Over the Wire

Rapid industrialization, particularly in emerging economies such as China, Brazil, and India, is expected to increase trade activities in this region, thus, subsequently driving the demand for corrugated boxes market. In addition, growth of the electronics and automotive sectors is expected to boost the growth of the corrugated boxes market over the next few years, as these boxes provide protection to the various delicate parts of this equipment.

 

"The new law in the Mena region restricting plastic use is helping us as producers of paper bag making machines to receive new customers willing to move from the plastic to the paper packaging industry," said Maxim Covali, marketing and sales manager of Somtas. He added regulatory restrictions on plastic will also have a significant, positive impact on suppliers of paper-based products.

 

Toscotec’s "turn-key" project for TM 2 includes a stock preparation plant for virgin pulp, an AHEAD-2.0S tissue machine with a steel yankee dryer TT SYD-15FT, machine auxiliaries including hood and air systems by Milltech, electrification and control system, additional plants, and complete engineering and erection activities. Machine speed will be 2,000 m/min. with a net trim width of 2,820 mm and a daily production of 110 metric tons.

 

Following the recent startup of a new $6 million biomass steam turbine and condenser system, Lincoln Paper and Tissue, Lincoln, Maine, USA, reportedly is approaching energy self-sufficiency. The company has invested nearly $10 million in the mill during the past year. Energy efficiency improvements, plus installation of $3 million in new pulping equipment and pulp conveyors last year, have Keith Van Scotter and partner John Wissman feeling bullish about the mill’s prospects for continued survival in a very tough manufacturing market.

 

After buying the mill, Paper Excellence announced plans to invest up to $50 million, including working capital and capital expenditure, toward its restart. Prior to its shutdown in 2012, the Chetwynd mill had the capacity to produce 240,000 metric typy of hardwood BCTMP (bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp).

 

After completing commissioning work in less than three weeks, full production operations began immediately and saleable tissue was produced continuously. The PrimeLineTM W8 machine (PM 28) at the Yanzhou mill, Shandong Province, has a design speed of 2,000 m/min. and a width of 5.62 meters. The yankee, manufactured entirely of steel, has a diameter of 18 ft.

 

The box includes a patented internal air chamber system that is designed to give consistent ethylene absorption and can help delay ripening up to three days, said David Goodrich, packaging products designer and owner of AllBoxes parent company, Goodrich Technologies in Newtown, Conn. An industry issue, in-transit fruit waste is pegged at 15%. These can be used in refrigerated trailer shipments as well as in overnight non-refrigerated shipments.

 

The investment is supported by a long-term supply contract between Amcor and Souza Cruz and the business is expected to achieve annual sales of approximately BRL 200 million ($63 million). The Brazilian market represents 35% of Latin American cigarette consumption and is the 12th largest tobacco market in the world.

 

Grower-shippers shoulder a hefty cost increase; shelling out 15.4% ($0.17/case) more to ship the same amount of onions in RPCs vs. corrugated. Retailers are not exempt – they spend 9.9% ($0.61/case) more to receive those onions in RPCs than in corrugated containers. These costs are often passed on to the consumer, according to the research.

 

"The expansion will allow us to put more equipment in our existing plant and use the additional space as a warehouse for our inventory of paper stock," said company owner Max Flaming. Concrete work should begin in late April and the project is scheduled for completion by the end of August of this year.

 

Conyers, Ga., USA based Pratt paid $60 million for the privately-owned RMP group, which has $150 million in annual sales and more than a dozen facilities in the western U.S. and Mexico, including a 350,000 sq.-ft. box making plant in Salinas, Calif. The deal for RMP now gives Pratt a nationwide footprint in the U.S.

 

The art paper MediaPrint produced by the specialty and art paper mill Feldmuehle Uetersen in Germany will, in the future, be sold under the new brand name Exceo. Exceo is a white, bright, two-side-coated woodfree art paper, available in a glossy or silk finish and in a wide range of grammages ranging from 150 to 400 gsm.

 

LubePro series pumps offer a robust solution where high output and fast lubrication cycles are needed to optimally lubricate equipment while it’s working. They are most commonly used to lubricate machines used in paper production, food and beverage processing and packaging, etc...

 

The Hybritech platform utilizes Leaf's Glycellprocess and allows for the switching of a common equipment train, as used in pulp production, between pulp production and the production of cellulosic sugars for bio-products. It can be externally or internally integrated into chemical pulp mills. In this way, a paper and pulp producer has the option of producing cellulosic sugars for bio-products or pulp, thereby adding a new flexibility to their operations.

 

The CeraEdge L creping blade is designed for applications requiring extended blade life that maximizes productivity and optimizes asset utilization. For premium tissue producers seeking high tissue softness, the CeraEdge S creping blade is recommended and is suitable for relatively dirty furnish due to its insensitivity to particles and contaminants. The thermal stability of both products reduces blade buckling, twisting, and warping.

 

Toscotec explains that PRODERGY is unique because of its integrated Toscotec-Milltech drying technology, which achieves maximum possible synergy between yankee conduction and hood convection, both designed to meet the specific needs of paper mills, with a special focus on the cost and availability of local energy resources.

