The production of DuraPulp is scheduled to commence after the summer. The announcement was made at the SPCI exhibition in Stockholm.“DuraPulp is a material that is making a very timely appearance. It can replace plastics in many applications, but it has the distinct advantage of being biodegradable. The time is right to begin producing and selling this material,” Henrik Wettergren, Business Area Manager for Printing Paper and Specialities, told Nordic Paper Journal at a press conference in Stockholm.Initially, sales of DuraPulp will focus on the business areas of speciality paper, design and board.“We believe that our customers will come from these three business areas. We will begin with small-scale production, but we’re prepared to increase production to match demand,” Wettergren added.DuraPulp is the result of many years of research and was produced by Södra together with Swedish research and development company Innventia. The starting point for the research included the idea of creating a new fiber-based material that would be renewable and biodegradable. DuraPulp is a composite material made of specially selected pulp from Södra Cell combined with a renewable biopolymer. Following additional processing, these two components take on special properties such as humidity resistance, tensile strength and rigidity.The use of DuraPulp was first demonstrated at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2009 through the children’s chair, Parupu, which was developed by the Stockholm design firm, Claesson Koivisto Rune. The firm has also created the lamp w101 made of DuraPulp that is now being sold by the lighting company, Wästberg.