Archives

The PM40 closed Friday, 1 December 2023, at 5213.

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 Avery Dennison and Sappi.

The PM40 closed 1 December 2023 down 1.3% from the 2 December 2022 level.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

Pick your mood...optimistic, eh, or pessimistic...and you can find it in the pulp and paper industry right now.

Brazilian pulp producer Suzano selected international technology group Andritz to provide modular maintenance services for its new mill being built in Ribas do Rio Pardo, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Andritz will supply a methanol liquefaction plant to Japanese unbleached kraft pulp producer Hyogo Pulp Industries Ltd.

Bruks Siwertell has secured a contract for the design and supply of a new biocarbon pellet plant, which will replace coal in steelmaking and deliver renewable energy to one of the first 'green steel' production facilities of its kind.

The new capacity is planned to be in operation in Q3 2025.

Norwegian cardboard producer Ranheim Paper & Board started up PM5 at its Ranheim paper mill after a dryer section rebuild supplied by Toscotec.

Georgia-Pacific was recognized for its initiatives facilitating diversity and inclusion, served as an Ambassador Sponsor for the gala, and donated $25,000 to the organization.

Sun Chemical has further enhanced its sheetfed offset direct food contact ink offering with the launch of an innovative, 'green' shade blue pigment that helps to increase the color gamut available to designers and brand owners, especially now within the 'green' shade color space without comprising compliance to accepted food safety standards.

Sappi Europe will increase prices for its fine paper grades by 7-10% from January 2024. This increase is necessary to maintain viability of Sappi's business, the actual amount will depend on the product and market circumstances.

BlueLinx Holdings Inc. and Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP Building Solutions) announce again an expansion of their distribution partnership. The expanded collaboration will include LP's SmartSide Trim & Siding and LP SmartSide ExpertFinish Trim & Siding, in BlueLinx's Seattle and Spokane, Washington branches.

Essity has joined the European research project Sustronics, which is supporting the development of circular electronic products. Companies and universities from 11 countries will, together with Essity, develop sensor-based digital solutions for self and professional care.

Metsä Group and Risutec have jointly developed an accessory with which forwarders can prepare soil while harvesting logging residue. This improves productivity and helps reduce fossil emissions from forestry.

Opinion follows skeptical previous ruling from last year.

The planned conversion of the Escanaba paper mill to produce cartonboard has stalled due to economic conditions, according to company officials.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a SEK 1.3 billion (approximately Euro 110 million) loan agreement with Swedish company Billerud, a world-leading paper and packaging materials supplier. The loan supports investments in the modernisation and upgrade of a bioproduct mill, including the replacement of a recovery boiler.

The mill will have an annual production capacity of about 160,000 cubic metres of Kerto LVL and is expected to start production in the second half of 2026.

Smurfit Kappa, a paper-based packaging company, has announced it will make a $68 million investment and create 200 new jobs in Anderson County.

UPM invests nearly Euro 10 million in the modernization of the Korkeakoski sawmill. A new split saw supplied by USNR will start operating at the sawmill in 2025.

Veritiv Becomes Privately Held Company

The net impact of the transaction on Mativ's debt is expected to be a reduction of more than $600 million, which equates to approximately 35% of Mativ's outstanding debt balance as of the end of the third quarter, and is subject to customary post-closing adjustments.

Purchase and sale agreements with Forest Investment Associates set to increase cash flow and optimize portfolio value

Green Bay Packaging -- a paper company that makes shipping containers, cartons and label products -- is set to build a new regional corporate headquarters to replace its current facility in Germantown.

Due to uncompetitive wood prices from the Polish State Forests' monopoly and low market demand across paper and board products, the company decided to significantly reduce the planned multiannual strategic investment project at MM Kwidzyn relating to energy, further pulp integration and the product range, which was announced end of April 2023. Instead, MM Kwidzyn will focus its investments on increasing its already high share of renewable energy of currently 69 % even further.

The workers had hoped to be back on the job Dec. 1, but the company says international paper markets have not recovered as anticipated.

The Saica Group has unveiled its Research, Development & Innovation (R&D&I) Centre at its El Burgo de Ebro plant in Zaragoza, Spain. The centre will service Saica's four divisions globally: Saica Natur, Saica Paper, Saica Pack and Saica Flex.

UPM Pulp, UPM Timber, UPM Communication Papers and UPM Biofuels will start change negotiations on possible temporary layoffs. The negotiations are conducted to prepare for possible temporary adjustment of production in the Finnish units should the uncertainty in the operating environment continue.

Boise Cascade announced an indefinite curtailment of its lumber production in Chapman, AL. The curtailment will affect approximately 80 positions. The plywood operations at the Chapman location are not part of the curtailment.

Paper and batteries

The Inland Empire Paper Co., which owns roughly 120,000 acres in Eastern Washington and North Idaho, is asking the U.S. Forest Service for multiple conservation easements. Inland Empire is owned by the Cowles Co.

Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc., the oldest continuously operating paper mill in the United States, announces the launch of its 2022 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, which details its commitment to sustainability and visions for the future. Monadnock Paper Mills continues to champion sustainability in the world of fiber-based solutions, setting its sights on a brighter, more eco-friendly future.

With the ongoing development of the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution, governments from over 170 nations are working toward policy measures to combat the negative environmental impacts of hard-to-recycle plastics.

According to a study by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), regeneration areas can provide habitats for rare and threatened species that depend on decaying wood, and the occurrence of these species can be increased via ecological forest management measures.

Pregis®, a global leader in high-performance flexible packaging and protective packaging solutions, achieved International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certifications at its facilities in Hopkinsville, Ky., and Visalia, Calif. These certifications are a notable addition to the company's growing list of ISCC PLUS certified locations in the Netherlands and North America.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) of Fernandina Beach has submitted an application to the state for a bioethanol production plant that would be located at its current cellulose production complex.

The Espanola Pulp and Paper Domtar Mill will enter the final stage of idling on Nov. 30.

Details of the incident remain unknown as the investigations are under way.

Felix Schoeller North America is using a new silicone-coating operation at its Pulaski facility, having publicly introduced it for the first time on Nov. 15.

It's back to business as usual at the Kruger paper mill in Corner Brook after a week-long shutdown.

The project to expand folding boxboard production capacity has been completed at the Husum integrated pulp and paperboard mill in Sweden.

Potential layoffs would last a maximum of 90 days and could be implemented in several installments during 2024. A total of 1,100 people were involved in the change negotiations at Metsä Board's seven mill locations in Joutseno, Kaskinen, Kemi, Kyröskoski, Tampere, Simpele and Äänekoski.

Union workers at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville have voted to accept an offer from the company, ending a strike that began October 14.