Archives

We are updating this list as these happen in the pulp, paper and forest products industry

The PM40 closed Friday, 13 January 2023, at 5373.

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 International Paper and Nine Dragons.

The PM40 closed 13 January 2023 up 12.1% from the 14 January 2022 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 Tad Bretting, who was president and CEO of C.G. Bretting Manufacturing Company in Ashland, Wisconsin, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.

The prestigious awards, held every year by the World Packaging Organization, celebrate the best of the best in structural design innovation across a variety of sectors. They are only open to packaging innovations that have previously won one of a select group of awards in the previous 12 months. This year's scheme received almost 500 entries.

Pixelle Specialty Solutions' Androscoggin Mill is expected to permanently close about April 30. The company made the announcement in September. Initially it was to close in the first quarter of 2023.

Mondi, a global leader in sustainable packaging and paper solutions, has received eight awards in five categories at this year's WorldStar Global Packaging Awards. The WorldStar Awards recognise the best ideas, innovations and technologies on the market, with a focus on sustainability, product protection and end-user convenience. They are open to entries from packaging companies around the globe.

Smurfit Kappa has formally launched a new eCommerce store in the Dominican Republic. The new store created by Smurfit Kappa Todo Carton (todocartonsk.com.do), will act as an online retail packaging boutique, and serve the ever-growing packaging market in the Dominican Republic. This follows on from the success of its bricks-and-mortar shop in the country which has been operating for over 25 years.

This temporary reduction in output is expected to be mostly concentrated outside of Interfor's US South operating region.

Asia Pacific Resources International Limited ("APRIL"), a member of the Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group of companies founded by Sukanto Tanoto, has announced its collaboration with enterprise services application, Krealogi, to increase the production capacity and business development capabilities of micro, small and medium enterprises ("MSMEs") in the Riau Province.

Sappi Limited has partnered with EcoVadis, a global leader in third-party evaluations of business sustainability performance, to benchmark and assess the sustainability practices of Sappi's suppliers and encourage their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

International Paper intends to build a new 20,000-square-foot building at the Cedar Rapids mill that would be home to a boiler and water treatment plant. Together, they would provide steam power to the Cedar Rapids facility. Previously, the plant used the coal-powered Prairie Creek Station. However, that facility is being closed.

Progroup has invested around Euro 72 million in the project at the site, which covers around 28,000 square metres, and created 50 new jobs.

Austrian Mayr-Melnhof Holz sold its sawmill MM-Efimovsky in Russia to Aspek-Les, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of Russia.

The closing is expected to take place on January 31, 2023.

Cosmo Specialty Fibers Inc. has gained new ownership following more than 12 years since the mill was bought by The Gores Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, in 2010. The United Kingdom-based firm, Charlestown Investments, is the new owner.

Mondi plans to invest around €200 million in converting the existing lightweight coated mechanical paper machine at the mill into a high-quality, cost-competitive recycled containerboard machine with an annual capacity of around 420,000 tonnes.

Paper Excellence Group, a private company controlled by an Indonesian billionaire, is poised to expand in Canada's forestry industry by diversifying into the lumber sector with its contentious takeover of Resolute Forest Products Inc.

The acquisition of De Jong Packaging Group will begin a new phase of renewable packaging solutions within Stora Enso. On top of Stora Enso's existing corrugated facilities, De Jong Packaging Group has 16 sites in total in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and the UK. Most of the sites are corrugated converting and packaging wholesale facilities and they include two corrugators, 16 processing machines and 46 tray erectors. Together they produce 2,5 million boxes a day.

Stora Enso has completed the acquisition of the Netherland-based company De Jong Packaging Group, one of the largest corrugated packaging producers in the Benelux countries. The acquisition announced in September 2022 with an enterprise value of approximately EUR 1,020 million was closed following regulatory clearances and employee consultation.

Sylvamo, the world's paper company, closed an agreement Monday acquiring Stora Enso's uncoated freesheet paper mill in Nymölla, Sweden, for 150 million euros. The mill, strong brands it produces and team members who operate and support the facility are now officially part of Sylvamo.

The pulp line is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and is anticipated to impact approximately 300 positions across the organization by the end of the year.

CellMark is introducing a new division: CellMark Packaging & Paper. The division is the result of a merger of its two existing divisions, CellMark Packaging and CellMark Paper.

International Paper announced changes to its senior leadership team today including the retirement of a long-serving executive and organizational shifts to enhance agility in serving customers and driving profitable growth.

The indefinite curtailment of Perry Sawmill will impact approximately 126 employees and will reduce West Fraser's US lumber production by 100 million board feet.

LSC Communications, which is closing two plants in Lancaster County, and will lay off about 656 people, will move the work at those two locations to its long-run print facilities in Maple Grove, Minnesota and Warsaw, Indiana.

We are updating this list as these happen in the pulp, paper and forest products industry

Enviva fully supports the principle that financial assistance should only be provided for woody biomass that is sourced sustainably.

Our mill-based water champions are leading day-to-day efforts at our large manufacturing facilities to identify opportunities, implement projects and track progress on water use reduction in our operations.

Rayonier invited nonforestry employees into the woods recently for its first-ever employee planting day in the U.S. Under the guidance of company foresters, about 50 employees planted 4,000 seedlings on a Rayonier forest tract near their Florida headquarters.

Sofidel, one of the global leading manufacturers of tissue paper for hygienic and domestic use, is strongly committed to a transition path to a low-carbon economy.

Incidents in 2023: We are updating this list as these happen in the pulp, paper and forest products industry

Canfor Corporation will extend sawmill curtailments in British Columbia (B.C.) due to ongoing weak market conditions and the lack of available economic fibre, company announced.

The Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) paper mill in Jackson has called employees back to work and is expected to resume production Monday, Jan. 9.

The negotiations affect all workers at Stora Enso's packaging materials mills in Oulu, Varkaus, Heinola and Anjalankoski.

For the third time, members from three united steel workers unions have voted to reject what Westrock paper mill representatives call the company's last, best, and final offer.