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In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Graphic Packaging and Weyerhaeuser.

The PM40 closed Friday, 14 July 2023, at 5146.

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 14 July 2023 up 5.2% from the 15 July 2022 level.

CENIBRA is a 50-year-old pulp and paper company in Minas Gerias, Brazil, that maintains exceptionally high standards, and goes beyond what most other pulp and paper companies do. Ronaldo Ribiero, Head of the Department of Information and Technology, shares with us his insider's experience today.

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, close to 150 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile Henry J. Rogers, John S. Van Nortwick and William M. Van Nortwick - Hearthstone Joint Induction, who were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

When should you arrive for an important meeting or video (or conference) call?

The conversion project has been launched by the Heinzel Group, which will take over the Steyrermühl mill from UPM by January 1, 2024.

PM2 produces high-quality decor specialty papers.

It will replace the mill's two existing evaporation lines.

The systems are scheduled to start up at the end of 2024.

The upgrade will boost the line's capacity and improve the strength properties of the product.

The new line will allow Norske Skog Skogn to change its raw material mix and thus reduce variable costs and the environmental impact of its operations, in particular NOx emissions, fossil CO2 emissions, and landfilled waste.

The system will process waste wood collected from the surrounding 150 kilometers as well as use the pulper and fibrous rejects from the paper mill process.

Solenis, a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals used in water-intensive industries, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Diversey Holdings, Ltd., effective July 5, in an all-cash transaction valued at an enterprise value of approximately $4.6 billion.

Valmet has entered into an agreement to acquire Körber Group's Business Area Tissue. The Business Area Tissue specializes in innovative converting and packaging technologies and services for the tissue industry.

The start-up is scheduled for October 2024.

Smith Corona today announces the launch of its new division, Pinnacle Labels, a leading manufacturer and provider of top-quality weigh scale labels. With full dedication to scale label production, Pinnacle Labels' mission is to bring convenience and affordability to the industry.

Ahlstrom, a leading sustainable specialty materials company, takes another step in becoming the market leader in sustainable and plastic-free solutions with a non-heat sealable tea filter range, which has received certification for home compostability according to OK Compost from TÜV Austria.

Iconex CEO Craig Gunckel Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Southeast Award Winner for His Transformational Leadership & Focus on the Company's Global Workforce.

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, has, once again, achieved the highest Platinum level in EcoVadis' sustainability assessment. The company has achieved the highest level or rating every year since 2017.

Paper Excellence Canada announced it has once again been voted one of Canada's 2022 Best 50 corporate citizens by Corporate Knights. Paper Excellence Canada is a diversified manufacturer of pulp and paper, including printing and writing, packaging, and specialty papers.

New barrier papers engineered for packaging applications

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) received a top score of 100 on the 2023 Disability Equality Index (DEI) from Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Top-scoring businesses - scoring 80 or higher - are recognized as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion."

Rottneros has entered into a new loan agreement with Danske Bank whereby its existing long-term facilities will be refinanced. The new facilities amount to a total of 250 million SEK divided into a term loan facility of 100 million SEK and a revolving loan facility of up to 150 million SEK.

A federal judge refused to toss out claims of private nuisance and negligence in a class action lawsuit against Kalamazoo paper mill, Graphic Packaging International, according to court records.

Georgia-Pacific recently invested $120 million into Pineland Lumber in Pineland, Texas, making it the largest sawmill in the South.

The country's location enables Smurfit Kappa to serve not only the local market but wider regions in Africa.

Billerud has agreed with the investment company Mimir Group about a divestment of Managed Packaging, which offers packaging solutions to global brand owners. The transaction is expected to be completed during August 2023.

Transaction Represents 67th Acquisition for Leading Distributor of Foodservice Packaging and Janitorial Sanitation Products

Mondi plc (Mondi), a global leader in the production of sustainable packaging and paper, has agreed to acquire the 250,000 tonne per annum Hinton Pulp mill in Alberta, Canada, from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd (West Fraser) for a total consideration of USD 5 million.

