Over the Wire

Statistics fro April 2016 highlight a pickup in both production and capacity, while converted product shipments growth slowed.

 

Upcoming capacity expansion projects, along with the recent sale of Weyerhaeuser's fluff pulp assets to International Paper, suggest a shifting competitive landscape.

 

Bleached softwood pulp exports increased 9.3% y/y through April 2016, with some 16% more being shipped to China. Bleached hardwood kraft exports were down 15% in April.

 

In a recent report on this segment of the paper packaging / beverage container industry, IP, Dart, Konie Cups, Huhtamaki, Koch Industries (Georgia-Pacific and subsidiaries), and more are all among those now identified as the largest players in this segment as of this year.

 

Employee of Valmet's subcontractor was seriously injured in a lifting operation and later died at the hospital, while receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the accident at Södra Cell;s Värö pulp mill.

 

Fortress Paper's subsidiary Landqart AG has entered into a purchase agreement with GAM Investment Management AG on behalf of Procimmo Swiss Commercial Fund II (the Purchaser) for the sale of its lands and buildings related to its security paper business located in Landquart, Switzerland, for the aggregate purchase price of approximately C$59 million.

 

New facility will serve as distribution hub for best-selling printing and packaging papers.

 

New tissue machine will have a width of 2.8 meters and a design speed of 2,200 m/min., and will add 30,000 metric tons of tissue paper per year to Papel San Francisco's current production of toilet tissue, kitchen towels, and napkins.

 

New system will perform steam generation of 1.2 metric tons per hour and will guarantee a high level of availability and permanently adhere to the guaranteed performance values. Erection and startup are scheduled for this month.

 

The business will be integrated into Solenis as part of its strategy to broaden its process chemicals offering and expand its geographic presence.

 

During its 20 years of operation, the city of Suzhou has grown around the mill, making it difficult to develop and continue industrial operations at the current site. The cash consideration for the divestment of assets is approximately EUR 240 million.

 

Investment in PM 8 to dramatically enhance the machine’s capabilities and broaden the markets served by the largest asset in the Twin Rivers paper mill system. The rebuild will establish PM 8 as one of the largest producers of lightweight technical specialties in North America.

 

The company announced early this week that pulp production was normalized on June 4. No paper machines suffered damage.

 

Investment is being done to improve the product technology and production capacity of seamed press felts for the paper, board, tissue, and pulp drying machines.

 

Alusa, the largest flexible packaging business in South America,, has four plants—one in each of Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina—and generates sales of approximately $375 million.

 

The $157 millon investment will result in the Skärblacka unit in Sweden developed into a world leading center for machine glazed, MG, and kraft paper production. Project to relocate the BillerudKorsnäs MG PM in Tervasaari, Finland, to Skärblacka and invest in surface treatment capacity on PM 7 in Skärblacka.

 

With installations in 13 countries, the Romeoville, Ill., USA-based company has provided solutions for diverse markets on four continents.

 

Maverick Engineering is the premier manufacturer of bag-in-box making equipment and Maverick Flexibles designs and manufactures specialty films and laminates for food and beverage markets.

 

Kalenobel is a consumer packaging company focused on the manufacture of flexible consumer packaging for ice cream and other applications as well as aseptic cartons. The company is headquartered in Istanbul and operates two manufacturing sites northwest of the city.

 

Comp[any has joined RE100, committing to increase its use of renewable electricity from 20% today to 100% across all global operations by 2030. The announcement was made at the Clean Energy Ministerial forum this past week in San Francisco, Calif., USA.

 

Acquired activities consist of a paper mill in Viersen, Germany, and a solid board packaging plant in Zutphen in the Netherlands.

 

The pulp and paper industry asked the new government to consider lifting restrictions on foreign ownership of land, a move it says would unblock $19 billion of forestry investment and help revive the economy. Current legislation prohibits use of foreign money to buy agricultural land, both by individuals or foreign investment.

 

Forcing customers to go electronic leads to missed statements and payments, according to a leading D.C. newspaper, resulting in low credit scores and more. The National Consumer Law Center highlighted e-bill pitfalls and called on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ban making customers go paperless.

 

Company is seeing growing interest in its green chemistry product called Cellulose NanoCrystals and has recorded, over the first half of 2016, the largest CNC shipment volumes since the company's inception.

 

Competition developing CNF applications is unfolding in the modern tech-economy within the forest-rich nations of Northern Europe and North America as well as in Japan, home of Nippon Paper. The company touts its preparedness to take advantage in profiting from these futuristic nano-based cellulose production technologies.