 

The price increase applies as per invoice date beginning May 1, and will vary depending on the grade and the region. Within the next days, the company’s customers will be informed personally by Cham Paper’s sales managers. This is due to a drastic increase of raw material costs, particularly pulp.

 

Metsä Board, Finland, this week announced a price increase of EUR 40 per metric ton for its white fresh forest fiber linerboards in the continental European markets, effective May 11.

 

According to the estimations, derived from computer model simulations, implementing the technique could lead to reduction in emissions in Western North America of 145% by year 2050. This would be possible if biomass, combined with carbon capture and sequestration, is also accompanied by aggressive renewable energy deployment and reduction in emissions from fossil fuels.

 

Forest products companies have several capabilities that could make them equally or more successful than traditional energy players in bio-power markets; such as ability to optimizing multi-fuel plant operations, securing large and stable volumes of fiber, and managing forests and plantations for sustainability and productivity.

 

The regional government in Austria has approved the development of two biomass power plants. RZ Pellets (Riegler & Zechmeister Group) is planning to build two 35 MWth biomass plants in Klagenfurt, the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria, having overcome legal challenges to the developments. The plants will provide district heating for around 25,000 households.

 

The forestry, paper, and chemical cellulose maker’s 25 MW biomass project will be built at the group’s Ngodwana mill in Mpumalanga, using biomass supplied from local plantations. It will feed electricity into the national grid near Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit. Sappi said the value added by the project was significantly higher than alternate renewable energy technologies.

 

Petri Helsky has been named CEO of Metsä Tissue Corp., Finland, and a member of Metsä Group’s Executive Management Team, effective today, April 16.

 

Commenting on his move to Spooner, Jeff Privatt said that "Spooner is a company that looks long-term and their global market reach and current growth is both exciting and indicative of long-term success and stability." He will be developing and providing support to the growing number of customers in the paper, converting, and coil coating markets across North America.

 

Liisa Nyyssönen joins Stora Enso from Ahlstrom Corp., Finland, where she has worked as VP, Group Communications since 2011. Prior to Ahlstrom, she worked as ICT and media sector consultancy lead at Hill and Knowlton Helsinki. Before that, she held several communications leadership positions at Nokia.

 

Vesa Simola, M.Sc., Eng., has been appointed area president of Valmet's EMEA area, efffective August 1. Simola will be a member of Valmet's Executive Team and report to President and CEO Pasi Laine. He joins Valmet from Stora Enso, where he is currently employed as SVP, Consumer Board Division.

 

Apply no later than May 1, so work quickly if you have not yet begun. Work on letters of recommendation, fill out our scholarship form, and get your transcript together! The benefits you'll get from winning this scholarship will truly empower your career and get you off to a hot head start. You don't want to not try and definitely miss out! Learn more about the criteria of receiving this prestigious scholarship from the association...

 

As a corporation, TAPPI must hold an annual Business Meeting. This meeting will be held April 20, 2015, as part of the opening session of the PaperCon/Centennial Celebration week. Any and all interested TAPPI members may participate in the annual meeting--Larry N. Montague, TAPPI president and CEO.

 

Learn how linerboard and medium are produced to improve test performance, and runnability on the corrugators at this very uniquely styled intro. to intermediate-level course (designed to benefit all who focus) at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, Wis., USA. Register by April 21 and save $200. Join/renew your TAPPI membership for the very best rates!

 

The conference "Engaging the Heart and Mind" will be held June 7-10 in Savannah, Ga., and will focus on bringing together safety and industry professionals, as well as lawyers and OSHA experts to navigate the ever-changing field of pulp and paper industry safety. Learn who PPSA has announced as their Keynote speaker...

 

In today’s competitive environment, pulp mills are continuously searching for cost effective solutions to improve profitability. TAPPI members and affiliates within our PEERS network offer great opportunities for serious innovation work in pulp, paper, paper packaging/board, tissue, new energy and efficiency options, and more... Check out some upcoming highlights of this year's conference.

 

The Ultimate Roll and Web Defect Troubleshooting Guide E-Book is an updated and expanded electronic version of The Roll and Web Defect Terminology – 2nd Edition. This new electronic edition has allowed updating and expanding on defects commonly found in paper and paperboard products and in the production and converting of nonwovens, films, and laminations.

 

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.

 

This e-book describes in detail the measurement technology used in Quality Controls Systems (QCS). Individual chapters are devoted to the five most prevalent QCS measurements in the paper industry. Each of these chapters covers the physical principles involved in each measurement, sensor designs, various methods of implementation and influence factors. TAPPI members save $70 off list price.

 

"This course is ideal for health and safety personnel who are looking for primary information on industrial hygiene," said Sue Cooper, M.S, CSP, Manager of Safety/Ergonomics at Weyerhaeuser. "It will provide an introduction to IH principles along with practical information on hazard identification and methods of measurement and control that is sure to be of great value to all attendees."

 

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.