Major Announcements

The BoxMaker, a leading Pacific Northwest manufacturer of corrugated packaging, broke ground on a new production plant in Lowell, Arkansas, on March 16, 2021 as part of a multi-million-dollar investment to effectively address growing demand across the country for digitally produced packaging and displays.

Södra's new cross-laminated timber, CLT, is a fast mover in the market. For this reason, Södra is investing in a new facility that will increase the production capacity of timber frames ten-fold. The facility is expected to be commissioned in mid-2022.

At the groundbreaking, the company said the new mill would preserve 1,100 jobs, with another 200 more possibly to be added.

Pactiv Evergreen Inc. announced that John McGrath has elected to retire as CEO of the company and has been succeeded by Michael King.

WestRock Company announced that Steven C. Voorhees has decided to step down from his position as president and chief executive officer and a director of the Company for health reasons, effective March 15, 2021. In addition, the Company's Board of Directors announced that, following a comprehensive search as part of the Company's long-term succession processes, it has elected David B. Sewell to succeed Voorhees as WestRock's president and chief executive officer at that time.

Allen J. Campbell, the Chief Financial Officer of Verso Corporation ("Verso") has informed Verso of his intent to retire in 2021. Mr. Campbell and Verso have mutually settled upon June 30, 2021, as the date of his retirement. On March 5, 2021, the Compensation Committee of Verso's board of directors approved a retention arrangement to incentivize him not to retire before June 30, 2021.

Domtar Corporation announced that John D. Williams will return from temporary medical leave following having contracted the Covid-19 and is resuming authority and responsibility as President and Chief Executive Officer on Monday, March 1st, 2021.

Commercial Development Co. Inc., the St. Louis, Missouri-based company that purchased the mill from WestRock, began auctioning off heavy equipment, steam-generating machinery and other items last fall.

JobsOhio has provided BurrowsTM with a $400,000 grant to invest in new machinery, equipment and infrastructure at its manufacturing plants in Franklin and Mount Vernon, Ohio.

Appvion Inc. officials announced Monday they will close the Spring Mill, which has been operating since 1866, this spring and nearly 300 jobs will be lost.

Paperitalo Publications CEO Jim Thompson has been calling mills this morning (15 Feb 21) and found general reports of widespread abnormal conditions due to the extremely cold weather. If the mills can get natural gas, they are slowed down, just trying to keep the mills from freezing up. Spot natural gas prices are as high as $300/mmBtu and purchased electricity is on curtailment in many places.

The development programme will increase the mill's annual paperboard capacity by approximately 40,000 tonnes.

As a result of this incident, shipments from some of the Company's facilities have lagged production levels. This gap is closing quickly as systems are restored.

Domtar Corporation announced that John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, has contracted the Covid-19 and is taking a temporary medical leave of absence.

Verso Corporation announced the appointment of Randy J. Nebel as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Nebel has served as interim President and Chief Executive Officer since October 2020 and has been a member of Verso's Board of Directors since November 2019.

The plan is to break ground this spring with a completion date in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The company has started pre-engineering for increasing the annual production capacity of folding boxboard machine BM1 at the Husum mill in Sweden by approximately 200,000 tonnes.

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.

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.

Dunn Paper, a leading manufacturer and supplier of high performance, advanced paper and tissue for use in food, medical, and specialty markets unveiled today changes within the organization beginning with the appointment of David Apollonio as President and CEO. Apollonio will lead the organization from the Company's new headquarters located in Alpharetta, Georgia.

According to its website, Cosmo has begun recalling some of its approximately 200 employees and hopes to be running at full capacity by February 1, 2021.

Dunn Paper, a leading manufacturer and supplier of high performance, advanced paper and tissue for use in food, medical, and specialty markets unveiled today changes within the organization beginning with the appointment of David Apollonio as President and CEO. Apollonio will lead the organization from the Company's new headquarters located in Alpharetta, Georgia.

The Södra Foundation for Research, Development and Education has decided to grant an additional SEK 8.7 million to 11 research projects linked to forest management and forest industry. The biggest investment in this year's second round of funding will focus on potential applications for cross-laminated timber (CLT).