ABB Porvoo Factory, Finland has been working to promote sustainable development for many years. The unit uses alternative plastic raw materials in its manufacturing, systematically reduces waste and mixed waste, and recycles most of its plastic waste. In addition, it works closely with its customers and other business partners to reduce both its own and its network's carbon footprint and environmental impacts. The unit's latest development work focuses on packaging, and through these innovations, the amount of material that customers need to sort decreases.
In accordance with its vision, ABB's Porvoo factory wants to be The Nordic Sustainability Lighthouse and is now taking the next major step toward a more sustainable manufacturing chain. During 2026, a highly automated packaging line will be completed for the factory, which will modernize the packaging of switches and socket outlets manufactured at the Porvoo factory. Thanks to this innovation, most of the outer boxes for switches and socket outlets will become a thing of the past. For customers, this means less cardboard waste. Construction sites and companies have ambitious goals to reduce waste, and through this change, we aim to support our customers in achieving this goal.
The large outer box is completely removed and the boxes will be on pallets as shown in the picture. 
The picture shows the updated box. 
A model of a box marking made directly on the box.
Products that require protection will still have plastic bags for protection at this stage, but in the coming months, the protection will be changed to paper labels equipped with product information. This ensures that the product remains scratch-free. The cardboard boxes of the new line will always be at least 65% recycled cardboard, and the plan is to increase the amount of recycled cardboard in the boxes as much as possible without compromising product protection. Labels will no longer be printed on the boxes; instead, markings will be made directly on the side of the box. This significantly reduces the number of labels required during the packaging phase. The EU packaging and packaging waste directive (PPWR), which comes into force in August, has also been taken into account in the packaging renewal.
"We believe here at the Porvoo factory that our responsibility is to promote the circular economy and reduce our carbon footprint," says Victor Gustafsson, production manager at the factory. Investments in the factory's automation will root us even more firmly in Porvoo and ensure that ABB's wiring accessories will continue to be manufactured in Finland in the future. We want to stay close to our customers while ensuring that our products are of high quality and fit for purpose – also in terms of packaging.
These innovations and changes have been planned and implemented in collaboration with wholesalers and installers. Customer feedback and improvement suggestions have played a central role, and the final result of the project has been shaped based on them. The development work that has taken years has now been completed, and collaboration has once again been crucial in achieving a successful outcome.
Changes in a nutshell:
- The large outer box is completely removed. The inner box has been strengthened so that two EUR pallets can be stacked on top of each other during transport.
- More efficient EUR pallet loading because the boxes have been adapted to EUR pallet dimensions. Thanks to this, we can reduce EUR pallet usage by approximately 200 units annually.
- The share of recycled cardboard in the boxes is always over 65%.
- Labels will no longer be printed on cardboard boxes at all. Markings are made directly on the side of the box.
- Less packaging waste for the customer to sort.
- Packaging complies with the EU packaging and packaging waste directive (PPWR).
