In response to the exponential spread of the COVID-19 virus in Northern Italy at the end of February, a team at Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Turin plant started to evaluate what they could do to support the safety and wellbeing of employees and local communities.  

Valmet will supply the 300th Valmet Paper Lab automated board and paper testing laboratory to Papierfabrik Palm's (Palm) Aalen-Neukochen mill. In total, Valmet will deliver three Valmet Paper Labs to the company’s Descartes mill in France and Wörth and Aalen-Neukochen mills in Germany. Valmet Paper Lab delivers accurate and rapid measurement results that are used either as a quality stamp for the end-product or for the board machine operation optimization.

Case Paper has acquired the assets of the former API Laminating operation of Steel Partners in Osgood, Indiana.  The deal closed on April 1, 2020 and the General Manager of the facility, Jonathan Hummer, as well as most of the office and plant employees have joined the Case family under the new name “Case Makes.”

Within the framework of its code of corporate and social responsibility, Lila Group has taken action due to the increasing effects of the COVID-19 in Turkey. The company has donated 100 thousand rolls (5 million meters in length: 2.5 million units in total) of medical examination couch roll worth up to 2.5 million Turkish Liras to be used in public hospitals and ambulances under governance of the Ministry of Health of Republic of Turkey.

SGS-IPS Testing works heavily in the testing of masks, surgical gowns and drapes

The coronavirus epidemic in China has resulted in sharply reduced importation of forest products in early 2020. During January and February, the import value of logs, lumber, pulp and wood chips totaled 4.6 billion dollars. This was down 26% and 14%, from the same periods in 2018 and 2019 respectively, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ).

On account of the substantial increase in net sales and earnings for the first quarter of 2020 compared with the corresponding period a year ago, Essity has published its preliminary result for the first quarter of 2020. The strong development is partially a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pöyry announced that it has been awarded an EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Management) contract from LD Celulose for the BOP (Balance of Plant) for the new dissolving pulp mill in the Triângulo Mineiro area of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Northern Pulp Nova Scotia (Northern Pulp) has requested Nova Scotia Environment issue a timely, well-defined, and outcome-based Environmental Assessment process for its proposed Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) modernization.

Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, announced that its Board of Directors has approved an $83 million investment to strengthen its uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) mill system in the United States and Canada. The majority of the investment includes transforming its Hartsville, S.C., corrugated medium machine (No. 10 machine) into a state-of-the-art URB machine with annual production capacity of approximately 180,000 tons.

Smithers reports that the corrugated packaging market is growing quickly, helped by the explosion of e-commerce and developments in digital printing technologies.

Consumers and companies alike are interested in environmentally friendly and recyclable packaging made from renewable materials, such as wood. Using cellulose and fatty acids, two completely renewable substances, VTT has developed a material that can be used in food packaging similarly to plastic due to its thermoformable properties. The development work is currently underway at VTT in cooperation with Arla Foods, Paulig and Wipak.

Ponsse launches a new debarking PONSSE H8HD Euca harvester head for eucalyptus sites. The new powerful harvester head has been designed as a response to our customers’ needs, and it further strengthens Ponsse’s strategy to be the leading global manufacturer of harvester heads.

Neenah, Inc. (NYSE: NP) published an updated Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR) on its web site (www.neenah.com) under the "About Us" section. The report highlights the Company's commitment and progress on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and is structured in alignment with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) industry guidelines to address those factors most relevant to the Company's stakeholders. The report includes strategies, information and metrics related to the Company's environmental impact, employee development, and community engagement.

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging all Americans to only flush toilet paper, not disinfecting wipes or other non-flushable items that should be disposed of in the trash. Flushing only toilet paper helps ensure that the toilets, plumbing, sewer systems and septic systems will continue working properly to safely manage our nation’s wastewater.

Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE: CLW) announced the appointment of Michael (Mike) J. Murphy as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 13, 2020, to oversee the company’s finance and strategy functions. Mr. Murphy succeeds Robert (Bob) G. Hrivnak who will be leaving the company.

Verso Corporation (NYSE: VRS) announced that Matthew M. Archambeau has been appointed Verso's Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Energy, effective immediately.

Now is a great time to take advantage of virtual learning with customizable eLearning courses.

Join Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar of Texas Tech University on April 28th as he discusses the functional applications of textile substrates given the challenges brought upon by COVID-19 Coronavirus. Register now or learn more here.

“Are you looking for proven ideas to solve issues in your kiln or recaust areas, improve efficiency &/or reliability or just want to learn more about these critical but often forgotten parts of the mill, you should be at KILNCON 2020!”

TAPPI honors PIMA member and Vietnam War veteran, Francis "Frank" Gabbianelli.