Joint Venture

The Alberta provincial government announced a renewed joint forest management agreement (FMA) with West Fraser Mills Ltd. and Tolko Industries Ltd. for the next 20 years, in exchange for various responsibilities. The FMA allows both companies to maintain the right to establish, grow, harvest and remove Crown timber from the forest management area.

Huhtamaki, a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, has signed a 12-year Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö, Ellepot, and OrganoClick have partnered to provide 100% biobased and biodegradable solutions to the horticulture market. Organic 2.0 paper pot is an entirely organic-based solution to grow crops on an industrial scale. The new product has allowed the companies to enter the organic crop segment, which is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years.

Cascades Sonoco, a joint venture between Cascades and Sonoco Product Company, announced that its FlexSHIELD® coatings have received third party certification for compostability from TÜV Austria. Additionally, the coatings have achieved recyclability and repulpability certifications from the Fiber Box Association.

The boards of Rottneros and Arctic Paper have decided to invest 15 million euro in a moulded fiber tray factory at Arctic Papers premises in Kostrzyn, Poland. The factory will be operated in a separate legal entity and as a 50/50 joint venture, in line with the LOI that was signed by the parties on October 22nd, 2021.

The two companies worked together on a packaging solution for Henkel's hand dishwashing products that allows refilling plastic bottles from flexible pouches.

Finnish plywood manufacturer Koskisen is the first company to start using the bio-based binder NeoLigno® by Stora Enso in its new sustainable product family. Koskisen and Stora Enso's co-operation has resulted in the world's first entirely bio-based furniture board, called Zero Furniture Board.

Columbia Pulp I, LLC and GMCO Corporation announced plans to partner in the processing and sale of an innovative chloride-free soil stabilization and dust control product under GMCO's IntegriBlend brand. The IntegriBlend-CF product developed by GMCO is built upon Columbia Pulp's novel biopolymer chemistry platform, introducing a high-performance non-chloride alternative to dust suppression and soil stabilization applications.

Nouryon has signed a 15-year agreement with Suzano, a world leading eucalyptus pulp producer. Under the long-term agreement, Nouryon will commission its sustainable Integrated Manufacturing Model for the new Suzano eucalyptus pulp mill in the municipality of Ribas do Rio Pardo, located in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Tetra Pak, in partnership with Elvir, a subsidiary of Savencia Fromage & Dairy - a world leading milk processor - has become the first carton packaging player in the food and beverage industry to launch a cap using certified recycled polymers.

In a partnership with WestRock and Grupo Gondi, Grupo Modelo is investing roughly 4 million dollars in the sustainable, fiber-based CanCollar® Eco solution in Quintana Roo, a Mexican state on the Yucatan Peninsula. The partnership aims to help advance the beer company's sustainability goals by eliminating its use of plastic rings in Mexico.

Ilim Group has signed two trilateral strategic partnership agreements with Shanghai High Hope Pulp and Paper, with the third parties to these agreements being Hengan Group and Mudanjiang Heng Feng Paper, which consume Ilim's pulp and paperboard to produce their own P&P products.

Columbia Pulp I, LLC and GMCO Corporation announced plans to partner in the processing and sale of an innovative chloride-free soil stabilization and dust control product under GMCO's IntegriBlend brand. The IntegriBlend-CF product developed by GMCO is built upon Columbia Pulp's novel biopolymer chemistry platform, introducing a high-performance non-chloride alternative to dust suppression and soil stabilization applications.

Glatfelter Corporation, a leading global supplier of engineered materials, in cooperation with joint venture (JV) partner ALPLA Group, the global packaging solutions and recycling specialist, announces their partnership with Blue Ocean Closures (BOC), a startup based in the region of Värmland in Sweden, to develop innovative natural fiber-based closures and other molded packaging products using dryforming technology.

HelloFresh, the world's leading meal kit company, and its community partners in Georgia, Second Helpings of Atlanta and Pratt Industries, celebrated the donation of one million pounds of food from its Newnan, Georgia, Distribution Center, to benefit at-risk communities.

Sonoco ThermoSafe, a unit of Sonoco and the leading global provider of temperature assurance packaging, and Asiana Airlines Inc., a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul, are pleased to announce a global partnership agreement for leasing the new Pegasus ULD® temperature-controlled bulk shipping container. The agreement enables pharmaceutical freight forwarders access to Pegasus ULD® containers directly from Asiana Airlines.

Paper Excellence, the company behind the restart of the local pulp mill, announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement with One Sky Forest Products to operate its new oriented strand board (OSB) operations at the existing Prince Albert mill site.

Metsä Fibre will be in charge of the plant's overall operations, while Gasum will see to the daily remote operation and maintenance of biogas processing. Gasum will purchase the biogas produced at the plant for use as transport fuel.

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc. and the Georgia Center of Innovation have partnered with scientists at the University of Georgia (UGA) to develop an innovative method to capture valued biomaterials from the process to manufacture cellulose and turn these coproducts into useful products.

Essity is collaborating with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and The Consumer Goods Forum's (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition of Action initiative to further strengthen responsible forest management, nurture high conservation value forests and increase the certification of forest operations in north-western Russia. Deforestation is a major topic at the ongoing climate summit COP26 in Glasgow, since deforestation and forest degradation affect climate change on a large scale.

Rottneros is partnering with KAPSU, a startup company within the beverage industry, based in Karlstad, to develop and produce a new plastic-free beverage solution. The new container will be made of 100% fiber from local certified forests.

Rottneros and Arctic Paper have signed a Letter of Intent regarding a 50/50 joint venture in Kostrzyn, Poland with the aim of building a moulded fiber tray facility. The start-up of the new facility is planned for the end of 2023. The investment is expected to amount to 12-15 MEUR, corresponding to approximately 120-150 MSEK.

Construction is already underway on the new heat extraction plant, which is a joint venture with Bioenergie Group. The project is a further example of how Smurfit Kappa works with local communities to minimise waste and find uses for by-products.

UPM Biomedicals and Cellbox have signed an agreement for providing a unique live cell shipment solution. The plant derived and animal-free transport technology for living cell and tissue cultures allows shipping of live 3D cell assays between researchers and pharmaceutical companies.

A major new partnership between international real estate group, Lendlease, and one of the world's leading suppliers of sustainable timber, Stora Enso, is set to supercharge the use of environmentally friendly construction products in some of the world's most recognised cities.