Monthly Archives: December 2017
Sappi Confirms Expansion Plans for Dissolving Wood Pulp Capacity
(Johannesburg, Dec. 15, 2017) Sappi Limited has confirmed plans and ongoing projects to significantly increase dissolving wood pulp (DWP) capacity by 2020. In particular, Sappi has started preparatory work for the potential expansion of its Saiccor DWP Mill in South Africa to ensure that the company would be in a position to increase the mill’s capacity by up to 250,000 tons per year (tpy) to meet strong projected demand growth.
Currently, the Saiccor Mill has the capacity to produce approximately Read More...
WestRock Announces Agreements to Acquire Plymouth Packaging; to tap into “box-on-demand” growth
(USA, Dec. 12, 2017) WestRock Company, a leading provider of differentiated paper and packaging solutions, today announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Plymouth Packaging, Inc. Plymouth is a corrugated packaging company that derives approximately 70% of its sales from its “Box on Demand” systems and corrugated fanfold, and 30% from traditional corrugated box packaging.
Plymouth’s market-leading “Box on Demand” systems are located on the customer’s site and use fanfold corrugated to Read More...
WTO Panel Upholds the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of Certain Coated Paper from Indonesia
(Miamisburg, Ohio, USA, Dec. 2017) Verso Corporation (NYSE: VRS) and Sappi North America today praised the decision of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel, which upheld the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports from Indonesia. The decision, released yesterday, confirms that the U.S. acted consistently with its WTO obligations when it imposed countervailing duties of 17.93 percent and antidumping duties of 20.13 percent.
Yesterday’s decision means that countervailing duties that were imposed in November 2010 on Read More...
Link: Chinese ban on waste paper to aid Indian paper manufacturers
(Mumbai, India, December 13, 2017) The Chinese government’s move to ban waste paper amidst environment concerns is expected to benefit the Indian paper manufacturers.
The Chinese government’s move to ban waste paper amidst environment concerns is expected to benefit the Indian paper manufacturers.
Waste Paper (WP) is one of the major sources of raw material used for manufacturing the recycled paper products. The recycled paper products are extensively used for manufacturing packaging materials like corrugated boxes.
The Chinese Government’s decision to ban Read More...
Toscotec to Supply Lucart with New Tissue Machine in Italy
(Italy, Dec. 14, 2017) Toscotec announced that it will supply Lucart Group with a new AHEAD-2.0S tissue machine, which will be installed at Lucart’s Polcari paper mill in the province of Lucca, Italy.
The new machine will replace one of the mill’s two MG (machine glazed) paper machines installed in 1976.
The new line will have an operating speed of 2,000 mpm and production capacity of 35,000 tons per year of high quality tissue paper from both pure cellulose and recycled Read More...
Andritz to Supply New Stock Preparation Line and Paper Machine Approach System for Varaka, Turkey
(Graz, Austria, Dec. 13, 2017) Andritz has received an order from the Turkish Albayrak Group to deliver a new stock preparation line with a design capacity of 1,000 bdmt/d for its Varaka paper mill in Balikesir, Western Turkey. The order also includes the main components in the approach flow systems for the top layer of PM 2.
Start-up is scheduled for summer 2018.
Varaka will reinstall and rebuild the PM 2, which currently is a second-hand newsprint paper machine, into a Read More...
Market conditions favour pulp price hikes in 2018
(November 23, 2017) On a whole, market conditions favour pulp price hikes (especially hardwood). Tight markets, low Chinese pulp inventories, healthy demand favour a “pricing outlook that will again surprise on the upside in 2018, not to mention a very bullish 3-4 years’ outlook on a lack of supply coming to the market,” as per BTG Pactual analysts in their report dated Nov. 15, 2017.
Additionally, the Chinese recently released Environmental Protection Controls for waste paper imports (setting impurities Read More...
