Wired article reveals some drawbacks of “digital-first” textbooks...

Smithers analysis identifies five key market developments and opportunities that will act to shape the future of the specialty papers industry worldwide.

Containerboard production in July 2019 decreased 7.8% compared to July 2018 and was down 5.3% ytd. Avg. daily production compared to June 2019 was 2.5% higher. Containerboard operating rate increased from 89.1% in June to 89.9%. While total linerboard rate increased to 88%, it has been below 90% in 5 out of 7 months this year.

Total boxboard monthly production decreased 1% when compared to July 2018. The total boxboard operating rate was 93.8% for July. Total Solid Bleached Boxboard and Liner production decreased 0.9% year to date; Recycled Boxboard production fell 1% year to date; and Unbleached Kraft and Gypsum decreased 0.5% year to date.

Packaging papers shipments were down 13% from July 2018 and down 4.6% ytd. Bag and sack shipments were down 3.1% ytd; multiwall shipments were down 11.8%; food wrapping shipments were up 4.1%; and converting shipments were down 7.1%. The operating rate for July dropped to 81.6% compared to 86.2% in June. 

Total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 12% in July compared to July 2018. U.S. purchases of total printing-writing papers declined 7% in July compared to the same month last year. Total printing-writing paper inventory levels decreased 1% from June 2019.

“KEMPULP’s products and process technologies will continue to be a strong player on the market, providing solutions that complement the ANDRITZ technologies and equipment for specific chemical pulping processes – both for new plants and upgrades to existing installations..."

“We are very pleased to share that French Paper Company has joined Finch Paper Holdings, creating a unique partnership that represents over 300 years of papermaking excellence. With this partnership, we are bringing together two outstanding teams,” said Deba Mukherjee, CEO of Finch Paper. The companies will continue to operate individually.

Within the Körber Business Area Tissue, Roll-Tec will work closely with Engraving Solutions in Italy and Fabio Perini's Joinville site in Brazil. With this acquisition, Körber is expanding its product range for its Latin American customers.

Colin McIntyre, CEO of Paper and Recycling Divisions at DS Smith, talks about the company's new purpose and what it means to him.

A location like New York City might be home to a lot of big brands, but the companies there outsource much of their manufacturing work, Novak said. Cleveland was an attractive location for ePac because of its strong manufacturing base.

The Iggesund Workington board mill in the UK has successfully applied a Valmet IQ Moisturizer in board production to achieve higher production rates especially with higher grammage products.

Company provides commentary on the preventattive maintenace process for packaging operations including Proactive Maintenance and Predictive Maintenance. 

In May, Stora Enso announced the decision to convert the Oulu paper mill in Finland into packaging production to strengthen its position in the growing packaging business. Gilles van Nieuwenhuyzen, EVP Division Packaging Solutions, discusses the drivers and applications.

Canadian forestry ministers agreed on five key initiative areas to focus on to promote the sector.

Electraset delivers press performance consistency and high print quality. Electraset provides the right balance of shade, brightness and uniformity to produce an array of print applications. The 92-bright uncoated freesheet offers strength and performance on high-speed presses designed both for heatset web offset and coldset web offset.

Available to North America in widths of 500, 600, 1000 and 1500 mm, the product has a final basis weight of 300 gsm that can be achieved by customizing the three layer structures. Optional features include off-line coating for added surface protection and detailed graphics.

The paperboard samples display the desire for natural and organic packaging in the market and show how luxury finishing such as multilayer embossing, micro embossing, glossy varnishes, hot foil stamping, can really add the WOW factor to everyday items.

UPM Raflatac is pleased to announce it is the first label material producer to bring a new wood-based polypropylene film material into the market. The UPM Raflatac Forest Film™ label material has been developed in collaboration with UPM Biofuels using UPM BioVerno naphtha, a 100% wood-based solution originating from sustainably managed forests.

The mill (located in North Carolina) recently completed two more important initiatives to reduce fuel and water consumption, in turn reducing its bottom-line costs and contributing to our corporate sustainability goals.

Resolute has received three 2019 gold Stevies® from the International Business Awards (IBA) for contributions to clean energy innovation, sustainable manufacturing, and corporate social responsibility.

Domtar works hard to ensure that they use every part of every tree that is harvested. That includes byproducts or extractives from the kraft pulping process, such as turpentine and lignin. One such material is tall oil, which they sell to companies that refine it for use in a variety of applications.

This autumn UPM is organizing forest trips for 6th grade primary school students in five different cities where UPM mills are situated in Finland. The aim is to provide students positive forest experiences and tell information about sustainable use of forests.

The Braves and WestRock will host a Green Game on Thursday, August 22 to celebrate their commitment to fostering sustainable initiatives at SunTrust Park, where CEO Steve Voorhees will throw the first pitch.

Lauri Lehtonen, Head of Innovation, Biomaterials, commented about this exciting innovation to replace fossil-based and mined raw materials with renewable solutions. Learn more about the EUR 10 million investment at the Sunila Mill. 

The Board of ABB has unanimously appointed Björn Rosengren, as CEO. He will join ABB on February 1, 2020 and succeed CEO, Peter Voser, in this role on March 1, 2020. At that time Peter Voser will revert to his position at ABB solely as Chairman of the Board.

Crown Holdings this week announced that Dr. John Rost has been promoted to VP, Global Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs. As part of the expansion of the global sustainability team, Crown has also appointed Keila Hand as Director of Sustainability. 

Learn how to work smarter, not harder!  Attend this one-hour webinar and learn how TAPPI Connect’s Committee Communities can make committee work more efficient. 

Register for Tissue 101 and attend the conference in Orlando for half price!

Exciting opportunities for everyone this October at top industry event.

Save your seat before they fill to learn from a huge panel of experts in kraft operations!

TAPPI’s Kraft Recovery Course is taking place a week later than in years past to accommodate everyone’s schedule at the beginning of the year. This course is often fills a large conference room space, so get your registration in early.

Tate & Lyle is accepting applications for an Applications Development Specialist for its Decatur, Illinois, USA location.

We honor Stuart David Alexander who was an outstanding TAPPI Fellow that will be missed.

Stuart graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Pulp and Paper Technology from SUNY College of Forestry at Syracuse University.

His career began with Westvaco in 1960 as a technical service engineer. From 1977 to 1998, he was a research section head with Scott Paper Co. Stuart was also known for his commendable volunteer work with TAPPI and PIMA. He was involved with Northeast TAPPI, Lake States TAPPI and Empire State Local Sections. Due his venerable volunteer work, he was the recipient of the 1986 TAPPI Research and Development Division Leadership and Service Award.

Stuart David Alexander was a recognized innovator in his field and a national leader throughout his career.