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The PM40 closed Friday, 16 April 2021, at 4388.

Get the latest PM40 updates by listening to the weekly Nips show and the PM40 Daily Show on Pulp & Paper Radio International.

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The PM40 closed 16 April 2021 up 48.1% from the 17 April 2020 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Glatfelter and Sonoco.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

Ladies and gentlemen, the first class of inductees to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in Appleton, Wisconsin was inducted more than two decades ago in 1995, and today, more than 140 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile Thomas Grace, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Metsä Fibre and Eltel have signed an agreement to build a power line from the new bioproduct mill being constructed in Kemi to the Keminmaa substation via the Pajusaari-Isohaara-Keminmaa route. The new 110 kV power line will be about 15 kilometres long.

The full agenda is now live for the upcoming International SAP Conference for Forest Products, Paper, Packaging (April 27-29, Online).

Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals used in water-intensive industries, is proud to announce it has been selected as a 2021 US Best Managed Company. Sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, the program recognizes outstanding U.S. private companies and the achievements of their management teams.

Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, will increase prices by 5 to 15 percent on all paper and process product lines across the EMEA region, effective immediately or as customer contracts allow.

After a complete dryer section rebuild supplied by Toscotec, Cartiera di Ferrara fired up PM1 at its mill in Ferrara, Italy. Toscotec modified the entire dryer section, without changing its overall length and therefore leaving the positions of the press and the pope reel unchanged. This allowed for a very short shutdowntime because civil works were not necessary to achieve the planned production increase. The paper machine achieved stable production immediately after start-up.

Valmet will deliver a new evaporation line 3 for Södra Cell Mönsterås pulp mill in Sweden. The new line will replace the oldest evaporation line 1 at the mill. The new evaporation plant is scheduled to start-up in the 1Q 2023.

Valmet will deliver a metering size press with sizing starch preparation and sizer supply system to Emami Paper Mills for its paper making line (PM3), which is located at its Balasore mill in Odisha, India.

Papresa commissioned Voith to completely rebuild PM 5 at the Rentería mill in Spain. The start-up of the ambitious project is scheduled for the 1Q 2022.

P&G's Bounty Paper Towels is setting out to uncover potential hidden bacteria in the home and has recruited key scientists and influencers to unveil where microbes can be present, and offer their expert tips to get the level of clean people want in their homes. Partners include science educator and media personality Bill Nye, neuroscientist and actress Mayim Bialik, YouTube content creator Nick Uhas, as well as microbiologists Kennen Hutchison and Jessica Malaty Rivera.

Responding to the government's call to businesses, Cascades is announcing that it will set up a COVID-19 vaccination hub in Kingsey Falls this coming May. This site will support the actions of the health and social services network in the Mauricie - Centre-du-Québec region. It will provide supervised vaccination, in the order of priority established by the public health authorities, of Cascades employees, their families, and the general population.

Kromekote®, one of North America's best-known premium cast-coated paper brands, is now available in four new thick, luxurious, ultra-bright white heavyweights for production-rated digital printing and color copiers. The papers are FSC-certified, recyclable and elemental chlorine free.

Neenah is expanding their popular ENDURA® Wide Format line to include ENDURA® POSTER in a new seven mil, 500-foot roll. It is also adding an innovative seventeen mil matte finish ENDURA® ART to the portfolio. These additions are in response to market demand created by wide format equipment enhancements while providing a trusted, durable and cost-efficient signage solution for various retail, hospitality, attractions, and commercial art businesses.

Neenah, Inc. announced that it has joined CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. One of nearly 2,000 CEOs that have come together for CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, Julie Schertell, is committing herself and Neenah to advance diversity and inclusion efforts in the company and in the communities where Neenah employees live and work.

Smurfit Kappa's innovative three litre Bag-in-Box packaging design has received Amazon's "Frustration-Free Packaging" (FFP) certification. This is a world first for a generic packaging design, applicable for a wide range of products. The company unveiled this unique Amazon FFP pre-certification to thousands of customers at its recent invite-only virtual Better Planet Packaging event.

Stora Enso Intelligent Packaging is expanding the selection of the sustainable ECO RFID -product family with a tag collection that is specifically designed for food & beverage items. Part of the new ECO RFID Food & Beverage Collection by Stora Enso is the world's first paper tag for microwave-safe use, ECO Meal.

Hygiene and health company Essity is announcing price increases in Consumer Tissue as a result of higher raw material costs. The price increases are announced in Essity's key markets and the percentage increases are on average in the mid-to-high single digits.

