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The PM40 closed Friday, 12 April 2024, at 5508.

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

The PM40 closed 12 April 2024 up 10.3% from the 14 April 2023 level.

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

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 Martin Keyes, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014

We work in friendly places.

Rauma sawmill in Finland has been designed to reach productivity levels that are three times higher than typical outputs in Europe.

Alkim Kagit produces over 90,000 tonnes of photocopy and offset paper annually at Kemalpasa site.

With this new line Xuong Giang Paper's tissue capacity will reach up to 72,000 tons per year.

Hengan's second TAD machine will be installed at their headquarters production base in Fujian province, and it is scheduled for start-up in 2024.

Ittihad Paper Mill (IPM) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has again selected Valmet as the main supplier of field services to its annual shutdown in 2024. The shutdown will take place at the end of July 2024.

Kemira's manufacturing lines in Oulu, Äetsä and Harjavaltam, Finland, serving pulp and paper customers will stop production this week.

Roseburg Forest Products has selected IMA Schelling Group for their new state-of-the-art MDF plant in Dillard, Oregon. IMA Schelling will deliver a cut-to-size plant with two highly automated packaging lines.

Solenis LLC, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, is proud to announce that a BASF site located in White Stone, South Carolina, is among the winners of a 2023 Solenis Sustainability Award.

Capgemini announced that it signed a global, multi-year agreement with Valmet in Finland late in 2023.

Valmet Oyj is taking process automation further by introducing the next-generation distributed control system (DCS), the Valmet DNAe.

Valmet announced on February 15, 2024, the start of change negotiations in certain parts of Services and Paper business lines, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) area organization and corporate functions. These negotiations included a plan to consider measures aimed at improving the profitability and competitiveness of the business operations, as well as adapting to the changing market situation.

In the dynamic landscape of biological research, efficient preservation of nucleic acid samples is crucial for unlocking insights into the genetic makeup of various organisms.

Mondi, a global packaging and paper manufacturer, has maintained its Platinum status in EcoVadis' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ratings. The Group's overall score of 87% places Mondi among the top 1% of global companies assessed for the eighth consecutive year.

Greif, Inc., a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, is proud to announce the Company has been recognized with the 2024 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) for building a culture around the prioritization of engagement of our colleagues.

Cashmere UltraLuxe® Bathroom Tissue introduces the Fleur rating system, recognizing some of the most beautiful restaurant bathrooms in Toronto in the Cashmere UltraLuxe® Bathroom Guide.

LP NovaCore® Thermal Insulated Sheathing line expands with the addition of R3 and R7 thickness options.

LP Building Solutions (LP), a leading manufacturer of high-performance building products, is proud to announce that LP® SmartSide® Trim & Siding was recognized as Green Builder Media's Sustainable Brand Leader for the Siding category in its 2024 Brand Index.

The AI application developed by Metsä Group and CollectiveCrunch for detecting insect damage won the international Innovation of Innovations prize. Metsä Fibre's Future Sawmill concept was recognised in the Business innovations category.

The new branding is effective immediately.

Rengo announces that its biotope at the Fukushima Yabuki plant was certified as a "Nature symbiosis site" for the second half of FY 2023 for the first time in Fukushima, Japan.

RRD's four new press installations increase speed and flexibility for brands, logistics, and freight services.

RRD GO Creative advanced its position within the group of Major Contenders based on continued investments in technology and an increased scale and scope of solutions, including the use of data for better targeting and optimizing campaigns.

Report reveals 32% of marketers are using AI and 31% plan to use the technology to support print marketing.

Sonoma Book paper offers consistent caliper and PPI, meets SIMRA compliance standards, ensuring suitability for educational, institutional applications.

Enviva Inc. received a notice from the New York Stock Exchange on April 2, 2024, regarding its non-compliance caused by a delay in filing its 2023 Annual Report. The company has a six-month window to correct this and maintain its stock listing.

DS Smith PLC on Thursday said that an extension had been agreed for its potential takeover by Mondi PLC, though the company still holds a more lucrative offer from International Paper.

Prices for Coated and Uncoated Fine papers were increased during January and February but not to the levels necessary to maintain a viable business. Cost levels, particularly for pulp and transport have continued to increase heavily and are expected to escalate further in the coming months.

Interest in raw materials from family forestry is growing as more and more people see the importance of the forest and opportunities to contribute important solutions to the great challenges of our time. As part of meeting demand, Södra implements price increases on several timber ranges.

Consolidated forest tenure comes under control of Lake Babine First Nation.

The partnership will see the two companies collaborate to accelerate the transition from plastic to paper bags within the e-commerce marketplace in Europe at scale, and the solutions will be available to customers across all DS Smith markets in Europe.

The partnership provides high-quality, sustainable products to one of America's most renowned builders.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. and Mercer International Inc. announced an agreement to dissolve their 50/50 joint venture in Cariboo Pulp and Paper. West Fraser will continue as the sole owner/operator of the mill, doing business as Cariboo Pulp and Paper Company.

Napoli Shkolnik and the other members of the PFAS Settlement Steering Committee praise U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel's decision; Settlement follows $1.18 billion DuPont approval.

In early 2023, Paper Excellence announced that it would be investing nearly $50 million to upgrade paper operations at the Catalyst Crofton mill, re-start the paper machine and put employees back to work. That didn't happen, and a year later, the company announced the indefinite curtailment of paper operations in Crofton.

