Recent Articles

SCA intends to invest SEK 1,45bn in the production of chemically pre-treated thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) at the Ortviken paper mill in Sundsvall. In parallel, SCA is initiating consultations with trade unions and employee representatives to discontinue the production of publication paper at the mill.

To ensure future competitiveness of UPM Communication Papers, UPM announces plans for permanent closing of UPM Kaipola paper mill in Finland, sale of UPM Shotton paper mill in Wales and streamlining Communication Papers business function teams. In addition, UPM Biorefining and UPM Specialty Papers announce plans for reorganising and streamlining activities in Finnish pulp mills, UPM Forest and UPM Tervasaari mill in Finland.

Surinder Ghog, the CEO of AP Group, blamed "disproportionately high property taxes" for the closure, which affects 70 employees. In 2019, the mill's tax bill went up by half a million dollars -- from $1.6 million in 2018 to $2.4 million.

The Austrian binderholz Group purchased all assets of Klausner Lumber One LLC, based in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida, in the auction held on Friday, August 21, 2020. At the auction binderholz was able to prevail over Mercer Inc. and Mayr Melnhof Holz and was awarded the contract at $61 million. The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of October 2020.

Terry Paul Greenwood served our country as a member of the United States Army. He tragically died Thursday, Aug. 20, while on contract at Georgia-Pacific. Saturday, The Widows Sons held a memorial ride to honor his legacy just to say thank you.

Firefighters brought a weekend fire quickly under control at International Paper while limiting damage to equipment in the wood room and an area of a chip pile.

PaperWorks is increasing its production capacity and capabilities, investing in new technology innovation and platforms in the Greensboro, North Carolina facility. The state-of-the-art equipment and new technology platforms will integrate well with PaperWorks' highly-efficient business model by offering the most sophisticated automation geared towards in-line innovation and full-quality control.

The Kalispel Tribe of Indians has officially submitted a bid to purchase the shuttered Ponderay Newsprint Co. in Usk, which ceased operations in June and eliminated about 130 jobs.

Weyerhaeuser Company has announced leadership and organizational changes that position the company to further enhance the long-term value of its timberlands portfolio.

Green Bay Packaging (GBP) is set to begin construction Sept. 1 on the "super plant," which is scheduled to begin operation in October 2021.

308 workers will be affected by the repurposing of the Domtar Kingsport mill, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

International Paper has announced an upcoming annual outage of its mill in Ticonderoga to perform necessary inspections and maintenance, according to a press release.

Mill Rock Capital, a growth and operations oriented private investment firm, announced today that it has created a new platform, Mill Rock Packaging Partners LLC ("Mill Rock Packaging Partners"), to invest in growth oriented companies with advanced service and product capabilities in the specialty packaging industry.

Metsä Board's Kyro mill will be 150 years old this year, 2020. The wood grinding plant along the Kyröskoski rapids was started up in 1870.

Clay Dunn, (63), President, North America business segment has decided to retire at the end of 2020 after successfully leading Huhtamaki's business in North America since 2005. Ann O'Hara, (49), MBA, BSE (Chemical Engineering), has been appointed President, North America business segment and a member of the Global Executive Team.

Clay Dunn, President, North America business segment has decided to retire at the end of 2020 after successfully leading Huhtamaki's business in North America since 2005. Ann O'Hara has been appointed President, North America business segment and a member of the Global Executive Team. Ann will join Huhtamaki on November 1, 2020 and will assume the role of President, North America on January 1, 2021 following a two-month transition period with Clay Dunn.

Marc Shore, president of WestRock's Multi Packaging Solutions (MPS) business, decided to leave WestRock, effective August 17, 2020. Patrick Kivits has assumed the role of president, MPS since Shore's departure.

DS Smith, the FTSE100 sustainable packaging leader, has announced the appointment of Johan van Baarle as Sales Director of its Paper Division. Reporting to Niels Flierman, Managing Director for Paper, Van Baarle will be responsible for the division's paper sales across Europe and North America - managing around 5 million tonnes of paper produced at DS Smith's mills annually.

Marcus Svensson has been appointed Head of Public Affairs at Södra. He will organise, coordinate and manage Södra's work within public affairs going forward.

Some of us older members of the industry are called experienced. You've probably heard the old sayings that experience people are just ones who have survived their mistakes. It is true and it is important. Mistakes are an extremely valuable teacher; far more valuable than the "tuition" they extract in the present when assessed with a longer-term view.

The PM40 closed Friday, 28 August 2020, at 3134.

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 28 August 2020 up 11.9% from the 30 August 2019 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Neenah Paper and Resolute Forest Products.

A new operator, Park Falls Development, is in the process of starting up pulp and paper production at the former Flambeau River Papers mill in Park Falls, Wisconsin, USA, which was shut down for financial reasons in September 2019.

Amcor announced it has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative, solutions-driven initiative to create a path forward to a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025.