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The PM40 closed Friday, 3 March 2023, at 5382.

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 Boise Cascade and Mercer International.

The PM40 closed 3 March 2023 up 20.7% from the 4 March 2022 level.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

I talked about ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) issues last month using the example of the oil industry and the results they have had with various strategies. I wanted to come back to this again this month with another set of considerations.

Study of games being used to advance AI research and train computers

You stink and I'm sick and buy stuff...

Start-up is scheduled for the Q4 2024.

Start-up is planned for end of 2023.

Equipment delivery is scheduled for 2024.

India's largest MDF manufacturer, Greenpanel Industries Ltd., has ordered its third MDF plant from Dieffenbacher. The new thin-board line based on Dieffenbacher's smart plant concept CEBRO will be added in Routhusuramala, Andhra Pradesh.

The warehouse is expected to be in operation in the spring of 2025.

Andritz has successfully delivered, installed and commissioned an energy efficient LimeCool system at Stora Enso's pulp mill located in Imatra, Finland. The start-up took place at the end of 2022.

The start-up of the machine is scheduled for early 2026.

Cascades is pleased to announce that its closed corrugated basket for fruits and vegetables was awarded the People's Choice Award in the Eco-packaging Initiatives category at the DUX 2023 Grand Prix.

To help understand the tough environment that packages withstand to reach consumers in perfect condition, DS Smith is experimenting with "accelerometers." The devices track the package through its journey and provide data that can then explain the damage it sustains.

The company unveiled a new identity to reflect its focus on what's next.

Seven Domtar colleagues joined nearly 90 other pulp and paper workers from across the United States in Washington, D.C. in February to educate elected officials and advocate for our industry.

Canfor's plan to permanently shut down the pulp line at Prince George Pulp and Paper by March and potentially put as many as 300 mill workers out of work is not the only grim reality facing the north central B.C. wood industry.

They say they really don't want to, but they have to.

Sylvamo was selected to replace Resolute Forest Products (RFP) on the PM40 when Resolute's common stock ceased to be listed on the the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange after the Paper Excellence Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Domtar Corporation, on April 1 announced the successful closing of its previously announced acquisition of Resolute Forest Products Inc.

The expanded distribution will begin later in the first quarter of 2023.

Unions representing hundreds of paper mill workers in British Columbia are fighting to resolve payment issues three years after a cyberattack compromised the system that kept track of workers' pay, court documents show.

The upgrades include a new corrugator, converter, single facer, preheater, glue machine, and control systems as well as an upgrade to the existing single facer and unitizer.

The facility, which is in Ashland, Virginia, will produce lightweight, 100-percent-recycled linerboard and medium and initially was projected to cost around $380 million. The company now reports the total cost of the project at around $515 million to $525 million, with $396 million invested in the project to date (2018-2022).

The construction work on the new warehouse is expected to start at the end of 2023, to be put into operation in the summer of 2025.

Smurfit Kappa is investing €27 million in a state-of-the-art new waste management and recovery facility at its Nervión paper mill in Iurreta, Spain. The investment will see the mill adopt a fully circular production process involving the biggest landfill reduction project Smurfit Kappa has undertaken to date to support the delivery of its 2025 sustainability commitments.

Stora Enso will invest approximately Euro 30 million in its Heinola Fluting site in Finland to renew the energy set-up and process equipment. After the investment, the site can replace also the remaining fossil-based fuels with renewable bioenergy. This will reduce the site's greenhouse gas emissions with more than 90%.

First Quality has made clear to Domtar its commitment to the Dryden Mill, its employees and the surrounding community and that First Quality fully intends to continue business operations consistent with past practices.

HTP employs more than 130 people and is today one of the largest importers and distributors of foodservice packaging in Australia serving a wide network of customers including metropolitan and regional packaging wholesalers, food wholesalers, club and hospitality suppliers, and national quick service restaurant businesses.

The Paper Excellence Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Domtar Corporation, on April 1 announced the successful closing of its previously announced acquisition of Resolute Forest Products Inc.

Nitto Danboru is a corrugated packaging manufacturer established in 1966. Based in Okegawa-shi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, it has built a strong customer base focusing on the area.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company ("RRD"), a global provider of marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions, announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with DATA Communications Management Corp., a provider of marketing and business communication solutions. Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement DCM will acquire RRD's Canadian operations.

Stora Enso has completed the divestment of its Maxau paper production site in Germany, and all related assets to Schwarz Produktion, part of Schwarz Group. The divestment announced on 13 September 2022 was completed today after regulatory approvals. The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately EUR 210 million.

The mill employs about 230 people and is the town's biggest private employer. The owners, Pixelle Specialty Solutions of Pennsylvania, had announced in September 2022 that the mill would close, citing economic forces that made operations unsustainable. In November, the date of the closure was set at April 30.

Mercer has promoted its Vice President, Controller, Richard Short to succeed Mr. Ure as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary.

Mercer International Inc. reported that it has signed its first major mass timber project contract with a large consumer products retailer. The project, which is comprised of cross-laminated timber panels, glue-laminated beams and connector elements, is expected to utilize four months of capacity at Mercer's Spokane facility on a one-shift basis over the course of 2023.

The mill, which produced bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp, has been through a wave of curtailments since December 2021, first in response to shipping interruptions brought on by severe flooding in the Lower Mainland.

Södra has decided to investigate the conditions for a new large-scale sawmill in Kinda in Östergötland. A preliminary project will be undertaken and serve as a basis for a future investment decision.

LSC Communications-MCL announced that it has reorganized operations to strengthen its ability to serve the rapidly changing needs of its customers. The magazine and catalog printing unit will now go to market as three brands: ENRU™Logistics and Postal Optimization, KODI Collective™ Marketing Execution Services, and LSC™ Print Solutions.

The impending Merced, California, plant closure and subsequent capacity reduction is a reflection of the overall market decline in the retail advertising insert and publication printing markets.

The Frogmore Paper Mill in Apsley, UK is making paper out of elephant dung, in an effort to go greener.

Some 47,000 hectares of plantations, mainly pine forests it uses to manufacture its wood products, could potentially be affected, the firm said in a letter to the local regulator.

Essity is publishing its Annual and Sustainability Report for 2022 on www.essity.com.

In line with its ambition to be a leader in society's transition to climate neutrality, Södra has laid out its commitment to science-based targets for 2030 in its annual and sustainability report, and to reach net zero by 2040.

Oregon environmental officials say cleanup is nearly complete following a Feb. 10 train derailment near Newport that spilled an estimated 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

USG is one of just a few companies in the U.S. building-product sector that has signed onto SBTi, and the approval is a significant step towards the company's commitment to building a sustainable future.

The union representing more than 200 workers facing unemployment after Canfor announced its plan to permanently shut down the pulp line at Prince George Pulp Mill still doesn't know how many positions will be lost.

Conifex Timber Inc. will be temporarily curtailing its Mackenzie, British Columbia (BC) sawmill commencing February 21, 2023 for up to two weeks. Unsustainable inventory levels due to rail transportation challenges impacting the interior BC region have necessitated this step.

If more fibre can't be sourced, there could in the future be a short-term curtailment of operations at Kamloops' 10th largest employer.

A person suffered multiple non-life-threatening injuries Thursday morning when falling through a roof covering a machine inside the Sappi Fine Paper mill in Skowhegan, officials said.

The Soda Creek and Armstrong Lumber divisions will resume operations on Monday, March 6.

Local United Steel Worker unions have voted down another contract with Graphic Packaging International and have given a 10-day notice to strike.