Ahlstrom, the global leader in masking and packaging tape base papers, has finalized an investment to upgrade and convert a paper machine in its Thilmany plant in Wisconsin, USA, to produce stretchable creped base papers for masking tape and is now ramping up the production. The new investment adds a crepe paper production capacity of 30,000 tons per year.

The new state-of-the-art 4-colour converting machine will produce the well-known FEFCO 0201 bespoke boxes and alternative grades for customers. It is currently in start-up phase and equipped with an advanced automatic inline error detection system.

Engineering and related work has begun, and startup of the machine is scheduled for 2026. At peak construction, 500 construction and contract-related workers are expected to be onsite at the mill.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, inaugurated its upgraded folding boxboard machine in Husum, Sweden, on the 11th of April. Invited to the inauguration ceremony were, among others, project partners and representatives of Örnsköldsvik municipality, Swedish parliament and the forest industry.

DS Smith has completed acquisition of packaging company, Bosis doo. With the acquisition of Bosis doo, DS Smith's total packaging operations in Eastern Europe will comprise 30 box plants and additional facilities, employing more than 7,000 people in the region.

DS Smith PLC on Thursday said that an extension had been agreed for its potential takeover by Mondi PLC, though the company still holds a more lucrative offer from International Paper.

In a landmark decision, the European Commission has given the green light to the proposed merger between Smurfit Kappa Group plc, headquartered in Ireland, and WestRock Company from the United States. The approval paves the way for the creation of a global packaging powerhouse, dubbed Smurfit WestRock, with a comprehensive reach across continents.

International Paper and its advisers are hoping to reach an agreement on a recommended offer by the end of this week.

Kimberly-Clark will sell its personal protective equipment business to Ansell for US$640 million in cash, agreeing to a deal that the Australian company's chief executive said had been under consideration for years.

The Tlowitsis, We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and K'ómoks First Nations (the "Nations," all member First Nations of the Nanwakolas Council), and Western Forest Products Inc. ("Western") announced the completion of the previously announced agreement for the Nations to acquire a 34% interest from Western in a newly formed Limited Partnership for $35.9 million.

Mike Wilson has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer.

Kevin M. Fogarty to serve as Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors for the proposed newly combined company.

Henrik Ehrnrooth was elected as Chair, and Kim Wahl as Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of UPM-Kymmene Corporation at the Board of Directors' constitutive meeting that took place following the Annual General Meeting.

The Supervisory Board of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has unanimously reappointed Peter Oswald (61) as Chairman of the Management Board and CEO until May 31, 2029 following his first period of office, which expires on March 31, 2025. At the same time, the Management Board, which currently includes CFO Franz Hiesinger (58) alongside him, will be expanded to three members.

After promising results from the ongoing demonstration phase, Metsä Group has decided to conduct, in parallel with the demo phase, a pre-engineering project related to a possible first commercial-scale factory. Muoto™ packages are renewable and recyclable bioproducts that can be utilised in, e.g., takeaway, berry, tray, and combo packaging.

Canfor Corp. is closing its Jackson mill in southern Alabama at the end of June as part of a restructuring of its operations in the state.

Huhtamaki, a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions, is proud to announce its participation in the Tube Recycling Project led by Tubes Group an initiative that aims to create a major change in the recycling environment for tube laminates.

This spring, UPM launched a new service package, UPM Nature Management Services, to provide Finnish forest owners with more options to enhance biodiversity. The first nature management services to be offered are assisting forest owners in applying for an environmental subsidy and a controlled burning service. More new services will be available later this year.

For two years, SCA has operated the world's first electric timber truck for timber transports between SCA's timber terminal Gimonäs and Obbola paper mill.

SCA's Wifstamon nursery had its seed extraction premier this past winter. Using an in-house developed kiln and seed separator, SCA can now process cones to obtain seeds from its own pine seed plantations.

Sonoco Products Company, one of the largest global sustainable packaging companies, and ENGIE North America ("ENGIE") announced that they have entered into a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement ("VPPA") for production from ENGIE's Big Sampson Wind Project ("Big Sampson"), a wind power project currently under construction in Crockett County, Texas.

Stora Enso has published its Green and Sustainability-Linked Financing Report for 2023. It details how the proceeds of the green bonds are allocated and outlines the environmental benefits achieved through these bonds.

UPM Raflatac's RafCycle™ recycling service recently won the 2024 Innovator Award for Innovation in a Recovery Technology or Practice at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) Impact event.

Marina Madanat, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, and a member of the Huhtamaki Global Executive Team, has decided to leave Huhtamaki to pursue other career opportunities.

Stora Enso appoints Tuomas Hallenberg as Executive Vice President of the Forest division and a member of the Group Leadership Team (GLT).

Crews extinguished the fire quickly before it extended to the building or other equipment.

The Board of Directors of the Forest Resources Association (FRA) has named Tim O'Hara Interim President. Mr. O'Hara succeeds Keith Gray, who has resigned from his position as President of the Association.

Corner Brook Pulp and Paper said Friday, April 5, that it was temporarily halting operations at its western Newfoundland mill.

Highcon announced that Menasha Packaging has placed an order for a Highcon Beam 2C digital die cutting system for corrugated production, to be installed at a North American site.

Police reports filed in the wake of a March 8 fatality inside the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Camas, shed light on what may have happened in the moments leading up to the death of 32-year-old mill employee Dakota Cline.

The management of the Sonoco Hellas paper mill announced to its 98 employees on Tuesday that it is closing its two facilities in Greece definitively on June 1.

At one time, the sawmill had employed more than 120 people.