Monthly Archives: December 2016
Romanian tissue paper maker expands sales by 30%
(Bucharest, Dec. 13, 2016) Romania’s tissue paper producer Pehart Tec raised its sales by 30% this year to some €100 million, according to senior company representatives.
“We managed to increase our revenues … in particular as a result of the expansion of our production capacity, and the launching of a new paper machine,” Ioan Tecar, the founder of Pehart Tec, told local business daily Ziarul Financiar.
The Romanian manufacturer exports as much as 70% of its annual output. Some of Pehart Read More...
New-Indy to Acquire Corrugated Packaging Company, triPAQ
(USA, Dec. 13, 2016) New-Indy JV Corp. announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire triPAQ, Inc., a second generation family-owned corrugated packaging company with facilities in Santa Ana and Cerritos, California, Mexicali (Mexican state of Baja California) and Tijuana, Mexico.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
New-Indy issued the following statement. “The acquisition of triPAQ, Inc. provides New-Indy an entry into the large Southern California box market and expands its footprint into Mexico with a diverse mix Read More...
PPC completes $5.8 million expansion project
(Kaukauna, WI., USA, Dec. 14, 2016) Precision Paper Converters (PPC) announced the completion of a $5.8 million expansion of its facial tissue converting facility in Kaukauna, Wisconsin and the installation of a new facial tissue interfolder and new Langen cartoner.
According to PPC, the Bretting interfolder, named “VARiUM”, is the first of its kind in North America and the machine allows for variable cutoff lengths and folded panel widths. Additional capabilities of the new interfolder include:
- In-line calendaring
- Use of Read More...
Solvay to divest its cellulose acetate tow business
(Switzerland, Dec. 14, 2016) Solvay has reached an agreement to sell its cellulose acetate tow business, Acetow, to private equity funds managed by Blackstone.
“The divestment of Acetow is another significant step in Solvay’s transformation towards a multi-specialty chemical group with a higher growth profile,” said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay.
The transaction is based on an enterprise value of about Euro 1 billion, representing around 7 x EBITDA multiple. The net proceeds will contribute to the continued deleveraging of Solvay. Read More...
Voith brings transformation to a successful conclusion; operating result in the core business increased by 18 percent
(Heidenheim, Germany, Oct. 14, 2016) In the 2015/16 fiscal year, the Voith Group successfully completed the transformation of the Group, which has taken several years. In 2017, Voith moves into its 150th anniversary year with renewed strength and at the same time anticipated to be starting point of a new period of growth for the Group.
In the past 2015/16 fiscal year (ending September 30, 2016), Voith not only significantly improved the operating performance of its Group Divisions but, with Read More...
Segezha Group joined the European Association of Sack Kraft Paper Manufacturers CEPI Eurokraft
(Russia, 14 December, 2016) Segezha Group (part of Sistema JFSC) has become a regular member of CEPI Eurokraft Association. A large majority of the Association’s board adopted this resolution at the session headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The affiliation approval came after the visit of Elin Floresjö, Secretary General of CEPI Eurokraft to Segezha city, Republic of Karelia, Russia, with the site-tour of two large production plants: Segezha Pulp and Paper Mill and Segezha Packaging.
In her recent function as engineer-ecologist, international Read More...
WRI estimates global demand for lumber to increase 13.6 per cent; in contrast to general world trade
(Seattle, USA, Dec. 13, 2016) Wood Resources International (WRI) estimates that the increase of global demand for lumber will be as much as 13.6% in 2016, company said in Wood Resource Quarterly report.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) reported in September that overall world trade will expand by only 1.7% in 2016, a downward revision from earlier this year and the slowest pace since the global financial crisis in 2009. This forecast however, is not true regards the global trade Read More...
MoRe goes for nanocellulose development; will bring nanocellulose closer to production and practical applications
(Stockholm, Sweden, Dec. 14, 2016) MoRe Research together with Swedish universities make a major investment in research within the nanocellulose field. A team of two post docs, and one licentiate will be working on development of applications and techniques for production of demonstration material from nanocellulose.
