Over the Wire

While prices have been in a slump in the last several years, scrap paper prices could bounce back upwards due to several factors including shorter supplies in the future.

 

The winter 2015 report indicated that North American economic growth was good, particularly in the U.S., where employment in the private sector is up 2.3% from one year ago and retail sales for December were excellent.

 

The report indicates vendors in the global paper and paperboard container and packaging market are constantly upgrading their products and offering innovative products that can prevent contamination of food and beverages. The greatest market challenge is an increased future cost of raw materials.

 

Combining AkzoNobel's processing technology expertise and Photanol's existing proprietary technology, the aim is to produce "green" chemical building blocks that will eventually replace some of the raw materials AkzoNobel currently obtains from fossil-based production.

 

The two machines at Cominter Tisú have a combined capacity of around 45,000 metric tpy, and have been idle for more than two years after the former Celulosas de Hernani fell victim to the economic crisis in Spain. Cominter acquired the company in July 2014 for an undisclosed sum.

 

It has taken 19 years according to the company, but the directors believe this time is right for Melbourne-based Direct Paper to have a permanent warehouse that will cater to the large city of Sydney, effectively opening up the larger Australian market for their products.

 

The industry is reinventing itself—140 years after the first pulp factory gave birth to Finland’s chemical forest industry. Paperboard boxes and wood-based chemicals now stand to become staples as the industry, crippled by the emergence of the Internet, embraces opportunities brought by online shopping and renewable fuels.

 

The Hengan Group, China, has successfully started up PM 18 tissue machine at its Changde mill in China. The PrimeLineST W8 tissue machine is the eleventh tissue machine supplied by Andritz (Graz, Austria) to the Hengan Group.

 

HKP, the fifth-largest papermaker in Japan, will purchase all of Alpac's shares from Mitsubishi Corp. and Oji Holdings, which have roughly 80% and 20% stakes in the Canadian company, as early as this spring. The value of the entire deal is expected to top 6 billion yen ($50 million).

 

Sappi North America, Boston, Mass., USA has filed a formal property tax abatement application for the Somerset mill. Sappi filed this request because it believes the assessed value of the mill determined by the Town of Skowhegan, Maine, greatly exceeds its fair market value. A fair valuation is critical to the long-term financial health of paper mills.

 

The company has been active in the Indian market since late 2013. The plant, which produces baby diapers and tissue for the Indian market, is located in Pune in the central Indian state of Maharastra. Tissue is sold under the global Tork brand and baby diapers under the Libero brand.

 

WEPA International GmbH, Germany, has acquired 100% ownership of Lucart s.p.a.’s (Italy) Lucart France SAS operations. At the beginning of this month, WEPA took over the plant in Troyes and the consumer business related to products it manufactures. The company's name has been changed to WEPA Troyes SAS.

 

The Pennsylvania (USA)-based manufacturer of packaging material for food and consumer goods plans to construct a new building and install new equipment at its current, smaller Hamlet, N.C., plant site on Marks Creek Lane, centrally located in the county for industrial access and continued growth.

 

The IFS PACsecure Standard––a collaboration between IFS Management and The Packaging Consortium (PAC)––was developed with input from more than 130 food processors and packaging material converters to identify potential hazards associated with common packaging manufacturing processes.

 

There was significant damage done to an estimated 200 pallets of finished paperboard products. The total cost of burned materials including the paperboard products as well as fiber-optic power lines, reportedly is some $500 million.

 

A non-integrated corrugated, folding cartons, and flexible packaging manufacturer with operations in El Salvador and Costa Rica, Grupo CYBSA is a private company with approximately 1,000 employees and net assets of about $40 million (EUR 37 million).

 

The affirmative vote by the ITC this past Friday means that there is a reasonable indication that imports are injuring or threatening injury to the domestic industry and paper workers' jobs. Therefore, the U.S. will proceed to investigate companies' petitions requesting duties on the unfairly-traded imports of uncoated paper products.

 

Sappi's group head of technology explained that "the pilot plant will test the manufacturing of dry re-dispersible Cellulose NanoFibrils (CNF) using the proprietary technology developed by Sappi and Edinburgh Napier University." The pilot plant is expected to be operational within nine months.

 

Domtar Corp. announced a $20/metric ton increase in North America for its bleached softwood kraft pulp (BSKP) grades, effective March 1.

 

The company cited, primarily, a continuous increase in the price of raw materials as reason for this increase.

 

This is good news for the researchers and their industrial partners who have been developing the method for the purpose of making biofuel from non-papermaking cellulosic residues with a low environmental footprint and high energy efficiency.

 

Patrick T. Burke, who currently serves as the company’s VP of supply chain, will assume the role of SVP and president of the company’s consumer products division. Colgrove will continue to serve the company until the end of 2015 to assist in the transition.

 

Stora Enso announced its appointment of Gilles van Nieuwenhuyzen as EVP of the Packaging Solutions division and Markus Mannström as CTO to head up the new Group Technology function. They will be members of the Group Leadership Team effective as of March 16.

 

Attendance to this Town Hall meeting includes free access to the PaperCon exhibit floor.

 

This four part webinar series will be hosted by Dr. Przemyslaw Pruszynski of Nalco, an Ecolab Company. The first installment of the series on Thursday April 2 at noon EST will focus on fundamentals and is offered at no charge.

 

From furniture to futures, Laszlo Horvath keeps on building

 

Applying the concepts taught in this course, April 23 at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta, Ga., USA, can enable to you to determine steps toward immediate and lasting payback, as well as smoother operations.

 

Offering the most comprehensive program, exhibits, networking opportunities, and access to industry leaders. Don't miss out on this big event April 19-22 in Atlanta, Ga., USA.

 

This two-day event, April 18-19 in Atlanta, Ga., USA, is designed for those who need to understand how to heighten print quality, attend and conduct print trials, and troubleshoot quality problems.

 

The PEERS Technical Program Committee is seeking abstracts from paper manufacturers, suppliers, and others to share best practices and practical solutions to increase process efficiency, reduce costs, and return more value on pulp mill assets. Presenters interested in submitting a paper should upload their abstract to TAPPI's Speaker Management System by March 25.

 

As IBBC draws experts and key decision makers in forest biorefineries from around the world, you can obtain great visibility for your company or organization by presenting at IBBC 2015. Authors interested in presenting should upload their abstract to TAPPI's Speaker Management System by March 19.

 

TAPPI members can save $65 off of list price on this handbook providing cost-saving strategies associated with the use of chemical additives during the manufacture of paper.

 

The program features speakers from all segments of the nonwovens industry and is sure to have a little something for anyone wanting to further their knowledge.