Due to the current economic environment and the continued significant increase in raw material, manufacturing and logistics costs, Lecta announces a second price increase of 8% on all its 2-side CWF and UWF grades in sheets and reels.

Sappi Europe announces a price increase for all its woodfree coated and woodfree uncoated paper grades by 7 - 10 % effective 1. June 2021 for all markets in Europe. This is in addition to the previously announced and implemented increases.

Sappi Europe announces a price increase for all its mechanical coated, woodfree coated and woodfree uncoated paper grades by 8-11% with immediate effect as contracts permit for its export markets. This is in addition to the previously announced and implemented increases.

Amcor has leveraged its global R&D resources to help Nestlé put enviro-conscious consumers first, by making Smarties the first confectionery brand to move to recyclable paper packaging in Australia.

Paper Excellence is proud to announce the acquisition of an interest in the Atli Chip Limited Partnership. The Partnership has acquired the assets of the North Island Chipping facility situated in Beaver Cove, BC, located on the traditional territory of the 'Namgis First Nation.

Pregis announces its partnership with Circular Great Lakes (CGL), a regional initiative focused initially on keeping valuable plastic materials out of the waste stream and the environment. CGL has been created by the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) to create a "future without waste" in this binational economic region. Pregis is a founding member and funder of the initiative.

Quad/Graphics, Inc. announced it is enhancing its integrated marketing solutions offering through a newly expanded relationship with Package InSight, an organization that studies brand packaging performance, consumer attention and shelf impact. Through this partnership, brands and marketers who work with Quad will have access to a unique, data-driven view of how consumers engage with products during the shopping experience to aid in decision-making.

An ex-finance manager from Weyerhaeuser who stole over $4.5 million from the timber business has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

With an investment sum of Euro 16.7 million DS Smith is expanding and modernizing its traditional site in Arnstadt, Thuringia, Germany. The recent symbolic ground-breaking ceremony marks the start of construction work to renovate and expand the plant, which will take place while production continues and will span the next 12 months.

North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC) is excited to announce the arrival of a new state-of-the-art drum pulper that will help the company expand its production of lightweight recycled packaging papers and safeguard more than 400 mill jobs and support other indirect jobs in Cowlitz County.

A measure that could help revive Verso Corp.'s Duluth paper mill appears well-positioned to be signed into law as part of an omnibus jobs bill.

Essity is acquiring the distribution rights to the wound care technology Sorbact® in Australia and New Zealand from the Australian company Bayport Brands. In 2020, sales of Sorbact® in the region amounted to AUD 1.7m (approximately SEK 11m).

Liberty Diversified International (LDI) has acquired the assets of Miller Container Company, a Quad Cities-based manufacturer of corrugated cartons and displays.

Neenah, Inc. announced that it had completed the previously announced agreement to acquire Global Release Liners, S.L., the parent company of Industrias de Transformacion de Andoain, S.A. ("ITASA"), from Magnum Capital and other minority shareholders.

Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. obtained a final order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada, approving the plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), pursuant to which Drax Group plc through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Drax Canadian Holdings Inc., will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company for C$11.30 in cash per share.

Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC announced it has completed two strategic investments that will further strengthen its portfolio and enhance service to new and existing customers. On March 31st, Pixelle acquired the specialty paper business Rollsource from Veritiv Corporation. On April 5th, Pixelle acquired the carbonless rolls and security papers business from Appvion Operations Inc.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (RYAM) and GreenFirst Forest Products Inc., a Canadian lumber company, have entered into a binding asset purchase agreement pursuant to which RYAM has agreed to sell all of its lumber and newsprint facilities and related assets located in Ontario and Québec. to GreenFirst for an expected purchase price of approximately $214 million including inventory on hand at the time of closing which is payable approximately 85% in cash, 15% common shares of the capital of GreenFirst.

Södra is acquiring Ture Johanssons Trävaru AB and AB Tenhults Impregneringsverk. The acquisitions will take effect immediately following approval by the Swedish Competition Authority. This process is expected to take up to six weeks.

UFP Industries, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Sunbelt Forest Products Corporation closed on its agreement to purchase the net operating assets of Spartanburg Forest Products, Inc. and its affiliates. The purchase price for Spartanburg's property, plants and equipment is approximately $16.5 million. Sunbelt also purchased Spartanburg's net working capital for an amount equal to the net book value determined on the date of closing, which totaled approximately $146.5 million.

