that more normalized volume activity should resume in the second half of the year.
“Further, we are starting to see improved manufacturing performance across the business, which we expect will translate into better margins as the year progresses. Despite a tough first quarter and some continued headwinds expected in the second quarter, we expect to exit 2023 on a strong trajectory toward $100 million EBITDA quarters.”
Federal jurors in Atlanta awarded Republic Brands $2.3 million in statutory damages in a case about counterfeit tobacco rolling papers.
The company had accused Star Importers & Wholesalers and ZCell & Novelties of selling fake versions of its Top and Job rolling papers in the United States. Amin S. Hudda and Samadali Lakhani, the respective owners of the distribution companies, will also be held personally responsible for the counterfeiting activities.
According to Law360, the jury found that Republic hadn’t proven that the wholesalers willfully bought and sold fake rolling papers bearing Top and Job trademarks.
Had the jurors found the companies’ infringement willful, each could have faced up to $18 million in statutory damages under the Lanham Act, as well as treble damages under federal law.
The case marks Republic Brands’ latest victory in its fight against brand piracy. Over the past two years, the company obtained judgments against four wholesale companies operating in Georgia and their respective owners, personally, for engaging in illegal infringing activities and selling counterfeit goods, according to Adams and Reese, which represented Republic Brands.
In 2022, Republic won an $11 million judgement against another Georgia wholesaler and its owner.
Mativ Holdings reported sales of $660.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 69 percent over those reported in the comparable 2021 quarter, reflecting 6 percent constant currency organic sales growth and the benefit of the merger between Neenah and Schweitzer-Mauduit International that created the holding. GAAP Income was $2.5 million and GAAP operating profit was $26.9 million, which all included significant expenses related to the Neenah merger integration.
For the full year 2022, sales increased 51 percent to $2.17 billion, reflecting 11 percent constant currency organic sales growth and the benefit of the merger. GAAP loss was $6.6 million and GAAP operating profit was $51.4 million, which all included significant expenses related to the Neenah merger closing and integration.
“2022 was a historic year for Mativ, bringing together two strong companies to leverage our combined technologies and products to drive value for all of our stakeholders,” said Mativ Holdings CEO Julie Schertell in a statement. “We closed out the year with strong year-over-year fourth-quarter growth for the combined company from continued positive price/cost performance, and we enter 2023 with clear momentum on integration and synergy execution.
“Despite macro uncertainties, our conviction in the opportunities ahead for Mativ is unwavering. We have significant controllable actions to enable strong performance as we enter 2023, specifically cost synergies, innovation and programs focused on commercial and operational excellence, as well as broader, longer term decisions and actions to capitalize on our increased scale.”
Manufacturers of tipping papers adapt to a changing cigarette market.
TR Staff Report
Valued at $1.6 billion in 2021, the global cigarette paper market is projected to reach $2.2 billion by 2031, according to Allied Market Research. Tipping base paper represents only a small part of this market but is an essential component in cigarette construction, where it has to meet many requirements.
“As tipping base paper is a printing paper, the printability is most important,” says Nina Ritter-Reischl, CEO of German cigarette paper manufacturer Glatz Feinpapiere. “Printability is mainly depending on sheet formation and smoothness as well as the sizing. The latter is important to prevent color bleeding in the printing process. Our papers show a very good printability due to their formation and constant quality parameters, especially in sizing. Our know-how in tipping base paper goes back for decades and is one of our main assets.”
Other considerations are water absorption, which determines ink absorption; smoothness, which plays a role in printability; and a “dynamic contact angle” for the gluing process; along with flammability, according to Liem Khe Fung, Innovation Center director at Indonesian cigarette paper manufacturer BMJ.
Liem Khe Fu
“The print quality of BMJ’s tipping base paper is excellent,” says Liem. It allows for 12-color print and the inclusion of tactile and embossed features along with security features. Flavored and sweetened papers are also possible, according to Liem. The company started to significantly supply the market only a few years ago, so the potential growth for BMJ in this field is still high, according to Liem.
Ritter-Reischl views her company as a specialist for tipping base paper within the cigarette industry. “Therefore, we started focusing even more on our tipping base paper customers and were able to raise our sales within this market segment,” she says. “Tipping base paper customers are demanding and have high quality standards; they expect close customer relationships and interlinks in addition to excellent services. Those are challenges we can meet and are specialized in. As an example, we even deliver our tipping base paper with our own transportation company to one of our most valued customers, door to door every day.”
The tipping base paper market has become highly competitive. Liem, whose company mainly caters to the Asian market, says that price competition is the main challenge, followed by small order quantity per stock-keeping unit.
