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The PM40 closed Friday, 14 October 2022, at 4473.

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 Amcor and Greif.

The PM40 closed 14 October 2022 down 5.2% from the 15 October 2021 level.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

The first class of inductees to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame 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 John Hinman.

Andritz has received an order from Minhan Paper Joint Stock Company to supply a complete OCC line for its mill in Van Lam, Hung Yen Province, Vietnam.

The kConnect blade cabinet provides a compact place to store blades while using RFID technology to track inventory, facilitating maintenance planning activities and blade replenishment to avoid stockouts.

Klabin has successfully started up a sulfuric acid plant supplied by Andritz at its Ortigueira/PR plant in Brazil. The plant is a world first and has the capacity to produce 150 tons of commercial-grade sulfuric acid per day from concentrated odorous gases and elemental sulfur.

Valmet will deliver a chip washing and EVO defibrating machine system to VRG Dongwha MDF, a joint stock company in Vietnam. The delivery is planned for September 2023. The value of the order will not be disclosed. A project of this size and scope is typically valued at around Euro 3-6 million.

As family-owned companies, both companies pursue long-term objectives and innovative drive. As a result, many projects have been successfully implemented, such as the pioneering production line 8 in Kehl.

Voith will supply the entire lines.

As part of the company's mission to provide customers with environmentally friendly and fully recyclable products, DS Smith uses its trademark Greencoat technology to create GreenChute - making yard cleanup easier, plastic free and more sustainable than ever, all season long.

In conjunction with World Menopause Day on October 18, the hygiene and health company Essity is launching a new product area and the new product brand Issviva for women+ experiencing menopause - aimed at raising awareness and breaking the taboo surrounding this transition that impacts millions of women around the world.

Greif, a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, announced today they are featured in Newsweek's Most Loved Workplaces® list for 2022 for the second year in a row. The 2022 Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® is the result of a collaboration with the Best Practice Institute (BPI), a leadership development and benchmark research company.

Huhtamaki, a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, today launches ICON® packaging, a breakthrough paper technology, initially for use for ice cream containers and lids, which enables recycling in communities with paper product recycling programs across the United States.

The Global Hygiene and Health Survey 2022 focuses on the future of well-being as well as the knowledge gap around issues of hygiene and health.

Rengo Co., Ltd. announces that it has developed Rencushion Pack for e-commerce packaging. Rencushion Pack is the general name for cushioning envelopes made of corrugated board and its automated packaging system.

To meet the demand for sustainable and innovative construction solutions, Stora Enso launches Sylva, a massive wood building kit comprising pre-manufactured, custom-made applications delivered just-in-time to the building site. The solution enables faster construction, reduced costs, more efficient use of raw material and fewer emissions than concrete or steel.

After the increase, the basic price for prime coniferous pulpwood is SEK 465 per solid cubic meter and prime birch and aspen pulpwood SEK 505.

The current geopolitical situation in Europe continues to upset the unprecedented inflationary trends further, with severe impact onto operating costs--including utilities and labour costs--through the entire supply chain.

In this special episode, we talk with Stein Larsen, CEO NOREXECO ASA.

Bast Fibre Technologies Inc. (BFT), the makers of sero™ hemp fibre, announced that it has closed a major strategic financing with Ahlström Capital of Finland. BFT will immediately begin work to expand fibre manufacturing capacity at its US-flagship facility in Lumberton (NC) and its EU-facility near Düsseldorf (NRW).

On October 3, 2022, Mativ Holdings, Inc. filed an official notice of a data breach with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office after the company experienced a cyberattack that compromised sensitive employee information contained on its computer network.

Arauco Board of Directors approves construction of a new MDF line in Zitácuaro, Mexico. The project includes an estimated investment of $235 million and state-of-the-art operational, environmental and security technology. The commissioning of the project is estimated to be in the 2Q 2025.

Looking back, construction on Enviva's Lucedale plant supported approximately 400 cumulative jobs and represented an investment of more than $215 million in George County by Enviva.

With a value of Euro 260 million, the Rauma pine sawmill is the largest ever sawmill investment in Finland. The investment decision was based on the strong growth in global demand for sustainably produced premium sawn timber.

Paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa said it is investing almost $100m in a sustainable biomass boiler in Colombia which will reduce its global Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions by about 6%.

UPM inaugurates today its new pulp terminal in the port of Montevideo, Uruguay. This investment of approximately USD 280 million is a fundamental part of UPM's USD 3.47 billion growth investment in Uruguay that includes a state-of-the-art pulp mill in Paso de los Toros, new eucalyptus tree nursery as well as local community investments in Paso de los Toros.

Atlas Holdings announced that it has completed the acquisition of Crown Paper Group ("Crown"), including Port Townsend Paper Corporation and Crown Corrugated Company, an integrated mill and containerboard operation with a strategic presence in the growing markets of the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Imperial Dade, a leading distributor of foodservice packaging and janitorial supplies and printing paper, announced the acquisition of Boudreault Packaging Ltd ("Boudreault" or the "Company"). The transaction represents the 55th acquisition for Imperial Dade under the leadership of Robert and Jason Tillis, Chairman and CEO of Imperial Dade, respectively. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Chaleur owns two modern and well-capitalized sawmill operations located in Belledune and Bathurst, New Brunswick, with a combined annual lumber production capacity of 350 million board feet.

