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The PM40 closed Friday, 17 June 2022, at 3876.

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

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Boise Cascade and PCA.

The PM40 closed 17 June 2022 down 5.3% from the 18 June 2021 level.

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 150 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile the late Charles Boyd, founder and chairman of The Appleton Coated Paper Company, who was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2001.

Sun Paper, in close collaboration with ABB, has successfully launched another pulp mill, at the new Beihai location in Guangxi, China. ABB has installed three sets of its flagship distributed control system (DCS) ABB Ability System 800xA, two sets of mechanical pulp drive systems, four refiner motors and auxiliary high-voltage cabinets, and over 30 high and low-voltage motors.

Valmet to lay off 50% of its employees in Russia as part of its plan to leave the country. Company has a total of approximately 140 employees in Russia, working primarily in sales, engineering, maintenance and financial administration. Valmet does not have production in Russia.

The Lenzing Group, a world-leading provider of wood-based specialty fibers for the global textile and nonwoven industries, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its site in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland on June 08, 2022. Since its launch in 1997, the lyocell plant has contributed hugely to the success of the Lenzing Group. The site is also celebrating the successful production of one million tons of wood-based, biodegradable lyocell fibers.

Amcor has unveiled a product rebrand designed to give customers a clearer, holistic view of its growing portfolio of more sustainable packaging solutions. This significant marketing effort provides customers with greater visibility and transparency of Amcor's extensive product portfolio that has grown over the years through innovation and strategic acquisitions.

The revolutionary 3D-formable BillerudKorsnäs FibreForm® paper offers a low-carbon packaging alternative to plastic and an exciting opportunity for inspiring designs. The creative FibreForm® is cold-formable and available in both white and brown paper.

Huhtamaki receives a gold medal from EcoVadis on sustainability performance - for the second year running. Our score places us in the top 5% among over 90,000 rated companies across the globe and highlights our continued to work towards our ambitious 2030 sustainability goals. EcoVadis is the world's largest and most trusted business sustainability index.

After the launch several months ago of its new range of Linerset release liners with Linerset CCK (Clay Coated Kraft) release paper, Lecta now presents Linerset Glassine, a supercalendered paper for siliconization with very good lay-flatness, caliper, transparency and high resistance.

The new catalog includes a full range of exclusive self-adhesive label application materials for wines, spirits, craft beers and delicatessen products. Each label comes in various sizes so that an assessment can be made of its appearance, feel and finish, and it can be applied directly to the final product.

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, has, once again, been awarded the Platinum level rating by EcoVadis for the company's sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Having improved the score to a record level 87/100 Metsä Board is among the highest 1% of companies assessed in the manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard and containers of paper and paperboard.

Metsä Spring, Metsä Group's innovation company, has launched a new 3D fibre product called Muoto®. Muoto has been produced at Metsä Group's and Valmet's demo plant in Äänekoski since May 2022, and is made of Metsä Group's wood fibres.

Hilex®, a Novolex® brand, today announced the launch of RollStar EZ Open Produce Bags that solve a vexing problem for shoppers: how to open a produce bag with sides that "stick" together.

A new Stora Enso survey among 2,400 book readers of all ages in the UK, France, Germany, and the US found that people still overwhelmingly prefer physical books for their look, their feel and even their smell.

UFP Industries announced that it was ranked 401 on the FORTUNE 500 list of largest companies by revenue in the United States. UFP Industries jumped 117 places, from 518 in 2021, to make the coveted list. The company, which has achieved FORTUNE 1000 status for many years, was last ranked on the FORTUNE 500 list in 1994.

UPM Timber has donated redwood sawn timber to a one-of-a-kind project where the renowned Finnish architect Sami Rintala together with architectural students from the University of Westminster are building a sauna in central London, on the banks of the river Thames.

Stora Enso estimates that the previous full year 2022 operational EBIT guidance will be exceeded. Hence, the Company changes its full year 2022 operational EBIT guidance to be higher than the full-year 2021 of EUR 1,528 million. The previous guidance for the full year 2022 was an operational EBIT to be approximately in line with the full year 2021.

Strong market conditions have continued in all UPM businesses.

Essity and UNICEF in Mexico have signed a new three-year agreement to jointly educate and drive awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene and to break taboos around menstruation. The project, "Hygiene is our right", highlights the rights of children and young people in relation to health, education and gender equality.

Gatik, the market leader in middle mile logistics, today announced a multi-year commercial partnership with Georgia-Pacific, one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp and paper-based packaging, and KBX, the transportation arm for Koch Industries and an independent Koch company. Under the partnership, Gatik will automate part of the Georgia-Pacific-KBX on-road transportation network in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, delivering goods round the clock, 7 days a week across a network of 34 Sam's Club locations.

Klabin, the largest producer and exporter of paper packaging and packaging paper in Brazil, in partnership with Ponsse, the Finnish manufacturer of forest harvesting equipment, developed a pioneering forestry machine named Harbunk. With technology to fulfill all stages of wood harvesting of the whole tree system (Full Tree), the novelty of the market also increases productivity and lowers the costs of this operation, especially in small areas.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has collaborated with Austrian mechanical engineering company EW Technology to launch a new machine for paper pallet wrapping that is more efficient and sustainable on small-to-medium production lines.

Rottneros has started a collaborative project together with Söderberg & Partners in the area of circular economy. The aim is to achieve measurable targets as part of the Group's sustainability work and potentially increase shareholders' opportunities for returns.