Julius Glatz is strong in Europe. “However, we also deliver to Asia and Latin America as there are printers too,” says Ritter-Reischl.
As tipping base paper is an essential part of the cigarette, the tipping base paper market is facing the same challenges as the cigarette market in general. “Rising inflation and therefore declining purchasing power of consumers, political instability, rising costs and stumbling logistics worldwide are afflicting the market,” says Ritter-Reischl.
Following a modest uptick during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many people where stuck at home, global cigarette consumption has resumed its long-term decline. In 2024, Statista projects volumes to shrink by 0.4 percent. That still leaves a market of around 5 trillion cigarettes, however—and the vast majority of them will require a tipping paper.
Sales of Mativ Holdings increased 76 percent to $674.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, with 12 percent constant currency organic sales growth, or 7 percent organic growth including negative currency impacts, the company announced in a press note.
Strong sales growth in release liners, protective solutions, filtration, and paper and specialty packaging led the portfolio, according to the company, which was created in July following the merger between Schweitzer Mauduit International and Neenah.
Pricing actions drove top-line gains while offsetting raw material cost increases, with margin expansion across most categories. Macro trends such as negative currency changes, increasing global economic uncertainty and European energy inflation impacted results, as did a cybersecurity incident unrelated to the integration of the Neenah merger during the quarter
Fiber-Based Solutions segment sales were $248 million, up 101 percent, and reflect the merged company results versus the prior year period, which reflected only legacy SWM results. Organic sales growth was 7 percent, or 12 percent excluding negative currency impacts, driven primarily by price increases, and comparable adjusted operating profit increased 6 percent. Double-digit sales growth in packaging and specialty papers led the portfolio. Price increases exceeded inflationary pressures for the segment.
“Mativ delivered organic constant currency sales growth of 12 percent in the quarter, with most business areas delivering increased price, revenue and margin,” said Mativ CEO Julie Schertell. “On a comparable basis, adjusted operating profits were up nearly 25 percent. Our merger integration is progressing well, and we are executing on our $65 million cost synergy plan. Based on current performance, we now expect to exceed our previously communicated $20 million synergy run-rate exiting 2022.”
Mativ Holdings, the company that was recently created out of the merger between Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM) and Neenah, reported earnings results for the three months ending June 30, 2022.
Including SWM legacy results, sales increased 13 percent to $426.4 million. Organically, sales grew 11 percent with strong demand and pricing actions across the business, driving top-line gains and offsetting cost increases.
“With the completion of our merger in early July to form Mativ and the close of a strong second quarter for the legacy SWM and Neenah businesses, we are poised to carry our momentum into the rest of 2022 as a unified and more scaled global leader in specialty materials,” said Mativ Holdings CEO Julie Schertell in a statement.
The company’s Engineered Papers segment sales were up 10 percent, to $138.3 million, driven by volume growth and price increases. Volumes benefited from broad-based gains across the portfolio, highlighted by continued rapid growth in heat-not-burn reduced-risk products.
GAAP operating profit was $22.4 million, down 7 percent. Adjusted operating profit was $21.5 million, down 19 percent. While contractual and market price increases and negotiated volume gains more than offset higher pulp and other material costs, operating profit and margin percentage reductions resulted mainly from rapidly escalating energy costs, particularly in Europe.
Mativ Holdings expects semi-annual contractual price increases, additional market price increase and surcharges to mitigate the impacts of escalating pulp and energy costs during the second half of the year.
Republic Technologies strengthens its lead in the world of RYO and MYO.
By Stefanie Rossel
While a niche compared to the global combustible cigarette market, the roll-your-own products category continues to grow steadily. Trouve360 Reports valued the global RYO products market at $8.72 billion in 2021 and projects it to reach $10.67 billion by 2028, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 2.9 percent. The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the sector, according to Santiago Sanchez, executive president of Republic Technologies International (RTI), a leading supplier of smoking accessories probably best known for its JOB, Zig-Zag and OCB rolling paper brands. “Sales increased a lot in 2020–2021 due to the stocking situation and increasing demand,” he says. “Some retailers overstocked. Now we have a kind of stabilization, which started early this year for our company. Sales have stabilized at a higher level than before Covid.”
The RYO category also benefits from its unique position in the tobacco industry. “If you look at the U.K., for example, where vaping has become very popular, you will notice that the RYO market has not been shrinking because of people switching to vape products,” says Sanchez. “Whilst we have lost some customers to vaping, we have won new customers who have downtraded from highly taxed factory-made cigarettes.”
Due to continuing tax increases for cigarettes, Sanchez expects more smokers to switch to more affordable RYO and make-your-own products. Production planning, however, has become more difficult for his company: “Currently, the situation is very dynamic due to inflation and the energy crisis following the Russian war against Ukraine and due to stockpiling; you don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” says Sanchez.
