Denmaur signs deal with Stora Enso to sell new board

Denmaur Independent Papers is the first UK supplier to add a newly launched Stora Enso board and has hired a former Paperlinx sales manager to boost its sales force.

A new deal will see Denmaur become a UK stockist for the product, called Performa Brilliance, launched by Stora Enso on 29 September.

Performa Brilliance is a white-back graphical multi-layered board made from a combination of chemical and chemical thermo-mechanical pulps (CTMP).

The result is a board offering the stability and bulk to deliver good levels of printability. The brilliant white surface, derived from its triple coating, further improved printed results, according to Denmaur.

Denmaur marketing director Peter Sommerville said: “The spec seems to hit all the spots in terms of competitor products in areas such as brightness and rigidity.

“It's aimed at the high-end sector of packaging, so luxury products like perfume, but also book covers and greetings cards, and it can be run on litho and digital machines.

“The reverse side is super white in-keeping with luxury packaging and it has a coating so it can be printed on.”

Performa Brilliance is available in weights of 230gsm to 400gsm and was “competitively priced”, said Sommerville.

“Unlike a top-of-the-range solid bleached board this is multi-layered, but the specification is possibly higher than some solid bleached boards.”

Ingredients include virgin fibre and CTMP and the product folded cleanly and crisply, important for greetings cards and book covers, he added.

Denmaur will also become a UK stockist for Ensocoat 2-Sided, a premium-quality solid bleached sulphate board made from multiple layers of chemical pulp, with a double coating on each side.

Commercial director Nick Gee said: “In combination with Ensocoat 2-Sided, Denmaur has taken a leap forward in offering a wide range of first-class graphic-board products.”

The deal followed the appointment of former Paperlinx graphic and cartonboard sales manager Tony Myers to Denmaur as UK sales manager for graphic and cartonboard products in May, following the collapse of much of Paperlinx UK in April.

Denmaur became the UK Arctic sheets stockist soon after and told PrintWeek it has further product range expansion plans in the pipeline.

Stora Enso merchant and graphical boards sales manager Bob Swallow said: “Performa Brilliance and Ensocoat 2-Sided products are an excellent addition to Denmaur’s portfolio.”

Sommerville said: "We brought Tony in because of his experience in the graphic and cartonboard sector, we think it's a great opportunity. We didn't have any great exposure in that sector so it's all a bonus for us."

Denmaur was not the only company to get a boost from Paperlinx UK's misfortune and the global parent company's withdrawal from much of Europe. Global plastics and media group Vink Holdings bought the assets of Paperlinx’s wide-format operation, Visual Technology Solutions (VTS), from administrators Deloitte in April.

Antalis bought its packaging operations, which were not in administration but which were put up for sale at the same time, in early May.

Later that month, Papergraphics moved into the hardware and software markets for the first time by becoming a Jetrix reseller and employing six members of the Paperlinx UK digital solutions team

Paperlinx's operation in Ireland was acquired by former divisional director Enda Brophy in June.

The AIMS Group merchant consortium and Premier Paper Group also became UK stockists of Stora Enso's Lumi paper range. It was formerly stocked by Paperlinx. 

Performa Brilliance and Ensocoat 2-Sided are FSC certified and stocked across a range of sizes and calipers by Denmaur Independent Papers at its central warehouse in the Midlands.