Weekly Spotlight
American Forest & Paper Association CEO Heidi Brock on Canada and Mexico Tariff Announcements

Over the Wire

TAPPI

Thursday, March 13, 2025 - Member
Cristini
President Donald Trump announced tariffs against Canada and Mexico, with a 25% tax on imports from the two neighboring countries effective immediately. Canada has declared that they will pursue retaliatory tariffs.  
 
Metsä Board to Close Tako Board Mill in Tampere, Finland, in 2Q 2025
Metsä Board has concluded the change negotiations that began in January to improve the company's profitability and cost competitiveness. As a result of the negotiations, Metsä Board will permanently close Tako board mill and enhance the operational efficiency of Kyro board mill.
 
Pritzker Private Capital Agrees to Acquire Buckman
Pritzker Private Capital ("PPC" or "the firm"), a leader in family direct investing, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Buckman ("the company"), a family-owned innovator in specialty solutions for water treatment and industrial processes.
 
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
Advertisement
From The Experts
Perceptions Aren't Just Changing. We're Changing Them
By Mary Anne Hansan, President, Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB)
Consumers' perceptions about paper and packaging are evolving — and fast. In 2024, more consumers than ever understood that paper manufacturers plant far more trees than they harvest. They recognized that trends like urbanization and wildfires are the real threats to forests — not their sustainably managed, productive use. And they see the industry as part of the solution to the country's sustainability challenges, not as part of the problem.
 
UPG Unified Purchasing Group
Market Roundup
Canfor Pulp Reports Improved Results for Fourth Quarter 2024
Canfor Pulp Products has reported its fourth quarter of 2024 results.
 
Sappi Europe Announces Price Increase for Coated and Uncoated Fine Papers
Due to rising input costs, particularly but not only for pulp, Sappi Europe will increase prices for coated and uncoated fine papers by 8% effective from 7 April 2025.
 
EPIQ Advanced Dynamics Corp
Pulp & Paper
Valmet to Supply a High-Capacity Winder to Jingxing Holdings in Malaysia
Valmet is to supply an OptiWin Drum two-drum base winder to Jingxing Holdings’ board machine PM 3 in Malaysia. The target of the investment is to have high-capacity winding technology that meets the requirements of the board machine. The start-up of the winder is scheduled for 2026.
 
Sofidel Takes Delivery of New Yankee Dryer at Circleville Mill in Ohio
Sofidel announced that its tissue mill in Circleville, Ohio, took delivery of a new Yankee Dryer on March 2. The Yankee Dryer will be installed on a new Valmet DCT 200 tissue machine, which will be the mill's third machine and is scheduled for start-up in the third quarter of 2025.
 
New Technology Increases Breakbulk Capacity at the Port of Sundsvall
The Port of Sundsvall has become a key hub handling increasing volumes of breakbulk cargo for the forestry and tech industries among others. By investing in new equipment and modern infrastructure, the port has improved its capacity to efficiently and safely handle breakbulk cargo.
 
A.Celli Will Upgrade Umka Cardboard Mill’s Paper Machine
A.Celli has been chosen to rebuild the press section of the Umka Cardboard Mill’s paper machine in Umka, Belgrade.
 
Lubrication Engineers
Containerboard/Packaging
Metsä Board to Close its Tako Boxboard Mill
Metsä Board has concluded the change negotiations that began in January to improve the company's profitability and cost competitiveness. As a result of the negotiations, Metsä Board will permanently close Tako board mill and enhance the operational efficiency of Kyro board mill. 
 
American Packaging Corporation Celebrates Two ESG Milestones
American Packaging Corporation (APC), a leader in flexible packaging solutions, proudly announces two major Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) milestones.
 
UFP Boosts Corrugated Output with New Facility in Indiana
UFP Packaging, a UFP Industries subsidiary, has significantly expanded its corrugated manufacturing capabilities with a new 165,000-square-foot facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. 
 
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
click here
Advertisement
New Products
Runtech Systems Launches a New EP Turbo Blower Model, EP650 AMB
In response to market needs, Runtech Systems is launching a new turbo blower model for paper machine vacuum systems. The new RunEco EP650 AMB Turbo Blower features active magnetic bearings. The design of EP Turbo Blowers is characterized by its streamlined efficiency, featuring impellers mounted directly onto the motor shaft.
 
Boiler SCR Technology: A Pivotal Step Towards Environmental Sustainability
Emission regulations for combustion systems have been in place for more than half a century and in the 1990’s, the Clean Air Act put a spotlight on emissions specifically from industrial boilers. Boiler owners were required to retrofit or replace equipment that did not meet the new limits set for emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
 
Kimberly-Clark Launches New Technology to Revolutionize Restroom Management
Kimberly-Clark Professional introduced a customer-centric innovation called Onvation SmartFit technology consisting of a small, internet-enabled sensor that fits inside paper towel and bath tissue dispensers to provide real-time data that helps commercial facility managers schedule janitorial staff more efficiently and reduce waste.
 