RTI boasts the largest paper booklet factory in the world. It is located at the company’s headquarters in Perpignan in the south of France and has an output of 1.2 billion booklets annually.
The company is also present in Barcelona, Spain, where it moved to a new, larger site last year. Here, RTI manufactures filter tubes for Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. With its two tube maker machines, the factory has a capacity of 4 billion tubes a year. With five filter maker machines, the plant also supplies 15 billion filters as a base for the tubes as well as for sale as bagged filters.
With Austria-based Altesse, RTI has a third production facility in Europe that manufactures tubes and filters for Central Europe; Germany is the main market for tubes in Europe. Top Tubes in Montreal, Canada, supplies the North American market with filter tubes. A plant in North Carolina produces RYO and MYO products as well as pipe tobaccos for the United States, where the RTI operates under the name Republic Brands. Furthermore, five distribution companies in the U.S., Canada, France, the U.K. and Germany are affiliated with RTI.
Controlled Process
Santiago Sanchez
The company sells to 110 countries worldwide and is vertically integrated. Most of the paper it processes is produced by its sister company Papeteries du Leman, which is associated with the privately held Republic Technologies Group. “From cigarette paper to the final product, everything comes from one company,” Sanchez emphasizes. “We also have close ties with the people growing the plants for the raw materials of our products, for example the farmers in Champagne who grow hemp for our hemp papers.”
RTI has total control of the process, according to Sanchez. To help reduce greenhouse gases, the company tries to source its materials locally as much as possible. “Except for the Arabic gum that is imported from Africa and the bamboo that we source from China, all raw materials and machinery come from within 500 km of our Perpignan site,” says Sanchez.
Operating in a comparatively small segment of the tobacco industry, RTI does not have available as vast of an array of ready-made manufacturing equipment as the large cigarette companies do. Instead, the smoking accessories supplier has an R&D department with a team of engineers and technicians who design all machinery, which is then custom built. Maximized automation and flexibility are key requirements of the equipment as RTI produces many different paper specifications based not only on cellulose but also on textile fibers such as hemp, flax, bamboo and rice. Traceability is another consideration. Each bobbin is marked with a matrix code so that the paper can be traced back to the machine and even the canal on which it was manufactured. As one measure to protect its products from being counterfeited, RTI embosses its papers with watermarks.
Counterfeiting is a big issue in the RYO category, according to Sanchez, who observes this threat especially for RTI’s OCB brand, with fakes coming mostly from China. The company says it relentlessly pursues counterfeiters. In March this year, it won a significant legal victory in the U.S. when a jury found that a Georgia-based wholesaler had willfully sold and distributed counterfeit rolling paper products under Republic Brands’ TOP and JOB trademarks. Republic Brands and its affiliates were awarded $11 million in damages from the counterfeiting wholesaler and its owner.
R&D is Key
At its headquarters, RTI has a dedicated laboratory that checks the ingredients and raw materials of the company’s products for regulatory compliance. It also analyzes competitors’ products and fake versions of its own trademarks. The lab is equipped to measure all paper characteristics, such as opacity, tensile strength, porosity or thickness.
R&D is a must for RTI because of legislation, the move toward more environmentally friendly production and other factors, says Sanchez. “Regulation makes work highly complicated. Being delivered to 110 markets, our products have to comply with all the different regulations, health warnings and even plain packaging requirements, as is the case in Israel,” he says.
RTI’s lab also provides vaping machines and related testing equipment. The company diversified into the vape category in 2014 and has since been selling e-liquids under the E-CG brand. In October 2020, the company acquired French liquid manufacturer Innovative – So Good to expand the scope of its business. Today, RTI is one of the leaders in the French vape market, where its liquids are exclusively sold through tobacconists. All liquids are created at the Perpignan site.
One of the advantages of rolling papers is that they can be made with naturally occurring fibers and without calcium carbonate and citrate as combustion additives, as is the case with factory-made cigarettes.
In June 2019, the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive entered into force. Since then, all tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products in the common market must carry a label that states that the products contain plastic.
Presently, the RTI’s R&D team develops many products that are more environmentally friendly. RTI has launched a line of biodegradable filters that are made with paper. Touch and filter properties are virtually the same as those of cellulose acetate (CA) filters, explains Sanchez. “It’s the result of a two-year development,” he says. “Technically, it replicates CA. Tests have shown that smoking experience is the same, and from a physical point of view, pressure drop equals that in a CA filter. We are the only ones offering this kind of biodegradable filter for RYO. The paper is the key; it is made from cellulose and viscose. Only few paper manufacturers are capable of producing this.”
