Weekly Spotlight
Landslide in Halden, Norway, Collapses Section of Norske Skog's Saugbrugs Mill

Over the Wire

TAPPI

Thursday, May 4, 2023 - Member
Cristini
Norske Skog said that a section of its Saugbrugs paper mill in Halden, Norway, has partially collapsed after rocks from a landslide slid into the building. The company said no one in the mill was injured.
 
MM Group Announces EUR 660 Million Investment Project at Kwidzyn Mill in Poland
The MM Group (MM) has approved a comprehensive investment project to increase the long-term competitiveness of its largest board and paper mill, MM Kwidzyn in Poland. Energy and CO2 cost reduction, pulp integration and entry into the market for sack kraft papers are to set the mill up for sustainable future success.
 
Holmen to Invest SEK 450 Million to Rebuild PM52 at Braviken Paper Mill
Holmen said that it is investing SEK 450 million to rebuild a paper machine, PM52, at its Braviken Paper Mill in Sweden.
 
Beat the Heat: TL-Series Bearings from NSK.
NSK Americas®
Under the high temperatures and thermal stresses of dryer rolls in paper making machines, conventional bearings can experience cracking damage and fail prematurely. NSK’s Tough and Long Life (TL) Spherical Roller Bearings dramatically increase MTBF and significantly reduce maintenance costs and machine downtime.
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From The Experts
Everyone Makes a Difference in Safety: Stora Enso Awards Suppliers for Exemplary Safety Work
Safety is a top priority at Stora Enso, every day. The yearly safety week puts a special focus on safety and enables joint sharing, learning, and celebrations of the good safety practices implemented around the organisation.
 
Lubrizol, Inc.
Market Roundup
Suzano Reports Strong First Quarter 2023 Results on Pulp Sales
Suzano, the world's largest hardwood pulp producer, announced its financial statements for the first quarter of 2023 (1Q23).
 
Rottneros Reports Strong First Quarter 2023 Results
Rottneros reported strong first quarter 2023 results on pricing and balanced production. Lennart Eberleh, President and CEO of Rottneros, made the following comments on the Group's first quarter performance.
 
Merichem Company
Pulp & Paper
Toscotec Starts Up AHEAD 2.2 Tissue Line at Saudi Paper Group
Saudi Paper Group (SPG) has started up a Toscotec-supplied AHEAD 2.2 tissue machine and OPTIMA slitter rewinder at its Dammam mill in Saudi Arabia. The new machine (PM2) is already producing high quality tissue.
 
Cascades Announces a Repositioning of its Tissue Papers Operating Platform
Cascades announced an important repositioning of its Tissue Papers platform to enhance the performance of the business. The company will simplify operations by concentrating the majority of its tissue product operating activities at core, geographically well-positioned sites that offer opportunities for future development.
 
Rottneros Mill to Increase Capacity of CTMP by 40,000 Metric Tons Per Year
Rottneros announced that its Board of Directors has decided to invest approximately SEK 180 million to significantly expand the production capacity of CTMP (chemical thermomechanical pulp) at Rottneros Mill in Sweden.
 
Holmen Invests to Strengthen Book Paper and Increase Packaging Paper Production
To further strengthen Holmen's market-leading position in book paper and increase production of Holmen's new packaging product, INNR, the company is investing SEK 450 million in rebuilding a paper machine at Braviken Paper Mill.
 
UPG Unified Purchasing Group
Containerboard/Packaging
Box Demand Slumps as Americans Refrain from Discretionary Purchases
During the busiest Q1 earnings week (42% of the S&P 500 market capitalization is reporting this week according to Goldman Sachs), several companies involved in the box market, which is among the best leading/coincident economic indicators depending on how one defines leading, have reported downbeat results and cut guidance. 
 
Total U.S. Containerboard Production Decreased 10 Percent in Q1 2023
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released its Q1 2023 Containerboard Quarterly report. According to the report, total Containerboard production in the first quarter of 2023 decreased 10% when compared to Q1 2022.
 
Total U.S. Boxboard Production Decreased Five Percent in Q1 2023
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released its Q1 2023 Boxboard report. According to the report, total boxboard production in Q1 decreased 5% compared to Q1 2022. The boxboard operating rate was 87.8%, down 6.1 points from Q1 2022.
 
