Weekly Spotlight
Fabriano Strengthens its Presence in the US with Iconic Made in Italy Products as Part of Global Expansion

Over the Wire

TAPPI

Thursday, December 5, 2024 - Member
Cristini
Fabriano, the Italian paper brand renowned for its 800-year history and expertise, has been strengthening its presence in North America for several years. Now, as part of its ambitious industrial plan, the Fedrigoni Group intends to leverage the brand’s tradition and reputation that has seen it used by some of the world’s greatest artists, including Michelangelo and Beethoven, to accelerate its growth across North America.
 
Irving Tissue Announces $600 Million Expansion Project at Macon, Georgia Tissue Mill
As Irving Tissue celebrated its fifth anniversary in Macon, Georgia, company President Robert K. Irving unveiled its latest expansion project.
 
Amcor Recognized with Prestigious Award for Recycle-Ready Coffee Packaging
Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions has been recognized by the 35th Packaging Innovation Awards (PIA) for its AmPrima® Plus solution for coffee.
 
Smurfit Westrock Named Best Irish Company in France
Smurfit Westrock was unveiled as the ‘Best Irish Company in France’ in the 2024 Ireland France awards. The awards recognise companies which have made an exceptional contribution to the development of trade and investment between Ireland and France.
 
Dryer Cylinder Bearing Failures? Beat the Heat with 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.
Learn more
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From The Experts
Findings from Decarbonising the Italian Pulp & Paper Industry Study
AFRY recently presented the findings of a study commissioned by Assocarta, the Italian paper association, outlining a net-zero roadmap for the pulp and paper sector in Italy.
 
Naylor Association Solutions
Market Roundup
AF&PA Releases October 2024 Printing-Writing Monthly Report
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released the October 2024 Printing-Writing Monthly report.
 
Pulp Market Expected to Expand by USD 38.1 Billion (2024-2028)
The global pulp market size is estimated to grow by USD 38.1 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio.
 
Global Price Increase for Kaolin Products Announced – P&P Market Among Customers
KaMin and Cadam announced a price increase of up to 10% on their kaolin products effective January 1, 2025.
 
EPIQ Advanced Dynamics Corp
Pulp & Paper
Rebuild for DS Smith’s PM 4 at Viana Paper Mill Successfully Completed
Following its rebuild and start-up in October 2023, PM 4 at DS Smith's Viana Paper Mill reached final acceptance. The rebuild has increased production from 400,000 tons to 430,000 tons of kraftliner and high-performance top kraftliner per year, at a design speed of 1,200 m/min. This improves the plant's overall efficiency and further strengthens its position as market leader in Southern Europe.
 
Toscotec Completes Second Rebuild Project at Ranheim Paper & Board in Norway
Following a successful rebuild of the dryer section supplied by Toscotec, Ranheim Paper & Board restarted PM5 at their facility in Norway. The two-phase project was completed on schedule, and PM5, which has been in operation since 1960, is now efficiently producing greyboard and coreboard with basis weights ranging from 220 to 500 gsm.
 
VPK Group Commissions FMW Industries to Supply OCC Pulper Feeding Line in Belgium
VPK Group, a leading global supplier of sustainable packaging solutions, has tasked FMW Industries with this project. This significant collaboration, which also involved our Benelux sales representative XTECX, builds on FMW's successful track record of supplying various systems to VPK Group plants in France.
 
Metsä Board Investing EUR 60 Million in Major Upgrades at Simpele Mill
Metsä Board announced that it will invest approximately EUR 60 million to modernize its Simpele mill in Southeast Finland. The project is focused on further enhancing product quality, production efficiency, and reducing the carbon footprint of its operations and products.
 
UPG Unified Purchasing Group
Containerboard/Packaging
AF&PA Releases October 2024 Packaging Papers Monthly Report
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released the October 2024 Packaging Papers Monthly report.
 
Fedrigoni and Partners Introduce Papersnap®, a Circular Packaging Solution
A groundbreaking collaboration between Easysnap Technology, Fedrigoni, and MasterFoods has led to the development of Papersnap®, a fully recyclable, paper-based squeeze-on tomato sauce pack.
 
