Graphic Packaging introduces inaugural URB product

Packaging Dive reported the development on 2026-07-14. GPI’s mill in Waco, Texas, has so far specialized in CRB but will add the new boxboard grade. The shift comes at a time when competitors also are reevaluating their boxboard portfolios.

The report places the news in a wider commercial context. Graphic Packaging International announced Monday it is entering the uncoated recycled paperboard market with the introduction of an offering called PaceSetter Ridgeline. The URB product contains at least 45% postconsumer recycled content and will be manufactured at GPI’s mill in Waco, Texas, which has been commercially operational since October 2025.

For the food sector, the practical implications extend beyond the immediate announcement. This offering will help GPI’s recycled paperboard reach new markets, namely industrial applications, according to a statement from President and CEO Robbert Rietbroek. Throughout years of planning and construction, GPI had previewed the Waco site as a CRB mill that would meet growing demand for that grade.

Attention now turns to how companies, customers and regulators respond. The new PaceSetter Ridgeline product is suitable for folding cartons, laminations, edge protectors, tubes and cores and other specialty purposes, according to the news release. Entering the URB space will allow Graphic Packaging to serve a broader spectrum of paperboard and consumer packaging customers, the company says.