UPM and Orkla Suomi Launch Paper-Based Wrapper for Panda Chocolate
UPM Specialty Papers and Orkla Suomi are introducing a new paper-based wrapper for Panda Milk Chocolate, replacing traditional plastic packaging. 
 
Naylor Association Solutions
Sustainability
Voith Sets for Itself Scientifically Sound Climate Targets
The Voith Group has set for itself scientifically based climate targets. Accordingly, the company is committed to reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its own sites (Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions) by 50.4% by fiscal year 2031/32 compared to the baseline year 2021/22. In addition, Voith aims to reduce GHG emissions from the use of its products (Scope 3) by 30% over the same period.
 
Sustainability, S&P Global ESG Score: Fedrigoni Reaches 74 (+10 Points) and Ranks Among the Best Companies
The Global ESG Score (by Standard & Poor’s, one of the most authoritative sustainability ratings worldwide) has once again recognized the Fedrigoni Group for its excellent ESG performance, awarding it a score of 74 (an impressive 10-point increase compared to 2023) bringing it significantly closer to the top-performing companies.
 
Solenis Earns Sappi’s 2024 Supplier Sustainability Leadership Award
 Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals for water-intensive industries, was awarded Sappi’s 2024 Supplier Sustainability Leadership Award. The award recognizes the shared commitment to sustainability demonstrated by both Sappi and Solenis, underscored by the fact that both companies have achieved a Platinum rating from EcoVadis.
 
Metsä Board Updates its Sustainability Targets
Metsä Board has updated its strategic sustainability targets for 2030. The update includes changes to existing and new targets focusing on areas such as logistics emissions, personnel diversity, and occupational safety.
 
Keller and Heckman LLP
People
Sonoco Names Andrea White as Chief Human Resources Officer
Sonoco Products Company announced that Andrea White has been named Chief Human Resources Officer and has been elected a corporate officer by the Company's Board of Directors. She is a member of the Company's Executive Committee and reports to Howard Coker, President and CEO.
 
ASPI Honors Domtar's Bill Edwards with Excellence in Leadership Award
Domtar announced that its senior vice president of Paper and Packaging Operations, Bill Edwards, received the prestigious Excellence in Leadership Award from the Association of Suppliers to the Paper Industry (ASPI) during the organization's annual conference in Clearwater, Florida.
 
International Paper Names New Leaders
International Paper announced changes to its executive leadership team.
 
Tim Nicholls is the New Executive VP and President of DS Smith
Tim Nicholls has been named Executive Vice President and President of DS Smith, an International Paper company, reporting to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andy Silvernail. Tim has more than 30 years of industry experience including a variety of business and finance leadership roles.
 
DeZURIK, Inc.
TAPPI Career Wire
Assistant Environmental Engineer or Environmental Engineer
Ada County Highway District
Garden City, Idaho
 
Principal Reliability Risk Engineer
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Sacramento, California
 
Director of Engineering
TriRiver Water (City of Sanford, NC)
Sanford, North Carolina
 
Manager of Track Maintenance
Columbia Rail
Richland and Walla Walla, Washington
 
Production Engineer - Paper Machines
Sappi Cloquet
Cloquet, Minnesota
 
TAPPI News
 
Visit https://events.tappi.org/event/tappicon/registration?RefId=Main%20Registration%20Link&rp=58cf4b9d-a9e7-4171-a61b-c42effed0019&utm_source=OTW&utm_medium=banner%20-%203.6&utm_campaign=registration to view the full article online.
 
There’s still time to apply for the TAPPI 2025 Horizon Scholarship
Deadline extended to March 23, 2025
 
2025 TAPPI Horizon Scholarship
The Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive industry by providing opportunities for highly qualified students who have demonstrated perseverance in overcoming personal, social, or economic barriers in their pursuit of higher education or career goals.
 
Innovative Water Management: A Path to Sustainability
Advanced process solutions and technologies discussed at TAPPICon 2025
 
TAPPI Women’s Summit: Advancing Women in Industry
Join the movement to further the role of women in the workplace
 
Registration is Open: Expert-Led In-Person Tissue Training Courses in May 2025
Take advantage of TAPPI’s premier tissue training courses, featuring three progressive learning opportunities designed to enhance your skills at every stage of tissue production
 
David Schwerbel, Principal of Telos-US, Named Recipient of TAPPI’s Paul W. Magnabosco Outstanding Local Section Award
Achievement award recognizes remarkable leadership and service
 
Elevate Your Papermaking: TAPPI’s Introduction to Wet End Chemistry Course
Master the Science of Papermaking: Unlock Wet End Chemistry Secrets in Three Transformative Days
 
Could You Benefit from a Better Understanding of Your Market to Influence Profitability?
You’re not alone in navigating changing times. Gain powerful business insight with this convenient online training.
 
Spring into Learning with Training in Paper Making and Additives.
Advance your career with two-day courses offered at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.