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

The PM40 closed Friday, 15 January 2021, at 3704.

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 15 January 2021 up 18.2% from the 17 January 2020 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Resolute Forest Products and Louisiana Pacific.

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 140 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile Douglas William Reeve, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

Pengsheng selected Kadant Fiberline China based on Kadant's proven technology and track record of successful installations of OCC systems.

Tero Huovinen, SVP Communications and Sustainability, will leave Kemira. He has worked for Kemira since 2010 first as the head of investor relations and then communications.

Metsä Fibre and Tornio-based lifting services company Havator have signed a preliminary agreement on the lifting work to be carried out during the construction of the Kemi bioproduct mill in Finland.

The investment is part of their Future Mill program with the target to improve the mill's energy and production efficiency and increase its production capacity. It will also allow for improving product quality, according to consumer customers' expectations.

Valmet will supply a new OptiConcept M container board making line with extensive packages of automation and services to Shanying Paper, Guangdong at its Zhaoqing mill in China.

PAPRESA, a leading producer of newsprint in Southern Europe, selected Voith to deliver a complete stock preparation system for its mill in Rentería, Spain.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, is launching two new paper-based bags for German pet food producer Interquell, delivering both consumer convenience and sustainability benefits.

Amcor - a global packaging leader - has for the first time reported against SASB's standards, setting a new benchmark for the packaging industry by becoming the first global diversified packaging company to do so.

Canada is built on a foundation of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. We celebrate our cultural mosaic, yet rarely see it come to life in brand advertising. That's all about to change, thanks to a bold, trend-setting new effort from Kruger Products, maker of best-selling brands including Cashmere and Purex Bathroom Tissue, Scotties Facial Tissue and SpongeTowels Paper Towels, which has produced a remarkable advancement in multicultural marketing.

Named "The Official Cooler of Planet Earth," Brrr Box uses DS Smith's proprietary Greencoat corrugated moisture-resistant and FDA food contact-safe material to coat its sustainable alternative to Styrofoam.

In this annual competition of the World Packaging Organisation, judges from 55 countries recognised achievements in packaging innovation and technologies worldwide, with a focus on sustainability, product protection and end-user convenience.

SCA's Christmas gift to the company's employees in 2020 was a donation of SEK 1.5 MSEK to three recipients. Cancer Research Foundation Northern Sweden received the largest donation.

Stora Enso's design for eco-friendly pellet packaging was awarded with a prestigious Worldstar award. The renewable and recyclable packaging is designed for heavy use in transporting and warehousing of wood pellets for heating.

The price increase is necessary to offset the continuous and relevant increase in manufacturing and transport costs and to restore our profitability. The price increase is effective immediately.

Two years after it was closed because of poor market conditions, the sawmill in Ignace, Ont., should be up and running in February.

The production of Multicopy paper is about to contribute to the biofuel production in Sweden. The energy company Gasum and Stora Enso will together turn waste into renewable green energy.

Fibre Excellence, owned by Paper Excellence which is headquartered in British Columbia, has been charged with "emitting polluting substances", notably heavy metals and nitrogen oxide gas.

The union representing laid-off Northern Pulp workers says its members are "very nervous" but hopeful the Nova Scotia mill will pay nearly $3.7 million to cover a deficit in pension plans, including $342,000 due next month.

The financing will support the conversion of a former pulp and paper mill in the Finnish city of Oulu, from production of wood-free coated printing paper, into packaging board manufacturing mainly for the food and beverage sector.

Avery Dennison announced that it has acquired the business of Ohio-based ACPO Ltd. for the purchase price of $87.6 million, subject to certain post-closing adjustments. ACPO is a leader in pressure-sensitive overlaminate products for the label and flexible packaging markets and has approximately 170 employees.

Domtar Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Personal Care business to American Industrial Partners (AIP) for $920 million.

Ennis, Inc. announced that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries has entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire the assets and assume some liabilities of Infoseal LLC in Roanoke, Virginia.

US investment company Bain Capital announced as early as last September together with Ahlström Capital, Viknum and Belgrano Inversiones, a EUR 2.1 billion takeover bid for all Ahlstrom-Munksjö shares.

GP reached an agreement to sell the company's nonwovens business to Glatfelter, a leading global supplier of engineered materials, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, for $175 million. The sale must still go through customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances from competition authorities.

International Paper has entered into an agreement to sell its 90.38% ownership interest in Olmuksan International Paper to Mondi Group for approximately €66 million.

New York-based Behrens Investment Group has taken ownership of the bankrupt Gorham Paper and Tissue, the company previously owned by Lynn Tilton and her Patriarch Partners investment firm.

