President and CEO Heidi Brock issued a statement regarding consumer demand for tissue products.

Euwid reports that Messe Düsseldorf is postponing the international trade fairs Interpack and Drupa amid the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spread. Interpack packaging fair was meant to start on 7 May in the capital of North Rhine-Westphallia, the state with most COVID-19 cases in Germany.

For weeks now, the COVID-19 epidemic is causing panic buying for sanitary and household paper products, especially toilet paper. Photos of empty supermarket shelves are shared on social media around the globe, increasing the panic buying and making people stock even more on toilet paper and tissue products in general.

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, is one of the founding members of the recently established European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA). EPPA is a food and food service packaging association whose aim is to promote food safety, circular solutions, and lower carbon emissions as well as call for evidence-based policy making.

Valmet will supply a coated board making line (PM 2) with extensive packages of automation and Industrial Internet solutions for APP’s Guangxi Jingui Pulp and Paper’s (GJPP) Qinzhou mill in China. The start-up is scheduled for 2021.

Euwid reports that Massimo Medugno, Managing Director of Italy's paper industry association Assocarta, says that the coronavirus has had no impact on the paper and board production so far.

Leading specialist dryer & oven manufacturer, Spooner Industries Limited, have been contracted to supply a state of the art ‘TAD’ through air drying and curing system for Saint Gobain Adfors, Czech Republic. The TAD is a key part of a new wet laid glass fibre mat line to be installed at the Litomyšl plant, scheduled to start up mid-2021.

South African tissue manufacturer Picknik Marketing Pty Ltd started up a MODULO-PLUS tissue machine supplied by Toscotec at its Johannesburg mill. The new line produced high quality tissue from day one.

Oregon-based, Total Fiber Recovery (TFR) will invest $49 Million and create 68 new jobs with an average salary of $48,000 in the City of Chesapeake. Led by CEO of Bulk Handling Systems, Steve Miller and President, Eric Herbert, TFR brings together decades of experience from the paper and recycling industries.

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, has designed the Arctic Blue Gin package with an impressive holographic design inspired by the Northern Lights. Arctic Brands Group, the Finland-based spirit company, tasked Metsä Board to design the dramatic package using MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright lightweight folding boxboard.

Waste Today reports that the New Jersey state Senate voted to ban single-use bags as well as Styrofoam and takeout containers across the state on March 5. The bill, S864, prohibits the provision or sale of single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, polystyrene foam foodservice products as well as single-use plastic straws. It also would appropriate money from the state’s Clean Communities Program Fund for public education. 

NanoPrime, a rust-killing base primer that has been field tested over the past three years in the world’s most extreme conditions and climates, is now available for use.

Scientific American reports that several U.N. meetings meant to tackle global warming are being postponed or canceled outright in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

UPM is one of the first companies to link the pricing mechanism of a syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) to both biodiversity and climate targets. The margin of the RCF is tied to two key performance indicators (KPIs).

Wisconsin Rapids City Times reports that Domtar Corporation has named Kurt Mehlberg mill manager of Domtar’s Nekoosa paper mill. Kurt has more than 26 years of experience in the industry with a strong and diverse background in pulp and paper.

Verso Corporation (NYSE: VRS) today announced that Michael A. Weinhold has resigned as President of Verso, effective March 10, 2020.

TAPPI IFPED 2020 new dates have been announced along with additional updates on other TAPPI events’ postponements and cancellations.   

Take advantage of remote networking!  Use TAPPI’s virtual platform to collaborate, share knowledge, problem-solve and expand your network

TAPPISAFE Launches Mobile-Friendly GateCheck

Guidelines for Safe Assessment and Operation of Yankee Dryers provides guidance and a basis for more formalized dryer safety practices.

Don Haag, TAPPI Board of Directors Member and TAPPI Fellow, is retiring from Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) in April.