Sappi expands its speciality and packaging paper capacity; will acquire the speciality paper business of Cham Paper Group Holding AG (CPG)
(Johannesburg, South Africa, 05 December 2017) Sappi Limited, a leading global producer of dissolving wood pulp, speciality and packaging papers, graphic (printing and writing) paper and biomaterials, today announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire the speciality paper business of Cham Paper Group Holding AG (CPG) for CHF146.5 million (approximately $149 million).
The transaction includes the acquisition of CPG’s Carmignano and Condino Mills in Italy, its digital imaging business located in Cham, Switzerland as well as all brands Read More...
Link / India: imported paper prices on the rise; upswing for domestic paper producers
(New Delhi, India, Dec 06, 2017) China has stopped imports of several grades of waste paper as a part of campaign against foreign garbage, which has created shortage of raw material and impacted the paper production. Further capacities close to 3 lakh tonnes per annum are shut down due to lack of environmental compliance. As a result, packaging paper prices, for instance, have shot up by 40 per cent to over 5,500 yuan per tonne since August, according to Read More...
Investment companies to bid for Norske Skog
(Norway, 28 Nov 2017) Oceanwood Capital Management and Aker Capital will form new company which will bid an auction process to take over Norske Skog. Following the announcement by Oceanwood and Aker, a consensual recapitalisation of the Norske Skog group is unlikely to be achievable, Norske Skog says. The company therefore expects to initiate insolvency proceedings.
According to a Norske Skog release, funds managed by Oceanwood Capital Management and Aker Capital AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aker ASA, have Read More...
Link: Fight Breaks Out Over Fresh Fruit-and-Vegetable Packaging
(New York, 15 November 2017) There’s a secret to how grocery stores keep fresh, ready-to-eat fruits and salads stocked all year round for busy Americans: It’s all in the packaging.
In this case, it’s packaging with tiny holes that can keep produce on store shelves longer. The broad use of the technology has made it valuable, which is why B&G Foods Inc., Landec Corp.’s Apio unit, Alpine Fresh Inc. and three other companies are being hauled before a U.S. trade Read More...
Link / Multimedia: Botnia goes global
(Finland, Nov. 2017) The volume of production at the new Äänekoski #bioproductmill requires logistical arrangements on an unprecedented scale. Take a closer look at the one-of-a-kind solution MetsaFibre has created to raise the efficiency in pulp logistics.
Metsä Fibre has taken firm steps to ensure that the deliveries of Botnia pulp from the new bioproduct mill will be handled efficiently – no matter where in the world our customers operate. Metsä Fibre’s dedication to quality extends beyond our Botnia pulp Read More...
Ilim Group signs USD 500 million syndicated loan
(Russia, 30 Nov 2017) Ilim Group, Russia’s leading pulp and paper company, a major exporter and one of the biggest companies in the industry globally, announces today that it has signed a four-year unsecured syndicated loan agreement for USD 500 million. The agreement is the largest corporate debt transaction in the industry across Eastern Europe and Russia/CIS, according to Dealogic data.
The loan was arranged by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI Group) and Intesa Sanpaolo, with Crédit Agricole also joining the Read More...
Mondi to launch new products at Polish plant
(Piaski, Poland, 04 Dec 2017) Mondi has unveiled plans to launch production of new heavy-duty cardboard packaging products at its plant in Piaski, in western Poland.
The company recently completed the installation of new machinery at the factory, and production activities are to be launched in the first quarter of 2018, according to the information obtained by local news site Rynekpapierniczy.pl. Mondi is currently performing test production at the plant that is operated by its local offshoot, Mondi Simet.
The Polish Read More...
Cascades acquires four containerboard packaging plants in Ontario
(Canada, 05 Dec 2017) Cascades announces the acquisition of four plants in Ontario to strengthen its position in the containerboard packaging sector, and the purchase of an ownership position in Tencorr Holdings Corporation (“Tencorr”). The company also announces an increase in its equity holding of the Greenpac Mill LLC (“Greenpac”).
“We are very pleased to expand our presence in Ontario and increase our stake in Greenpac for the second time this year. These transactions align perfectly with our vision and Read More...