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In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Avery Dennison and International Paper.

The PM40 closed Friday, 2 June 2023, at 4797.

Get the latest PM40 updates by listening to the weekly Nips show and the PM40 Daily Show on Pulp & Paper Radio International.

The PM40 closed 2 June 2023 up 2.1% from the 3 June 2022 level.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

While there are reports of downtime and diminished warehouse stocks, this past month has recorded the most Capital Spending, by project size and number of projects, than Paperitalo Publications has recorded in its history. Financing costs are high, and demand is down in some key grades. These short-term issues usually drive capital decisions. At least they have for the last fifty plus years. Speculation on the reasons for this anomaly...

Start-up will take place in 2024.

The company had already entrusted Andritzwith major supplies for the pulp mill last year.

TIPS Industry Solutions and Services combines standard ERP with industry-specific Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and automation, enabling the needed flexibility in business operations.

The new machine will produce sack kraft paper.

Kadant Lamort SAS, a subsidiary of Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI), and UNIPAKHELLAS S.A., an affiliate of INDEVCO Group, are implementing a new stock preparation system that yields high-quality paper from a wide range of materials while reducing fiber loss and freshwater consumption.

The delivery is scheduled for October 2023.

Valmet will deliver a new refiner with chip washer capacity of 28 ton/h to Arauco's new MDF plant located in Zitácuaro, Mexico. The start-up of the system is planned for the last quarter of 2024.

The new pulp mill will produce 700,000 tonnes per year and is scheduled to start up at the end of 2024.

Valmet will supply consistency measurements to Norske Skog's Golbey mill in France. The new measurements will be implemented in the new stock preparation unit and replace the aged ones from Golbey's PM 1, which is currently being converted from the production of newsprint to the production of recycled containerboard.

Valmet will deliver two fiber line improvement projects to SCA Obbola mill in Sweden. The projects support SCA's earlier investments. The first installations will take place during the mill's spring shutdown in May 2023.

The modernization is possible for most plants worldwide, regardless of manufacturer.

Finnish beauty brand LUMENE is the first to launch a biobased packaging application with both the jar and label made with UPM's innovative wood-based material, further processed by SABIC.

Kimberly-Clark Professional™ is a winner of this year's world-renowned iF DESIGN AWARD in the bath category for the Kimberly-Clark Professional™ ICON™ dispenser collection.

Made by Hilex, the innovative bag makes loading and transporting items easier.

Sappi North America, Inc., a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper, packaging products and pulp, released its 2022 Sustainability Report, highlighting its commitment to science-based targets in creating sustainable products and business practices. The company also secured the EcoVadis Platinum sustainability rating for the third year in a row, keeping Sappi at the top 1% of companies rated for sustainability.

Södra has been voted the seventh most attractive employer in Sweden by the country's higher education engineers. This is the result of a poll conducted by the Career Companies Student Network during January-April 2023.

New research from the renewable materials company Stora Enso sheds light on the importance of packaging in achieving greater food systems sustainability. The report entitled "Food packaging for better food systems" identifies 13 impact opportunities for the food packaging value chain, powered by innovation and collaboration, to unlock greater global climate, biodiversity, and social progress.

Terre de Couleur had an ambitious goal - to remove or decrease the plastic content in their single-use 100% plastic hair cap without compromising the performance nor the usage experience and comfort of hair professionals and consumers alike.

Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G jointly announced the launch of a strategic partnership to stem the tide of plastic pollution in the Global South. These global leaders will work together to scale upstream and downstream solutions for a circular plastics economy, jointly committing $6 million USD over five years.

Holz-Bauer and Mondi launch new paper packaging PelletBags for wooden pellets.

Suzano and Sofidel pilot partnership will demonstrate the value of collaboration across the supply chain to scale up environmental and socio-economic impact.

UPM Biochemicals and URSA, one of the leading producers of glass wool and mineral wool in Europe, today announced the development of more environmentally friendly building insulation that will help to reduce energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein toured Canton on Wednesday morning. Along with Mayor Zeb Smathers, he walked in the shadow of the soon-to-be shuttered Pactiv Evergreen paper mill. He said Pactiv Evergreen is in violation of a contract it signed for a $12 million state grant promising the plant would stay open through next year. And Stein said the state will enforce its rights under that contract.

Notice comes as Paper Excellence executives grilled by members of Parliament.

A news release says the project, located at the company's existing 50-year-old Hawesville mill, will upgrade the current pulper with a modern pulper to gain additional machine capabilities and better service growing markets. Officials say leaders at Domtar plan to have the expansion fully operational by the end of 2025.

Shortly after buying the facility in 2018, ND Paper announced it would invest $189 million in the Biron mill. The company pointed to growth in packaging and e-commerce, as well as consumer demand for more sustainable products, for the changes it has made.

Ortviken's new factory facility was inaugurated on 16 May 2023 with a ceremonial speech by Berit Högman, Governor of Västernorrland County, and a "ribbon cutting" by timber sports profile Ferry Svan. This means that the journey towards the production of 300,000 tonnes of climate-smart CTMP pulp has formally begun.

Visy has unveiled a major $48 million upgrade to its recycling and remanufacturing facility on Gibson Island in Brisbane.

Connecticut-based Atlas Holdings to close deal with Resolute on mill later this year.

Stylecraft is a trade only printer since 1967 specializing in business forms, integrated products and commercial printing.

