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The PM40 closed Friday, 29 December 2023, at 5453.

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 WestRock and Louisiana Pacific.

The PM40 closed 29 December 2023 up 6.6% from the 30 December 2022 level.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

OK, students, it is time to learn the name "Primestone Capital."

Shandong Huatai Paper has successfully started up a mechanical pulping line rebuilt by Andritz at the mill in Dongying, Shandong Province, China.

Andritz has received a follow-up order from Brazilian pulp and paper producer Suzano for a major conversion project at the Limeira pulp mill.

Andritz has received an order from Papel Prensa S.A. to supply a complete old corrugated containers (OCC) line including a reject handling system to its mill in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Start-up is scheduled for the Q1 2024.

BTG Group plans to acquire FITNIR Analyzers Inc. FITNIR specializes in pulp liquor property measurement (on-line and bench top units), which complements BTG's offerings in Cooking, Bleaching and Chemical Recovery.

ANDRITZ and Domenico Iacovelli have mutually agreed upon amicable terms for his resignation effective December 31, 2023. He has played a key role on the Executive Board, overseeing Metals business area.

German machine and plant manufacturer Dieffenbacher is changing the responsibilities and composition of its Management Board effective January 1, 2024. With the appointment of Dieffenbacher shareholder Lukas Langer to the management team, it will grow from three to four members.

Antti Salminen has been appointed President and CEO of Kemira as of February 12, 2024. Petri Castrén will continue as the Interim President and CEO until February 12, 2024, after which he will continue as the CFO of Kemira.

Nordic Paper has selected AFRY as its engineering and project management partner for the strategic investment projects at its Bäckhammar mill in Sweden. The projects include a new wood room and a new electrostatic filter.

Toscotec will supply an entire dryer section rebuild to Hamburger Turkey, part of the Hamburger Containerboard Group, at their paper mill in Çorlu in Northern Turkey. The project focuses on their containerboard machine (PM3) and is planned for the end of 2024.

The companies will collaborate to offer effective solutions combining Saipem's technologies for CO2 management with the heat recovery and flue gas treatment units engineered and produced by Valmet for the pulp, paper and energy segments, thus bringing integrated and flexible options to their customers in both existing and new facilities.

Valmet is investing in state-of-the-art process equipment at its roll service center in Columbus, Mississippi, United States to broaden the scope of process covers being manufactured.

Valmet's Climate Program - Forward to a carbon neutral future - was launched in 2021.

Valmet has entered into an agreement to acquire Demuth, a Brazilian company specializing in wood handling solutions for the pulp industry. This acquisition will strengthen Valmet's wood handling technology offering and services presence in South America.

EcoVadis is an organization that provides buyers with sustainability assessments of suppliers through an information-sharing platform registered with buyers and suppliers from more than 175 countries and over 200 industries.

Foodservice Packaging Awards honor Eco-Products and Vegware for Innovation in Manufacturing for their compostable solutions.

The prestigious award, sponsored by FERPI, Borsa Italiana and Bocconi University, recognizes the strict and transparent manner in which Italian organizations do their accounting.

UPM Biomedicals, the forerunner in producing high quality nanofibrillar cellulose for life science and clinical applications, has signed an extensive distribution agreement for GrowInk™ bioinks with Brinter Inc, a Finnish-US medtech/biotech company focusing on the development of cartilage implants using their patented 3D bioprinting technology.

Suzano, the global leader in eucalyptus pulp production, has announced price increases for its pulp effective from January across various markets. For China, the price increase will be $10 per ton, while for North America and Europe, the increment will be $80 per ton. The price in North America will reach $1,330 per ton, and in Europe, $1,140.

Borregaard will co-invest with the European Innovation Council Fund and several other public and private investors in a direct offering of new shares in the Danish bioscience company Kaffe Bueno ApS. In total, Kaffe Bueno will raise EUR 6.2 million in new capital from the direct offering. After the transaction, Borregaard will hold 12% of the shares in Kaffe Bueno, with an investment of EUR 3 million.

Moelven Wood and Billerud are joining forces to examine the possibility of developing a new sustainable packaging solution for Moelven's interior panels. The goal is to create a paper-based solution to replace the current plastic shrink wrap.

A man is dead after allegedly attempting to steal copper from paper mill in Victoria's east.

Resolute FP Canada Inc., a producer of wood, pulp, tissue and paper products, operates the Ignace Sawmill. On March 28, 2022, an industrial electrician was attempting to repair a photo-eye on a debarking machine.

In 2023, Georgia-Pacific, a major manufacturer of toilet paper and other paper-based products, reinvested some $2 billion into its operations. According to the company, the capital improvement projects include finishing new facilities and enhancing existing operations.

Overall, Primestone believes the Westrock transaction "risks deteriorating SKG's business profile" by creating a higher-cost, less integrated company whilst "increasing leverage for modest financial benefits for SKG's shareholders."

Chilean industrial conglomerate Empresas Copec announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell some of its forestry businesses to Brazilian pulp and paper company Klabin in a deal worth some $1.16 billion.

Kronospan announced the closing of its purchase of Roseburg's Simsboro, Louisiana, particleboard facility following the expiration of the required regulatory review period. Ownership of the plant has been transferred from Roseburg Forest Products to Kronospan.

Rayonier Inc. announced the completion of its previously announced disposition of 55,000 acres of timberland in Oregon to Manulife Investment Management on behalf of clients for $242 million (~$4,400 per acre), subject to customary prorations and closing costs.

Following the announcement of the Napi mill closure in June this year, Stora Enso has systematically ceased all ongoing operations at the site.

Mark Holbrook began his career 25 years ago with Scott Paper and continued to progress to more senior positions within Kruger Products.

Metsä Group is exploring possibilities to construct a carbon capture facility at one of its pulp or bioproduct mills. The investigation is a continuation of the work initiated in the spring, in which Metsä Group and Fortum jointly studied the capture of wood-based carbon dioxide and its use in the chemical industry and hydrogen economy, for example.

There have been a lot of interesting investments announced recently.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP28, was held from 30 November until 12 December 2023 at Expo City, Dubai. The conference has been held annually since the first UN climate agreement in 1992. Historical results were achieved in the negotiations at Dubai: for the first time, the deal calls on all countries to move away from using fossil fuels.

To protect forests and the environment

Rayonier EVP Doug Long is among three directors named to global leadership positions.

Agreement Marks Company's First Transaction in the Voluntary Carbon Market.

One Georgia-Pacific employee had to be treated at the scene, but that was the only injury according to officials.

Salinas Fire crews are cleaning up after a fire destroyed the Georgia Pacific Packaging building in South Salinas Dec. 15.