UPM sells its Jyväskylä plywood mill site and premises, located in Säynätsalo, Jyväskylä in Finland, to real estate developer Redeve Oy. The transaction was completed today, and the ownership of the real estate was transferred to Redeve immediately. At the same time, businesses currently renting premises on the site, will become tenants of Redeve.

Boise Cascade Company announced the transition of its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Treasurer position. Wayne Rancourt has communicated his intent to retire effective May 14, 2021. Our Board of Directors has promoted Kelly Hibbs (current VP, Controller) to SVP, CFO and Treasurer, effective upon Wayne's retirement.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced executive leadership changes in support of its global business strategy.

Pregis is announcing two new manufacturing facilities in the Dallas area to support growing demand in the Southern region of North America.

As a consequence of its strategic direction, Stora Enso is in the process of exiting the segment of dissolving pulp for viscose production globally.

Kimberly-Clark will move more than 250 positions in sales, marketing and executive management from Wisconsin to a new commercial center in Chicago, the company said Wednesday.

UPM continues to take action to ensure the company's competitiveness. UPM aims to increase efficiency of its global functions by reorganising and streamlining the operations in Finland, Germany, and Austria. If implemented, the plans would decrease the number of employments in the functions by up to 51.

Charmin's commitment extends well beyond the bathroom and aims to keep forests thriving for communities and wildlife for generations to come. Why? It's simple - Charmin loves trees, no butts about it.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, is now offering a comprehensive portfolio of CO2 neutral papers from its Uncoated Fine Paper business to serve the professional print, office and premium packaging sectors.

IT Tech Packaging, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of diversified paper products in North China, announced that it has obtained qualification to supply central heating in industrial parks after month-long review process for its combined heat and power generation project utilizing bio mass technology ("Biomass CHP Project").

Lecta, with Adestor, its widely known brand of self-adhesive materials, is pleased to announce that it has joined CELAB (Circular Economy for Labels), a global industry initiative that is working to create a more sustainable pressure-sensitive labelling industry by increasing access to matrix and liner recycling.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) is a non-profit organization that certifies printing facilities' sustainability best practices, including and beyond regulatory compliance. SGP advocates best practices and innovation among print community stakeholders, aligning the printing industry and its customers in the pursuit of a more accountable sustainable supply chain.

Northern Pulp intends to submit revised plans within a month for an effluent treatment facility at its mothballed paper mill in Nova Scotia's Pictou County, according to an affidavit filed this week in a B.C. court.

An article titled "Modern paper use is wildly unsustainable" recently appeared in Popular Science. Two Sides responded to the publication to set the record straight.

UPM has published its first Green Bond Report. The report provides details on the use of proceeds as well as the estimated impacts of the UPM´s EUR 750 million Green Bond issued in November 2020.

Arctic Paper has decided to create a new cohesive R&D function at the Swedish mill in Munkedal. Daniel Klang has been appointed as Group R&D manager.

Frank Elfering, vice president & general manager of Western Region Operations for the Building Materials Distribution (BMD) division, has elected to leave Boise Cascade, effective April 30, 2021.

The Marlboro Mill, Tatum Converting Center and Rock Hill Converting Center received the award based on their lost workday case rate during the calendar year.

A fire at UP Paper in Manistique Saturday morning, April 10, started in a paper machine and spread to the roof.

A potentially dangerous situation at the Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton on Monday, April 5, was brought under control.

Fire at Kotkamills' sawmill at 3:45 in a Debarker machine caused minor financial damages. No one was injured. In-house fire-Fighters and Municipal fire-Fighters opened the machine and extinguished the fire.

Leipa Group appoints Mike Petersen as Head of Sales Packaging Paper, effective May 1, 2021. In this capacity, Mr. Petersen will report to Leipa Group's Chief Sales Officer, Dr. Fabian Gaus.

Bruce Hogan has been named the new Vice President and General Manager of ND Paper's Old Town Division. A pulp and paper industry veteran, Hogan brings 33 years of experience with internationally recognized companies including International Paper, Mohawk Fine Papers, Essity and Appvion.

Paper Excellence has announced it's officially closing its pulp mill in Mackenzie, B.C., permanently putting about 250 employees out of work.

Rottneros has appointed Pia Ohlson as the new CFO of the Group. She will take office in mid August and succeeds Monica Pasanen, who will leave the post in the autumn.