Transaction Represents 64th Acquisition for Leading Distributor of Foodservice Packaging and Janitorial Sanitation Products.

Mercer to acquire substantially all of Structurlam's assets, including its state-of-the-art mass timber facility in Conway, Arkansas, cementing Mercer's position as a leading mass timber provider in North America.

Visy had acquired Zenexus, a privately owned supplier and distributor of moving and storage boxes, major brand hardware and retail products. It is one of the largest suppliers to Bunnings (Australia and New Zealand) and the deal will mean additional annual revenues of $170 million for Visy.

Mitch Butier has decided to retire as CEO, effective September 1; will remain as Executive Chairman Deon Stander appointed President and Chief Executive Officer.

Elopak has announced that it will build a new plant in the USA to better serve its customers in the Americas and accelerate growth in the region. The new plant will allow Elopak to build on an already strong track record of organic and profitable growth driven by high customer demand in the region.

Action taken as part of Company's Turnaround Strategy to Divest Unprofitable Non-Core Assets.

The negotiations involve a total of 1,100 employees at the Joutseno, Kaskinen, Kemi, Kyro, Tampere, Simpele and Äänekoski mills.

Korkiatupa has worked at Metsä Forest in various finance and control positions since 2008.

The closures come just five months after senior governments contributed $18.8 million to support the Crofton mill and its jobs.

UPM Fibres prepares to temporary layoff personnel of the Kaukas pulp mill, sawmill and wood reception for a fixed term period. The possible temporary layoffs could take place in several periods and would last a maximum of 90 days. The total number of employees covered by the employee consultations is approximately 370.

Electric timber trucks

Ahlstrom continues its long tradition of dedication and leadership in the electrotechnical paper industry through its commitment to support the growing demand for electrification and the energy transition while helping to combat climate change.

The full report including performance details from 13 material topics, along with separate Sustainability Highlights and Performance at a Glance documents.

Klabin, the largest producer and exporter of paper for packaging and sustainable solutions in paper packaging in Brazil, celebrates this month the 25th anniversary of the first certificate (1998) of excellence in forest management granted by Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), when it became the first Brazilian company in the pulp and paper sector in the Southern Hemisphere to obtain the seal.

Mercer International Inc. -- a global forest and bioproducts company, today announced the release of its annual sustainability report. The Mercer "Fit for Future" 2022 Sustainability Report (the "Report") highlights the Company's progress and builds upon the insights gained from its 2021 inaugural report.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, has submitted the EIA report for the Kaskinen paperboard mill in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure Act to the South Ostrobothnia Regional Economic, Transport and Environment Centre (ELY Centre).

A new investigative report, Pulping Borneo, finds that the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group, the world's largest viscose producer and major paper products company, continues to rely on deforestation in its supply chain despite a high-profile commitment to "No-Deforestation". The report, co-published by five organisations including Greenpeace International, also reveals a chain of offshore shell companies pointing to RGE Group control behind a new mega-scale pulp mill in North Kalimantan, Indonesia, putting some of the world's largest remaining rainforests at risk.

Duro, a Novolex brand, now offers more than 100 SKUs that have been tested and certified commercially compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute.

The Report highlights PotlatchDeltic's ESG strategy and 2022 ESG accomplishments, linking them with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In line with Södras strategy to support a more circular, sustainable society, to strive for resource efficiency and to maximise the use of our members' wood while adding value for customers, Södra is investigating the possibilities for a ground-breaking new pulp which will combine wood from Södra's sustainably managed forests in southern Sweden with agricultural residue from sources close to our pulp mills.

Lazzareschi was recognized for his leadership in technological and personnel investments to enhance Sofidel's sustainability efforts.

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After over a century of service providing the town with thousands of jobs, the Canton paper mill sounded its final bell May 24, signaling the permanent closure of the iconic site.

Conifex Timber Inc. announced that it has made the difficult decision to take unscheduled downtime for four weeks at its Mackenzie, British Columbia sawmill commencing June 5, 2023. It is anticipated that the unscheduled downtime will impact production capacity by approximately 16 million board feet.

In light of what happened, Mativ suspended operations at the Whiting facility for one week.

An employee at International Paper's Pine Hill mill died in an accident Thursday, May 11.

Firefighters brought the fire under control within 20 minutes, according to radio traffic.

A four-alarm fire broke out at a paper recycling facility in Fitchburg Tuesday afternoon, May 16, amid a red flag warning for critical fire conditions across Massachusetts, officials said.

Her appointment increases the number of Interfor directors to 11 and the percentage of women directors to 27%. The Company is well on track to achieve its target of at least 30% women on its Board by its next annual general meeting of shareholders in 2024.

Norske Skog Bruck announces successful commercial orders of the containerboard grades Testliner 3 and Fluting. This represents the introduction of 210,000 tonnes of competitive containerboard capacity to meet the growing demand for renewable and re-usable packaging.

Tatiana Kalman has been elected senior vice president and general manager, Latin America, effective June 1. Kalman joins Sylvamo from BASF, most recently serving as managing director and senior vice president, Business Unit Personal Care Europe.

Approximately 50 employees will be impacted and the potential for approximately 10 million board feet of lumber will be removed from production.

Trex Company, Inc. announced that Dennis Schemm has resigned as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to accept a position in a southern region state closer to family.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced the appointment of Eric L. Butler to its Board of Directors.