Weekly Spotlight
Explosion at PCA’s DeRidder, La., Containerboard Mill Kills Three, Injures Seven

Over the Wire

TAPPI

Thursday, February 16, 2017 - Member
Cristini
Incident involved annual repair work being performed on piping in the pulp mill area and resulted in three contractor fatalities. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
 
Clearwater to Install Second Tissue Machine, Converting Facility in Shelby, N.C.
"Clearwater Paper's customers are requiring more premium and ultra-premium products, which we are addressing with the new capacity. These high growth segments have increased 3.5 times faster than the overall tissue market, and we are committed to growing with our strategic customers and positioning ourselves to add new customers," said Linda K. Massman, president and CEO.
 
WestRock to Relocate Headquarters in Greater Atlanta, Ga.
Company will move from Norcross, Ga., in the northeast section of the greater Atlanta area to Sandy Springs in the north central metro area. It will relocate some 800 employees to a 180,000-sq.-ft. facility in Northpark Town Center.
 
Quebec Government, Cascades Invest $11.3 Million in Two Energy Efficiency Projects
Investments will result in an annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) equivalent to taking 4,000 light duty vehicles off the road.
 
VTT Develops Reactive Lignin from Pulping Side Steams
Reactive lignin can be used as a replacement for toxic phenol compounds in wood adhesives that are widely used in wood products and furniture.
 
Safety Hats - Direct Digital Manufacturing Services
Market Roundup
U.S. BHK and BSK Pulp Imports up in 2016
Bleached hardwood kraft pulp imports were up 9.3% y/y, and bleached softwood kraft pulp imports were up 3.7%..
 
CPI Releases Preliminary P&P Industry Statistics for 2016
Paper and board production decreased by 0.1% in 2016 compared with the previous year. Total production in 2016 was around 91 million metric tons.
 
Canada’s NBSK Pulp Exports Slide 1% in 2016
The average value/metric ton of pulp was down for three straight months through December 2016.
 
Molded Fiber Packaging Demand in Europe to Remain Strong Through 2026
The global market for molded fiber pulp packaging is set to witness a CAGR of 5.8% in revenue terms between 2016 and 2026. However, alternative packaging materials such EPS and plastics may inhibit widespread adoption of molded fiber pulp packaging
 
Warehouse Specialist
Pulp & Paper
A.Celli to Supply New Tissue Machine to Grupo Corporativo Papelera in Mexico
New machine, with a 2,650-mm width at the pope reel and a maximum operating speed of 2,000 m/min., is part of a complete turn-key project that includes the control and automation system, together with all ancillary equipment.
 
Andritz to Upgrade Fiberline at Altri Celbi, Portugal
New DD-Washer and other fiberline equipment supplied by Andritz will substantially improve the washing efficiency and increase the capacity of the hardwood fiberline.
 
Archroma Extends Tetrasulfonated OBA Capacity in Europe
New capacity is expected to come on stream by mid-May 2017, bringing Archroma to a substantial OBA capacity level in Europe, and is designed to be extended even further over the next few years.
 
Daio Paper Poised to Acquire Nisshinbo’s Tissue Business
Daio reportedly will pay some 20 billion yen ($178 million) for Japan-based Nisshinbo Holdings' paper business, including three mills in Japan.
 
Fibria Starts Construction of itermodal Terminal
Fibria’s pulp output will be shipped by rail to the Port of Santos in São Paulo for export.
 
Hong Kong Consumers Willing to Pay Premium for Sustainable Paper Products
"Sustainable and Safe Paper Usage in Hong Kong" survey revealed that nearly 70% of Hong Kong consumers are willing to pay an additional 5% or more to purchase paper products from sustainable sources. Additionally, more than 70% of respondents prefer to visit restaurants that use safe food packaging.
 
Kleenex Exfoliating Cushions Voted Product of the Year 2017
Company’s new product wins top award within the Product of the Year Skincare Category.
 
Valmet Appoints Tecnilab Portugal Distributer for Water/Wastewater Automation
Tecnilab is now an official distributor for Valmet's water and wastewater solutions and services in Portugal.
 
Universal Electric Corp.
Containerboard/Packaging
Anhui Shanying Orders Online Conditioning Monitoring System for Mill in China
New system will be installed on the mill's board and paper machines 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 to secure high process availability, efficient maintenance, and safety.
 
Consorzio Cartiere Orders Andritz Board Machine Upgrade
After startup, scheduled for the beginning of 2018, capacity of the board machine will be increased from 78,000 metric tpy to more than 100,000 metric tpy.
 