Best-in-class in Paper Mill Starch Cooking.
Hydro-Thermal Corp®
Hydro-Thermal’s proven and original Jetcooker™ technology provides the instantaneous gelatinization of wet end starch, adjustable mechanical shear, and precise temperature control, optimizing the cooking process. Our patented Jetcooker™ directly injects steam into the starch slurry, producing consistent starch with 100% energy efficiency.  For more information on our advanced direct steam injection technology for starch cooking in paper making - 
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New Products
ANDRITZ Launches PrimeDry HotAir Box to Reduce Energy Consumption in Tissue Drying
International technology group ANDRITZ has developed the PrimeDry HotAir Box, an innovative solution that enables tissue producers to reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions while increasing machine efficiency.
 
PAC Strapping Products Introduces STRAPBLASTER™ Technology for Cleaning Debris Buildup for Automated Strapping Machines
PAC Strapping Products, a leader in the strapping and packaging industry, is proud to introduce its latest innovation in strapping technology—STRAPBLASTER™ Technology. This cutting-edge in-line air blast cleaning system revolutionizes the maintenance of automatic strapping machines, delivering unprecedented operational efficiency, reliability, and ease of use.
 
Sustainability
EnviraBoard Breaks Ground on Production Plant
The UK-based manufacturer, EnviraBoard, has commenced construction work on its first mini production plant in Fårevejle near Copenhagen.
 
Mondi Starts Up New Extrusion Line at Štĕtí
Mondi, a global leader in sustainable packaging and paper, has announced the start-up of its new extrusion line at Mondi Coating Štĕti (Czech Republic), marking another milestone in the Group’s commitment to support customers in their transition to sustainable solutions.
 
Provincial Government Extends Green Energy Agreement with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador [on Nov. 21] announced that an agreement has been extended between Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (Hydro) and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited.
 
People
Jukka Tiitinen, Area President, North America, at Valmet to Retire at Year-End
Valmet announced that Jukka Tiitinen, Area President, North America, has decided to retire after a long and successful career at Valmet. Tiitinen will step down from his role on December 31, 2024.
 
SCA Appoints a New Head for the Containerboard and Pulp Business Areas
SCA has recruited Petteri Kalela as the new President of business areas Containerboard and Pulp and member of the executive management team. Kalela has extensive experience in the forest industry and has held several business leadership roles in Europe and Asia.
 
TAPPI Career Wire
Physician Scientist – Clinical Genomics
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
 
Traffic Engineer
Town of Weymouth
Weymouth, Massachusetts
Visit https://careers.tappi.org/jobs/20734163/traffic-engineer to view the full article online.
 
Supervising Engineer - Right of Way
City of Austin
Austin, Texas
 
Princeton BioE Institute-Innovators (PBI2) Postdoctoral Fellowship
Princeton Bioengineering
Princeton, New Jersey
 
Assistant/Associate Engineer (PBES)
Napa County
Napa, California
 
TAPPI News
 
Visit https://www.tappi.org/standardsandtips to view the full article online.
 
Early Bird Registration Closing Soon for TAPPI’s Highly Rated Introduction to Pulp & Paper Technology Course
Do not miss your chance to save on registration for the highly acclaimed course, taking place January 13–16, 2025 in St. Petersburg, FL
 
Early Bird Discount Ending Soon: Don’t Miss TAPPI’s Highly Anticipated Kraft Recovery Operations Course!
Head to St. Petersburg, FL January 13-16, 2025 to learn the chemistry, physics and engineering principles related to kraft recovery
 
Need to Boost Your Talent Pipeline? Look No Further.
Recruit your next generation of industry pros and get your company’s brand in front of engineering and technical students by participating in the industry’s premier student event.
 
New TAPPI Webinar: Enhanced Paper Inspection Through New Camera Technology
Learn how integrating ISRA VISION’s new NovaCore Web Inspection System can help you reduce costs, improve documentation and transform production
 
TAPPI Journal Announces New Editorial Board Members
Experts in biorefinery, nanocellulose, lignin, and biobased products, join the Board
 
Who Should be Named the Tissue Division’s Mill Professional of the Year?
Nominations due December 18, 2024 for all Tissue Division awards.