The Mayr-Melnhof Group (MM) has successfully completed the acquisition of Essentra Packaging, which was agreed in June 2022, following the approval of all relevant competition authorities.

Mercer International Inc. has completed its previously-announced acquisition of all of the shares of the parent company of Holzindustrie Torgau (HIT).

Further to an announcement made in July 2022, Mondi confirms that all conditions have been satisfied and the merger of Mondi Tire Kutsan Kağıt ve Ambalaj Sanayi a.ş. and Mondi Olmuksan Kağıt ve Ambalaj Sanayi Anonim Şirketi will come into effect from 30 September 2022. Mondi currently holds 84.65% of the shares of Mondi Turkey Oluklu Mukavva Kağıt ve Ambalaj Sanayi A.Ş. .

Nordic Paper has entered into a binding agreement to sell its 37.6% minority shareholding in Åmotfors Energi AB to the utility infrastructure company Nevel AB.

Southern Champion Tray (SCT), a leading manufacturer of paperboard packaging for the bakery and food service industry, will purchase substantially all the assets of Evergreen Packaging (Evergreen) based in La Mirada, CA effective October 3, 2022. Evergreen, founded in 2001, is a bakery, deli, food service, and wholesale packaging provider with a predominant market presence in California.

Sylvamo, the world's paper company, is announcing it reached an agreement and completed the sale of its Russian operations to Pulp Invest Limited Liability Company for $420 million. After foreign currency exchange rates and transaction fees, Sylvamo received approximately $390 million in cash proceeds.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Thursday for Menominee County to assist with the emergency response to a large-scale industrial fire that began at a paper facility and neighboring warehouse in Menominee on Thursday, Oct. 6.

Paper Excellence announced the indefinite curtailment of its paper operations at the Catalyst Crofton facility starting in early December 2022. Paper markets in China served by the mill have significantly weakened while there have been substantial cost escalations for chemicals, energy and wood fibre used at Crofton. The intersection of these pressures has materially impacted the financial viability of the paper operation.

The company is investing $21 million to upgrade and restart the #24 paper machine (PM24) and plans to hire 52 full-time employees to operate and maintain it. Pixelle will also fill 50 temporary positions to support construction and engineering requirements related to the restart.

Sonoco, one of the largest sustainable global packaging companies, announced that the new uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) #10 machine is operational as part of its previously announced Project Horizon--the $125 million investment to transform its former corrugated medium machine in Hartsville, S.C to a state-of-the-art URB operation.

Stora Enso's new production site for cross-laminated timber (CLT) in Ždírec, the Czech Republic, has been inaugurated. Following a Euro 79 million investment, the new CLT site is one of the most modern in the world, supporting Stora Enso's strategy of growth within wooden building solutions.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has started to operate under the business name Ahlstrom as of October 3, 2022. The company has completed the ownership reorganization of its Decor business and thus proceeded with its plan, announced in May 2022, to change its name to Ahlstrom. The divested Decor business continues as an independent company under the well-recognized Munksjö name.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently fined Georgia-Pacific's Toledo mill about $62,000 for alleged air and water quality violations, some dating back two years.

International Paper relies on the daily actions and personal accountability of each of our employees and business partners for our success. We instill trust and respect, the underpinnings of our reputation, through sound governance practices.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, announced that it has published its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. With the release of the 2021 report, Graphic Packaging shares milestones achieved in advancing its Vision 2025 ESG goals.

Paper Excellence announced that the company's pulp mill restart project has submitted its environmental impact statement to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.

Södra plans to add lignin within its range of forest-based materials and seeks partners to develop lignin-based sustainable alternatives to fossil materials in a range of applications.

Smurfit Kappa recently published its first Green Bond Allocation and Impact Report, which provides details on the use of the proceeds of its inaugural €1 billion dual-tranche Green Bond issued in September 2021.

It is anticipated that the temporary curtailment will impact production capacity by approximately 7 million board feet in the 4Q.

Effingham Assistant Fire Chief Matt Kulesza said the fire was contained to a dust collector bag cylinder. He said there were no injuries.

No employees or first responders were injured.

A spokesperson for Resolute Forest Products said the fire, which produced a thick cloud of smoke in Menominee, Michigan, began around 11 p.m. CDT Thursday, Oct. 6, at a warehouse containing pulp and paper waste.

The current market environment is characterised by very high production costs, in particular energy costs, and weaker demand primarily due to destocking in the value chain.

Local United Steel Worker unions are continuing to negotiate with Graphic Packaging Paper Co. over a contract that expired in April.

The fire at Resolute Forest Products in Menominee began around 11 p.m. on Oct. 6 and is expected to burn for several days, according to officials in the U.P. town. The fire is contained, officials said.

The United Steelworkers (USW) said that approximately 480 members of its local unions 971, 1471 and 1972 were locked out of their jobs by management at WestRock's Mahrt Mill on Thursday after management's persistent refusal during months of negotiations to bargain in good faith for a fair contract.

WestRock Company announced it will permanently close the corrugated medium manufacturing operations at its St. Paul, Minnesota, recycled paper mill. The production of coated recycled board at this location will remain in operation.

This month marks a new milestone for paper production for Willamette Falls Paper Company (WFPC). On October 1, WFPC expanded its capacity on a third paper machine to manufacture additional coated freesheet paper.

Officials say she was working at one of the machines in the facility when her hand got caught.