One million garments made from post-consumer textile waste and renewable wood. The result of a new collaboration between Södra and Lindex will be included in the Scandinavian fashion company's assortment from early 2023.

American Packaging Corporation (APC) has announced that it's opening a new 275,000-square-foot Center of Excellence manufacturing facility in Cedar City, Utah. The new operation will add over 135 high-paying jobs to Iron County.

Huhtamaki announced plans to expand its molded fiber product manufacturing unit in the city of Hammond, Indiana, as part of its investment in Fiber Solutions. The investment, which is expected to start ramping up towards the end of 2023, will enable Huhtamaki to better serve existing and new customers in North America with a broad range of sustainable, fully recyclable and compostable, fiber-based packaging solutions, manufactured from 100% recycled North American raw material.

PotlatchDeltic Corporation is investing $131 million to expand and modernize its Waldo sawmill located in Columbia County, Arkansas. The project will increase the mill's annual capacity from 190 million board feet of dimensional lumber to approximately 275 million board feet. The investment will also reduce the mill's operating costs significantly.

Saint-Gobain, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed Canada Inc., announced plans to invest $91 Million CAD, including $40 Million CAD in grant money from the government of Quebec, via its EcoPerformance program, to upgrade equipment at its Montreal wallboard manufacturing facility and reduce its carbon emissions by up to 44,000 metric tonnes/year, creating the first zero-carbon drywall plant in North America. The reduction in emissions associated with the equipment upgrades at the plant is the equivalent of removing 9,500 cars from the road.

Smurfit Kappa has invested USD23.5 million to upgrade its Nuevo Laredo sheet plant in Mexico to become a fully integrated corrugated plant. The investment includes a state-of-the-art corrugator and extension of the building. The new machine, which began operating last week, will have the two-pronged benefits of reducing CO2 emissions by up to 40% and doubling production capacity.

The initiative will focus on companies operating within at least one of four bioeconomy applications: improving the measurement and management of carbon sequestration, accelerating and maximizing agroforestry yield, developing new technologies and applications for pulp biomass, and creating more efficient pulp packaging from renewable sources.

Boise Cascade Company announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Coastal Plywood Company, including its two manufacturing locations, from Coastal Forest Resources Company for $512 million, subject to certain closing adjustments. The Company currently plans to fund the transaction and closing-related expenses from its existing cash balances.

Cascades continues to roll out its expansion plan in the isothermal packaging market by enhancing its line of meal boxes with technology that's 20% more efficient than its current home delivery solution, and by commissioning a new production facility in York, Pennsylvania

George Weyerhaeuser Sr., the fourth-generation timber family scion who ran one of America's largest forestry firms and was briefly one of America's most famous kidnapping victims, died Saturday, June 11, his family confirmed Monday. He was 95.

Roseburg is exploring the feasibility of locating a second MDF panel plant or bioenergy production facility within its current Western operating footprint. The proposed facility would use up to 300,000 bone-dry tons of wood residuals each year.

Stora Enso has started a feasibility study at its paper production site in Langerbrugge, Belgium, for the conversion of one of the two paper lines into a high-volume recycled containerboard line.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö now takes the next step in its strategy execution. Through a clearly defined purpose, sharper strategic focus and ambitious sustainability targets, the company is accelerating its pace of execution with the vision to become the Preferred Sustainable Specialty Materials Company. Following the ownership reorganization of its Decor business, estimated to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2022, Ahlstrom-Munksjö plans to change its business name to Ahlstrom.

Paper Excellence is in the process of switching from primarily making newsprint and writing paper to food packaging at its Catalyst mill in Port Alberni, and is getting some help from the federal government to make the switch.

Consumers are increasingly looking for products which are natural, safe to use and have a low environmental footprint.

Norske Skog ASA said that its Green Valley Energie joint venture is ready to begin construction of a biomass boiler at the mill site in Golbey, France, following completion of debt financing.

Starting from May 2022, the lignin-based WISA® BioBond bonding technology is being used in all UPM's WISA spruce plywood products. WISA BioBond is UPM Plywood's proprietary bonding technology in which at least 50% of fossil-based phenol in the glue is replaced with wood's own natural bonding agent, lignin. UPM is the first plywood manufacturer in the world to adopt such a lignin-based solution in its entire range of spruce products.

UPM is the first Finnish company, acting as a shipper and charterer, to discharge its ship-generated wastewater on land and utilise various circular economy solutions in wastewater treatment. The commitment has been published on the World Oceans Day, to Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG). The new model will be implemented in the ports of Rauma, Hamina, Kotka and Pietarsaari, which are the four most important ports for UPM's operations.

Sonoco announced that Rob Dillard, who most recently served as the Company's Chief Strategy Officer, has been named Chief Financial Officer, effective July 1, 2022.

Mercer International Incorporated said an independent contractor's employee working at the Peace River Pulp Mill was killed Saturday, June 11.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Smurfit Kappa has resumed some operations at a packaging plant in central England after a large fire ripped through the facility overnight, according to the local fire service.

Södra is now increasing the production capacity of OnceMore tenfold to produce as much as 6,000 tones per year of wood-based, recycled textile pulp at Södra Cell Mörrum in Sweden. The world's first large-scale process for recycling textile waste from blended fabrics enters Phase 2 of its development in June.

The Ministry of Labour, Skills and Training Development is investigating the circumstances between two workers suffering serious injuries on June 3 at Kenora's Weyerhaeuser Mill.

The whistle has blown at the Panama City Paper Mill for the last time.

A man was killed after being pinned between a trailer and a loading dock in Harmar Township on June 7.