Sappi Maastricht and the Belvédère Wijkontwikkelingsmaatschappij (Neighborhood Development Company, WOM) of the Municipality of Maastricht, the Netherlands, have signed an agreement that will finalize the sale of the southwestern part of the Maastricht paper mill site to the WOM.

A second potential buyer has come forward within the past couple days for the mothballed Ponderay Newsprint Co. mill near Usk.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, announced on 1 December 2020 that it had signed an agreement to sell a 30 percent stake in its Husum pulp mill in Sweden to the Swedish forest owners' cooperative (ekonomisk förening) Norra Skog.

Weston Forest, a leading distributor and remanufacturer of softwood & hardwood lumber and specialty panel products, announced it has been acquired by the Watermill Group, a strategy-driven private investment firm.

The Nomination Committee of BillerudKorsnäs has decided to propose that Jan Svensson shall be elected as Chairman of the Board of BillerudKorsnäs, at the Annual General Meeting that will be held on 5 May 2021.

The 160,000 square-foot facility will serve approximately 900 customers from the Building Materials Distribution's (BMD) Houston Distribution Center. 

After 25 months of construction and installation of the Musketeers mill project, Grupo Gondi's 7th paper machine has produced its first paper reel.

The United Steelworkers (USW) said that the union is saddened by the news that former United Paperworkers International Union President Wayne E. Glenn passed away on January 3, 2021.

Georgia-Pacific announced that it will expand its Dixie to Go/PerfecTouch® cup manufacturing capacity at the Lexington, Kentucky, Dixie facility. This will allow GP to scale its efforts and create a single, world-class manufacturing facility for cupmaking.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. announced changes to the management structure in its High Purity Cellulose segment and Pulp business. Dr. Christoph Koenig will assume responsibility for all High Purity Cellulose sales, while Tomas Fernandez will assume responsibility for marketing and customer service, sustainability, high yield pulp and lignin sales, research and development, and other strategic growth initiatives.

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

Amcor, a global leader in packaging, announced the 'Reducing CO2 Packaging' Label from the Carbon Trust can now be printed on Amcor packaging to demonstrate significant carbon footprint reductions. It's part of the company's lifecycle assessment service, which enables brands to measure their packaging's carbon footprint from raw materials through end-of-use.

Activists have called on financiers and clients of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the world's biggest paper producers, to stop doing business with the company, citing alleged violations of its own sustainability commitments.

The RCF has two one-year extension options and the interest margin is tied to three sustainability indicators.

According to the recently published comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, paper-based single-use products provide significant key environmental advantages when compared to reusable tableware for in-store dining in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR).

Sustainability goals are tied to water consumption intensity, water reuse and recycling, and the reintroduction and reinforcement of water species into the ecosystem.

Rottneros' Board has decided on investments to reduce emissions to water at Vallvik Mill. The investments amount to a total of SEK 33 million and are linked to the mill's updated environmental permit, which has now gained legal force, allowing an annual pulp production of 255,000 tons.

Sappi Europe will introduce new barrier coating technology for functional paper packaging at its speciality mill in Alfeld, Germany, strengthening its position as the leading global provider of sustainable paper packaging solutions.

Amcor plc announced that Ms. Susan Carter has been appointed as a non-executive director and a member of the Board's audit committee with effect from January 1, 2021.

Södra has appointed Casper Danielsson as the new press officer. He is responsible for Södra's proactive, ongoing and reactive press work nationally and internationally.

Conifex Timber Inc. announced that Jordan Neeser, its CFO, has resigned effective March 16, 2021 to pursue other opportunities. Conifex plans to provide an update on the appointment of a new CFO in conjunction with the release of its 4Q 2020 results scheduled for March 2, 2021.

Conifex Timber Inc. provided an update to the resumption of operations at its power plant in Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada. Conifex is working with its engineers and external power consultants on available options to resume operations at the power plant.

Ben Crim, Vice President of Engineering & Environmental Management for Hood Industries, is set to retire at the end of this month after a 30-year career with the wood products manufacturer and distributor.

IT Tech Packaging, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of diversified paper products in North China, announced it is applying the license for its new single-use surgical masks from local food and drug administration in Hebei province amid strong market demands.

No one was hurt after a fire erupted Monday morning, Jan. 4, 2021, in one of the paper machines at Paper Excellence Canada in Port Alberni.

Of the 103.5 million seedlings that were delivered, 63 million were pine seedlings, 33 million spruce seedlings, 7 million contorta pine seedlings and nearly 600,000 larch seedlings.

Wilson succeeds Marty Barfield, who passed away on Dec. 31 after a long illness.