RTI also markets its biodegradable filters in some of its tube products. Environmentally friendly filters today account for 20 percent of the company’s turnover from filters.
New Base Materials
Regarding rolling papers, the company has a wide range of products in its portfolio. RTI claims to be the only company selling cigarette papers that contain real rice fibers. “Rice fibers are quite fragile; they tend to break too often on high-speed machines,” says Sanchez. “So many manufacturers stopped making it. We developed a rice paper in 2021 with a mixed blend consisting of 50 percent rice and 50 percent hemp and adopted our manufacturing process to handle the product.” Rice paper is one of the original cigarette paper types; it burns more evenly and reportedly gives more of a natural taste, so many consumers still want it. The rice that RTI processes in its paper comes from the French Camargue region.
In 2021, RTI also introduced Roor rolling papers with CBD-infused gum, which are distributed in markets where CBD is legal, such as the U.K. and Germany. “Due to Covid, the product has been launched only recently, but it’s doing particularly well in Germany. We also offer variants with rice, organic hemp and unbleached papers,” says Sanchez.
OCB Bamboo is another newcomer from RTI. “We have developed a full range of bamboo papers, which we are now planning to sell worldwide,” Sanchez says. “OCB Bamboo has been a big success in the U.S. Bamboo is good for the environment; it grows fast and needs no fertilizers. We are trying to find an alternative source to China, for instance, in the Philippines.”
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
Mativ Holdings today announced the completion of the merger of equals between Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM) and Neenah, two leading global manufacturers of specialty materials, effective July 6, 2022.
Mativ has approximately $3 billion in sales, supporting customers in more than 100 countries, and manufacturing capabilities on four continents. Beginning Wednesday, July 6, 2022, the company will commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the new ticker symbol MATV.
“I am extremely excited and proud to mark this important milestone in the journey of our two companies with the formation of Mativ, said Julie Schertell, president and CEO of Mativ, in a statement.
“This merger is a unique opportunity to boldly reimagine our future as a stronger and faster-growing global enterprise. As we come together, we see significant near and long-term value creation opportunities to accelerate growth and amplify margins. With compelling strategic touch-points in key market categories, complementary geographies and technologies, increased global scale, and a passionate workforce with deep roots in material science, we are ideally suited to help solve our customer’s most critical challenges, which is the foundation of our cultural, commercial and financial success.
“As we bring the best of these two organizations together, our priorities are centered around supporting our customers, accelerating our growth, delivering the $65 million, or more, of deal-enabled cost synergies, and driving margins and cash flows to support deleveraging and a strong dividend. We will also continue to execute our strategy, including investments in our fastest growing and most profitable business units and decisive actions to optimize our portfolio over time. Mativ has tremendous potential, and, as we celebrate this new beginning, I want to recognize the efforts of our outstanding employees who work tirelessly every day to push the limits of what is possible.”
This merger is a unique opportunity to boldly reimagine our future as a stronger and faster-growing global enterprise.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter in the rich histories of both companies, forming a scaled global leader in specialty materials to drive value for customers, employees, stakeholders, and our shareholders,” said John Rogers, chairman of Mativ’s board of directors. “We will continue executing a well-defined strategy, maintain an attractive financial profile, and advance our corporate stewardship and governance efforts. Mativ is committed to providing attractive returns to shareholders while maintaining a prudent balance sheet and disciplined approach to capital allocation. We have assembled an exceptional, diverse, and experienced leadership team, and we look forward to working with Julie and her talented group of leaders to deliver on the promise of this transaction.”
Mativ will disclose financial results for two reporting segments: advanced technical materials (ATM) and fiber-based solutions (FBS). The ATM segment is comprised of five non-reporting business units: filtration, protective solutions, release liners, healthcare, and industrials. This segment generally represents the combination of SWM’s legacy advanced materials and structures and Neenah’s technical products reporting segments. ATM will deliver solutions that filter and purify air and liquids, support adhesive and protective applications, advance healing and wellness, and solve some of material science’s most demanding performance needs.
The FBS segment is comprised of two non-reporting business units: engineered papers and packaging and specialty paper—and represents SWM and Neenah’s respective legacy paper segments. FBS will leverage the combined company’s extensive natural fiber capabilities to provide specialty solutions for various end-uses, including sustainable packaging, imaging and communications, home and office, and consumer goods, among other applications.
For the second quarter of 2022, Mativ will report financial results for legacy SWM and select financial and business highlights from Neenah.
Mativ Holdings today announced the completion of the merger of equals between Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM) and Neenah, two leading global manufacturers of specialty materials, effective July 6, 2022.