“It is great that we are able to do this major investment in bringing nanocellulose closer to production and practical applications”, says Anna Svedberg, responsible for marketing and development at MoRe Research. “There are Read More...
Burgo Group replaces fuel oil with natural gas at its Virton paper mill in Belgium
(Belgium, 15 December, 2016) Burgo Group announced, in the integrated mill of Burgo Ardennes, the conclusion of a large project aimed at replacing fuel oil used to power the boilers of Virton paper mill in Belgium with natural gas.
The project, which costs Euro 9 million, has an important environmental value, since it will allows an improvement of the mill performance in terms of CO2 emissions.
Founded in 1963 with a cellulose production line, the plant in Virton was equipped with Read More...
Södra Provides SEK 10 Million in Funding for Research and Development
(Stockholm, Sweden, Dec. 15, 2016) In November, the Södra Foundation for Research, Development and Education decided to contribute an additional SEK 10 million to research projects connected with forestry. Six different projects have been awarded grants, one of which focuses on addressing the future market for wood fibre-based products by developing new fibres from existing processing environments.
Sodra Foundation for Research, Development and Education
The mission of the Södra Foundation for Research, Development and Education is to promote research and education Read More...
BillerudKorsnäs to Invest SEK 5.7 Billion in New Board Machine at Gruvön Mill
(Sweden, Dec. 12, 2016) The board of BillerudKorsnäs has today made the decision to carry out the largest investment in the history of the company and one of the largest in Sweden in recent years -- the investment in a new board machine at the Gruvön site. The decision has been made in view of growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions for food and beverages globally.
A Board Machine (Image for representational purposes only)
The investment of SEK 5.7 billion (approx. Read More...
Updated: BEK prices continue to rise; NBSK prices firming up in China
(December 12, 2016) Some updates to our news report dated Dec. 02, 2016 “Pulp producers come out with price hikes for BEK & other pulp grades w.e.f January 01, 2017.”
Both BEK and NBSK prices are reported to be moving up in China. Mercer International and West Fraser have hiked NBSK price hikes by USD20/t in China.
West Fraser had earlier announced a USD20/t hike for softwood BCTMP in China. Millar Western has announced a USD10/t hike for BCTM in Read More...
Tripling of Direct Costs on the European paper industry impedes Europe’s Investment Potential
(Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 24, 2016) A European Commission real-time study on our sector has revealed that over the past 10 years, direct regulatory costs have more than tripled. On average, direct and ETS-related indirect regulatory costs have absorbed more than 40% of the industry’s annual profitability since 2004.
While the paper industry is engaging in major transformation of its production base to capture both growth opportunities and dramatically reduce its CO2 emissions, such regulatory burden diminishes our investment capability and Read More...
Schumacher Packaging takes over Polish paper plant
(Germany, Dec. 08, 2016) German cardboard packaging maker Schumacher Packaging GmbH has acquired a paper plant in Myszków, Poland, under an investment worth about €100 million, the company said in a statement.
Commenting on the latest transaction, Björn Schumacher, the company’s managing director, said that the “paper market is subject to strong price fluctuations. They could not be passed on to the market, especially in the last three years.”
“Since we are improving our delivery capability, we are also securing further Read More...
Xerium introduces TransForm Forming Fabric for Paperboard and Packaging Manufacturers
(USA, Dec. 9, 2016) Xerium Technologies introduces TransForm, a revolutionary new generation of forming fabrics designed specifically for paperboard and packaging machines that lowers energy consumption and extends fabric life, among other considerable benefits.
“Our board and packaging customers continuously demand improvements in uptime efficiency and reduced operating costs while delivering higher product quality at maximum output,” said Bill Butterfield, EVP and CTO of Xerium.
“Utilizing new proprietary polymers and structural designs, our new TransForm line is already helping customers reduce Read More...