Optimize Your Starch Cooking Capabilities
Hydro-Thermal Corp®
Starch cooking is a vital component in successful paper production. Hydro-Thermal’s original Jetcooker™ ensures that producers have a reliable supply of consistently cooked starch for improving wet end sheet strength, size press surface properties, and overall coating quality.  Learn more about how Hydro-Thermal is the right pick in Starch Makedown, Starch Cooking, and Cooked Starch Handling.
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Legislative
California May Ease the Phase-Out of Non-Zero-Emission Forklifts After the 2026 Ban
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has updated the proposed new regulations aimed at achieving zero emissions from forklifts by 2035. This article is a review of recent changes to California's ban on non-zero-emission forklifts, which we wrote about in 2022.
 
New Products
Huhtamaki to Launch Sustainable Flexible Packaging Innovation
Leading global packaging solutions company, Huhtamaki has redefined the possible by using science to develop groundbreaking mono-material technology. Its innovative and sustainable flexible packaging, in Paper, PE and PP Retort, is transformational and meets the demands of both its customers and their consumers.
 
Stora Enso Introduces Recyclable and Peelable Board Material
Trayforma BarrPeel by Stora Enso is a new, easy-peeling board material for vacuum skin packs enabling packaging fresh food on recyclable paperboard trays. Trayforma BarrPeel supports brand owners’ sustainability ambitions by reducing plastic to less than 10% of the tray.
 
No More Rolling in Plastic – Megaflex Schaumstoff Switches to Mondi’s Paper Solution for Rollpacking Mattresses
Mondi, a global leader in sustainable packaging and paper, has created Protector Bag ExpandForm, a paperbag solution with an expandable feature to safely rollpack mattresses.
 
SRI Advertising
Sustainability
Sappi’s Platinum Sustainability Status is Once Again Verified by EcoVadis
Trust, but verify. This is the value of third-party assessments including the annual review undertaken by EcoVadis. All three of Sappi’s manufacturing regions – Europe, North America and South Africa – once again achieved the highest possible rating, platinum, in the annual EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ratings.
 
Keit Spectrometers
Prevent Costly Wear in Rotary Kilns & Dryers
Lubrication Engineers®
High-quality, easy-to-apply melting lube bars placed between rotary kiln and dryer components will extend filler bar, shell and refractory life; reduce friction, wear, scoring and weld fractures; and fill microscopic imperfections. LE’s Easy Bar with Almasol has an auto-ignition point of 538°C (1,000°F) – the highest of any lubricant bar in the market – ensuring worker safety with no flame-ups.
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Maxcess
People
Valmet Appoints Tero Kokko as President, EMEA, and to Executive Team
Valmet has appointed Tero Kokko, Ph.D. (Eng.), M.Sc. (Econ) as President, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and a member of Valmet's Executive Team, effective June 1. He reports to President and CEO, Pasi Laine.
 
SCA Announces Changes within Its Group Management
SCA has appointed Kristina Enander to the role of Senior Vice President Strategic Development, effective May 1. Enander previously served as President of SCA's Pulp business. She has worked at SCA since 1993.
 
TAPPI News
 
Visit https://conference.tappinano.org/?utm_source=OTW&utm_medium=banner to view the full article online.
 
So Many TAPPI Courses, Webinars and Events to Choose from This May!
Please view the list of Upcoming May Webinars and Events.
 
Global Nano Community Heading to TAPPI Nano 2023
See why you need to join them this June in Vancouver.
 
Fore! Health and Safety Professionals Hit the Links to Network
PPSA’s 79th annual conference kicks off with a round of golf at one of Florida’s premier golf facilities.
 
Learn Wet End Chemistry Troubleshooting and Optimization
Register by May 9 and Save.  Learn Directly from Experts, Discover New Techniques and Methods.
 
Join us! Hands-On Pulp and Paper Basics Workshop is Available
Register today for the Hands-On Pulp and Paper Basics Workshop, this Monday, June 5 – Friday, June 9 at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh, NC.
 
Gain Knowledge in Designing Plant-Based Functional Materials Towards Carbon-Negative Applications
Register today for the Designing Plant-Based Functional Materials Towards Carbon-Negative Applications webinar, Thursday, May 25 from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (ET).
 
History of the Hagemeyer Happy Hour at TAPPICon
A chance for people attending TAPPICon to get together for networking, tech talk, and acknowledging contributors to the Coating and Graphic Arts Division. The Hagemeyer Happy Hour has become a key Sunday event at the conference.
 
 
Visit https://www.tappi.org/JoinStandards to view the full article online.