Initiative in India to Recycle Tetra Pak Cartons into School Desks
Spread over six weeks, Tetra Pak hopes to collect and recycle over one lakh cartons into school desks for underprivileged schools through this campaign.
 
Smurfit Kappa to Acquire Litbag
Litbag has specific expertise in multi-layer EVOH barrier films, which offer the advantage of extended product shelf life. Today it is one of the leaders in the Portuguese wine market, exporting to several countries including Spain and France.
 
Valmet to Conduct Extensive PM 1 Rebuild at Sappi’s Somerset, Maine, Mill
Rebuild will allow mill to produce both coated paper and a variety of consumer packaging products.
 
Nanotechnology
New Major Nanocellulose Project Starting in Northern Sweden
Participants will either together or separately be working within four application areas: CNC in flat shaped materials, in wound dressings, as strength additives in multi-layer materials, and for functionalization of gas and fluid barriers.
 
New Products
Appvion Adds Roll Offering to Coated Ultra Brite–Matte Inkjet Paper Line
"Dedicated coated roll products enable printers to make a seamless transition to high-speed inkjet printing technology and to get the high-color performance of coated paper," said Jeff Luehring, Appvion’s business team leader for security and inkjet products.
 
Catalyst Launches New Lightweight Flexible Packaging Product Line
Company has launched a complete line of new lightweight flexible food packaging papers, branded LEAP, from its FDA-compliant Biron mill in Wisconsin, USA.
 
Valmet Introduces Online Analyzer for Wood Chip, Bark Moisture Measurement
Continuously measuring wood chip moisture provides the means to accurately control cooking liquor to chip mass ratio for improved digester operation.
 
Verso Introduces NK Series of Lightweight Natural Kraft Machine Glazed Papers
NK Series will be produced at Verso's Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, USA, with an initial focus on foodservice and flexible packaging applications such as quick service restaurant and concession bags, sandwich wraps, pouches, microwave popcorn bags, and specialty tape and waxing base.
 
Published Pricing
Lecta to Raise Prices of Carbonless Copy Papers
Increase will range from 5% to 6%, depending on product format and country.
 
Södra Hikes Softwood Pulp Price in Europe
Company will increase its market price for NBSK pulp in Europe to $840 per metric ton, for all new business.
 
Sonoco Protective Solutions Increasing Protective Packaging Prices
Company announced a 10% price increase on all EPS parts and components and a 7% increase on all Sonopost® products.
 
Energy
AkzoNobel Cuts CO2 by 100,000 Tons with New Steam-from-Biomass Plant
Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp commissions new bio-steam supply from energy company Eneco to AkzoNobel.
 
KPA Unicon to Deliver Biomass-Fired Steam Plant to Metsä Tissue Mill
Metsä Tissue AB and KPA Unicon Oy have signed a contract for the delivery of Biograte 8 MWth steam boiler plant to Metsä Tissue Nyboholm, Sweden. The plant uses as a fuel biosludge in addition to wood chips, bark, and sawdust, and it produces steam for the paper mill machinery.
 
People
Crown Holdings Announces Senior Management Changes
Gerard H. Gifford has been appointed EVP and COO, effective April 1, 2017, responsible for the Americas and European Divisions. At the same time, Didier Sourisseau, who is currently SVP of Food Europe, will be promoted to president of Crown Europe.
 
International Paper Elects Sullivan to Board of Directors
Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan is the Charles A. Lindbergh Fellow of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
 
Tembec Appoints Gignac New Director
Pierre Gignac joins Tembec's Board with broad international experience and expertise in enterprise risk management, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and finance.
 
TAPPI News
TAPPI Annual Meeting to be held February 28
A teleconference will be held February 28 at 1:00 p.m. EST providing a brief report on TAPPI association business.
 
Build Your Reliability and Maintenance Skills
You already know the importance of understanding the industry's latest best practices in reliability and maintenance. You may not know about the courses offered from IDCON and TAPPI that deliver critical skills like how to prevent major issues through proven best practices.
 
Explore the Powerful Influence of Additives
Broaden your understanding of important papermaking additives and how you can use them to greatest advantage in the products you make by attending the Introduction to Papermaking Additives course.
 
TAPPI Press Featured Products: IDCON
TAPPI partners with IDCON to provide publications and educational opportunities focused on reliability and maintenance.
 
Tissue Operations and Runnability Training in April
A large panel of industry leading experts has been assembled to instruct this course.
 
IBBC 2017 Announces Call for Presentations
Be a part of IBBC as it explores Innovations in Bioproducts and Bioeconomy.