 

New product complements the company’s existing swing check valve line, offering a reliable and economical option for standard duty use.

 

Cup stock is one of the first of its kind and was developed for both hot and cold applications. The new offering reflects Evergreen Packaging's continued commitment to the use of renewable resources and reinforces the company's expertise in custom co-extrusion barrier technology.

 

The first Scott branded towel dispenser system in its history, the new offering is designed to save customers time and money by reliably dispensing towels—reducing disruptions and user complaints.

 

The folding boxboard range will be covered by the AEGLE brand and the food service range by the ISLA brand. The standard board ranges will be launched this July (2016) when Kotkamills’ new board machine starts up.

 

Wide Format Inkjet Printers can take advantage of an ultra-smooth print surface and neutral-white shade for superior color reproduction. The new product includes a unique inner scrim ply which has industry leading tear and tensile strength characteristics that dramatically reduce field failures.

 

PP White FTC 60 is a multipurpose top-coated film designed for labeling applications on rigid packaging where good water, chemical, and oil resistance is required.

 

GlazeGuard product family is an integral part of the broader portfolio of Verso machine-glazed laminating and converting papers specifically designed for flexible packaging applications.

 

The Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada are selected by Corporate Knights Magazine on the basis of their performance against 12 key sustainability indicators, including greenhouse gas production, percentage of taxes paid, health and safety performance, and pension fund quality.

 

Japanese Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC) was happy to learn they are now fully endorsed and in compliance with forest sustainability rules set forth by the PEFC, which, likewise was delighted to announce Japan as the latest country to achieve complete endorsement of its forest system.

 

Could the state of Maine miss out on what a U.S. Ag. Dept. study says: that biobased products are a $1 trillion yearly industry? Advocates say the forest products sector and government need information on how investments in more controversial bioproducts in the pulp industry like wood-to-energy biomass can benefit, not hurt, markets.

 

Company is supporting the Dutch government's plan to join the Mission Innovation coalition. The global initiative aims to accelerate public and private innovation to make clean energy affordable for consumers, as well as creating "green" jobs and commercial opportunities.

 

Installation of second power generating unit will make the Windsor mill the prime producer of renewable energy in the Eastern Townships. The two power units will have a combined production capacity of approximately 50 MW, equivalent to powering 12,800 single-family households.

 

Matthew J. Espe has more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and management of global manufacturing businesses. He most recently was CEO and president of Armstrong World Industries Inc.

 

Simon Waller's 25 years of leadership experience in the industry, combined with his business development and operations expertise, are ideally suited to lead the strategic expansion of the Liqui-Box brand in the EMEA markets, with particular focus on Europe.

 

Ksenia Sosnina has many years of experience in the pulp and paper industry, having held numerous management positions in leading international companies across the industry. Since 2013, she has been president of International Paper Russia.

 

David S. Taylor assumes the position in addition to his role as president and CEO following the retirement of current executive chairman A.G. Lafley, who was named chairman, president, and CEO in 2013.

 

Survey sheds light on wage information, industry demographics, current hot topics to address for employee satisfaction, and confirm recognized compensation statistics. Industry professionals may simply take the survey to get access to a full summary of aggregated compensation data at no charge. 550 participants so far.

 

Andritz Automation is currently seeking a Pulp & Paper Sales Manager for its Automation Solutions Division in the Southeastern US. Enhance relationships with existing customers while identifying new leads and nurturing them into trusted, long-term relationships.

 

The newly added Introduction to Corrugated Course will provide corrugated industry professionals the opportunity to increase their understanding of the corrugated process, linerboard, and medium performance properties and manufacturing.

 

Industry leaders know what it takes to stand out in a crowd and get noticed. They understand the importance of branding when it comes to business success. PEERS offers companies a powerful platform for meeting new customers, reaching out to existing customers, and building a more established and reliable brand.

 

At IBBC, enjoy in-depth technical presentations, plus commercial oriented sessions addressing new business models, funding, and partnerships. This TAPPI conference is conveniently co-located with others to present some of the most valuable and relevant technical pulp, paper, and related forest product industry information.

 

TAPPI is known worldwide for its high quality, technical OFF-line training, face-to-face courses, and company classrooms. Now, TAPPI Academy launches its internet based eLearning offering where organizations can conveniently access unsurpassed technical training ON-Line provided by proven industry experts.

 

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