Following the announcement on 15 December 2022 of the agreement to sell its three Russian packaging converting operations to the Gotek Group for a total consideration of RUB 1.6bn, Mondi plc ("Mondi") confirms that Gotek Group received all requisite approvals and the sale has now completed. Mondi has received net proceeds of €30.4m from this disposal into its Austrian bank account.

UPM has signed an agreement on the sale of the recovered paper sorting plant ASK Kinsau in Germany to the Fisel Holding GmbH & Co. KG, a recovered logistics and municipal waste disposal company.

Ilim Group announces that Kseniia Sosnina has stepped down from her role as the Company's CEO due to the expiration of her employment contract. Aleksey Lomko, Senior Vice President Legal, has been appointed Acting CEO.

Experienced executive operations leader will run two Minnesota facilities.

The curtailment will affect about 450 workers.

Roseburg has announced that Grady Mulbery will retire from his position as President and CEO, effective Sept. 30, 2023. As part of this planned leadership succession, Roseburg's board of directors unanimously elected Chief Operating Officer Stuart Gray to succeed Mulbery as president and CEO, effective Oct. 1, 2023.

Sappi Stockstadt Mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Germany, producing 145,000 tpa of pulp which is used to produce 220,000 tpa of coated and uncoated woodfree paper mainly sold into the European print market.

Susana Alejandro, current Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, will succeed Ramón Alejandro as Chairman of the Saica Group as of 1 July 2024.

The paper mill currently owned by Billerud Wisconsin has been idle since Verso shut down operations in 2020, although converting operations have continued on-site.

The Rock Hill facility manufactures recycled paperboard tubes. The location was one of 80-plus Caraustar facilities Greif acquired in the U.S. in a $1.8 billion deal in 2019.

Atlantic Packaging actively engages its 800 employees across North Carolina in conservation efforts, providing sustainability and conservation education to inspire more sustainable practices both at work and at home.

The Canadian government has announced an investment of $3.5 million in the construction of 2150 Keith Drive, an innovative hybrid mass timber commercial office building in Vancouver's False Creek Flats neighborhood. The funding will be provided through the Green Construction Through Wood (GCWood) Program, which aims to promote the use of wood as a low-carbon construction material in infrastructure projects.

Present in Santa Catarina for over 50 years, Klabin remains committed to promoting environmentally responsible actions that contribute to the sustainable development of the region.

In a notice of violation issued Monday, July 10, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has accused Pactiv Evergreen of dumping chemicals directly into its wastewater treatment system rather than disposing of them properly, as required by the company's permit.

In combination with the PM3 paper mill next door, the new power plant will deliver an additional saving of around 80,000 t of CO2 each year.

The curtailment is due to limited storage space for pulp products that cannot be transported overseas as a result of the ongoing labour dispute at B.C. ports. The downtime is expected to remain in place for the duration of the labour dispute and will remove approximately 11,000 tonnes of market kraft pulp per week.

Following the announcement of a tentative agreement in the labour dispute at B.C. ports, Canfor Pulp Products Inc. is announcing that Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George will resume production next week (the week of July 17).

Fire crews from Port Alberni, Cherry Creek, Beaver Creek and Sproat Lake fire departments took hours to put out a fire in the Paper Excellence Catalyst paper mill in Port Alberni on Friday, July 7.

Lead Fire Investigator Kyle Murray reports that the fire began at a power reactor outside the plant and Macon-Bibb County Fire crews were able to keep the blaze contained to that area.

Rengo Co., Ltd. announces that its consolidated subsidiary, Tri-Wall Limited, has established a subsidiary in Suining City, Sichuan Province, China through its wholly owned subsidiary. The new subsidiary, Tri-Wall Bozheng Packaging Technology Co. Ltd., manufactures and sells heavy duty and general corrugated board and cases, and has started operation of its plant.