Weekly Spotlight
DS Smith Encourages Americans to Recycle This Holiday Gifting Season

Over the Wire

TAPPI

Thursday, January 2, 2025 - Member
Cristini
Holiday gifting season ushers in a flurry of wrapping paper, present packages, and shipping boxes plus good news that Americans are recycling these materials more than ever, according to industry trends bolstered by global leader in sustainable fiber-based packaging DS Smith’s circular infrastructure.
 
AF&PA Urges New York Governor Hochul to Veto TREES Act
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock released the following statement in response to New York’s Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability (TREES) Act (AB 9711):
 
Mayr-Melnhof Karton to Sell TANN Group for EUR 360 Million
Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG (MM) has agreed with Evergreen Hill Enterprise, Pte. Ltd., part of an Indonesian-based privately held group of diversified companies, on the sale of 100% of the shares in TANN Group, headquartered in Traun, Austria, for a cash and debt-free enterprise value of EUR 360 million.
 
Seaman Paper Acquires German Paper Manufacturer Julius Glatz
Seaman Paper Company has acquired Julius Glatz GmbH ("Glatz"), a pioneer in specialty papers based in Neidenfels, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Founded in 1885, Glatz is a family-owned company and one of the global market leaders in producing high-quality technical specialty products.
 
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.
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From The Experts
Council of the EU Signs Off on New Rules for Less Packaging Waste and More Re-Use
The Council of the EU has formally adopted a regulation on packaging and packaging waste. The new rules will significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste by setting binding re-use targets, restricting certain types of single-use packaging and requiring economic operators to minimise the packaging used. The regulation covers the full life cycle of packaging.
 
Naylor Association Solutions
Market Roundup
Total U.S. Printing-Writing Paper Shipments Decreased 6% in November 2024
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released the November 2024 Printing-Writing Monthly report. According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 6% in November compared to November 2023.
 
EPIQ Advanced Dynamics Corp
Pulp & Paper
Martin Engineering Opens New Business Unit in Kazakhstan
The world leader in bulk handling solutions, Martin Engineering, has announced fresh expansion in Central Asia with a new business unit in Kazakhstan.
 
Afry Awarded EPCM Project for Arauco’s New Pulp Mill in Brazil
Arauco, a global forest industry company, has awarded AFRY an EPCM assignment for the Balance of Plant of its new greenfield pulp mill in Inocência, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
 
Suzano Officially Inaugurates the World's Largest Single-Line Pulp Mill
Suzano, the world’s largest pulp producer, officially inaugurated the world's largest single-line pulp mill in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Mato Grosso do Sul, on Thursday December 5. The ceremony was attended by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin; and the CEO of Suzano, Beto Abreu, as well as representatives from the federal, state and municipal governments, local authorities, and executives from Suzano.
 
UPG Unified Purchasing Group
Containerboard/Packaging
AF&PA Releases November 2024 Packaging Papers Monthly Report
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released the November 2024 Packaging Papers Monthly report. 
 
Sonoco to Sell Thermoformed and Flexibles Packaging Business to Toppan for $1.8 Billion
Sonoco Products Company today announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its Thermoformed and Flexibles Packaging business ("TFP") to TOPPAN Holdings Inc. for approximately $1.8 billion on a cash-free and debt-free basis and subject to customary adjustments.
 
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
Vogelsang USA Introduces the EP Series for Industrial Pumping Applications in Pulp & Paper Markets
Vogelsang, the inventor of the rotary lobe pump with elastomer-coated lobes, has been one of the world's leading mechanical engineering companies in the field of pumps for decades.
 
Alliance Introduces RAVEN Robotic Palletizer
Alliance Machine Systems International has confirmed the launch of RAVEN, a new robotic palletizing system designed for 1.2m/50″ flexo converting lines. This addresses the need for newer automation capabilities in a more compact form factor.
 
Sustainability
Mondi Completes EUR 20 Million Energy Efficiency Projects at Neusiedler Mills in Austria
Mondi announced that it has made good progress on the previously announced EUR 20 million investment program at its Neusiedler uncoated fine paper mills in Austria. The full benefit of the upgrades is expected from the first quarter of 2025, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased energy efficiency and operational safety.
 
New Study Steps Ahead to Promote Polycoated Paper Recycling
Polycoated paper packaging, cartons for your milk or juice, containers for your frozen foods and boxes for your home needs are everywhere. We want to recycle them; however, the process has historically faced unique questions about the impact of resin in a product or whether municipal recycling programs want to accept polycoated paper to begin with.
 
Klabin Achieves Historic Score in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Klabin, the largest producer and exporter of packaging paper and sustainable paper packaging solutions in Brazil, has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fifth consecutive year.
 
Tetra Pak Wins "Resource Efficiency"Award at the Sustainable Packaging News Awards 2024
Tetra Pak has received the ‘Resource Efficiency’ Award at the Sustainable Packaging News Awards 2024, for its paper-based barrier material innovation. The awards recognise the most innovative advancements in sustainable packaging over the past year.
 
People
Valmet Appoints David Nelson as Interim Head of Valmet's North American Business
Valmet has appointed David Nelson as interim Head of Valmet's North American business, succeeding Jukka Tiitinen as of January 1, 2025. He will assume this interim role in addition to his current responsibilities as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, North America.
 
Billerud Appoints Jaakko Nikkilä as President of Billerud Europe
Billerud has appointed Jaakko Nikkilä as President, Billerud Europe and member of the Group Management Team, effective May 1, 2025.
 
Hood Container Appoints Alan Clark as Its New President and Chief Operating Officer
Hood Container announced the appointment of Alan Clark as the new President and Chief Operating Officer, effective January 1, 2025.
 
Kim Haakstad Appointed President and CEO of COFI
The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) has named Kim Haakstad as its new President and CEO, effective immediately.
 
TAPPI Career Wire
Engineer A, B, or C
City of Austin Transportation and Public Works Department
Austin, Texas
 
Solid Waste Division Director
King County - Department of Natural Resources & Parks
Seattle, Washington
 
Scientist in Computational Biology
Naiara Akizu
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
Transportation Engineering and Operations Manager
City of Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington, North Carolina
 
ENGINEER PRINCIPAL - WATER MANAGER
South Florida Water Management District
Naples or Ft Myers, Florida
 
TAPPI News

 
Member Update and Happy New Year from TAPPI President and CEO Larry N. Montague
Thank you for being a valuable member of TAPPI.  We’re looking forward to a great 2025.
 
Creating a Better Tomorrow: 2025 TAPPI-PIMA Student Summit
If your company is in the market for interns, co-ops, or full-time employees ready to put their stamp on the pulp, paper, and sustainable forest products industry, we’ve got just the ticket for you.
 
New Year? Time to Empower Your Workforce
TAPPI Academy’s NPT2 courses can help
 
Become an Industry Influencer: Present at TAPPI Nano 2025 | 8-11 July 2025
TAPPI Nano 2025 Call for Presentations is now open! Submit your abstracts by Wednesday, 5 February 2025
 
Do You Know Students Looking for Scholarship Money?
Remind your co-op students and interns about the February 15 application deadline for TAPPI Scholarships.
 
TAPPI Can Help You Find New Talent in 2025... and Keep Them.
Increase your value as a business owner or supervisor by using TAPPI Member Resources to help train your workforce or find new hires.