Recent Articles

Potential uses for the six-story south section of the mill building are being explored. KKIL is conducting a feasibility study to see if converting the space into apartments -- including indoor parking, an outdoor rooftop area and other amenities -- is possible.

Bast Fibre Technologies Inc. (BFT), a manufacturer of premium natural fibres for the global nonwoven and textile industries, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lumberton Cellulose LLC (LC), a natural fibre processing facility located in Lumberton, North Carolina from Georgia-Pacific Cellulose LLC.

Georgia-Pacific has announced the acquisition of property in Centralia, saying in a news release it intends to expand its corrugated packaging operations in the Pacific Northwest.

Verso Corp. holder Hoak & Co. is against the company's $27/share sale to to BillerudKorsnas and would like the company to remain independent.

Governor Ralph Northam announced that Kamine Development Corporation and Nicollet Industries, LLC, green infrastructure and sustainable development leaders, will invest $267 million to establish a joint venture paperboard recycling and production facility, Celadon Development Corporation, at the Chesapeake Deepwater Terminal site in the City of Chesapeake. Virginia successfully competed with South Carolina for the project, which will create 210 new jobs.

A person has died following a medical incident at the Oji Fibre Solutions Kinleith Mill.

Officials have recovered a body that was reported in a retention pond at Georgia-Pacific's facility in Brunswick.

Green Bay Packaging Inc. has announced it will begin construction of a new 600,000 square foot corrugator plant in Fort Worth, Texas. Construction on the site is set to begin in the first quarter of 2022 and startup operation is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.

Shortly before the holidays, the group of warehousers at the packaging giant voted unanimously to ratify a new three-year contract. The agreement brings wage increases of $1/hr in the first year, maintains health and welfare benefits, and strengthens retirement security with the new Retirees Plus XL plan.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company announced that Maggie Bidlingmaier will join Graphic Packaging as EVP and President of the Americas business unit.

Pactiv Evergreen Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Evergreen Packaging International LLC (Evergreen Packaging), to sell its carton packaging and filling machinery businesses in China, Korea and Taiwan to SIG Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft GmbH, a subsidiary of SIG Combibloc Group Ltd, for an enterprise value of approximately $335 million.

Boise Cascade Company announced the expansion of its Building Materials Distribution (BMD) operations in Minnesota and Northern Kentucky.

The Finnish Paperworkers' Union has issued a new strike announcement to UPM, declaring that their strike at UPM's Finnish mills will be extended by two weeks until 5 February 2022, unless new agreements are reached before that. The Paperworkers' Union's strike at UPM Pulp, UPM Biofuels, UPM Communication Papers, UPM Specialty Papers and UPM Raflatac units in Finland started 1 January 2022.

Greif, Inc., a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its 50% share in the Flexible Packaging joint venture, or "FPS" to Gulf Refined Packaging (GRP) for a total cash consideration of $123 million, subject to certain conditions and post-closing adjustments. Greif expects to use the proceeds for debt repayment.

A fire that started inside a mixing tank Friday morning, Dec. 31, at Georgia Pacific Chemicals in Taylorsville was quickly brought under control.

Huhtamaki has acquired full ownership of its Polish joint venture company Huhtamaki Smith Anderson sp. z o.o. from Smith Anderson Group Ltd. (SA). The company manufactures and sells foodservice paper bags in Eastern Europe at Huhtamaki's facility in Czeladz, Poland.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has successfully completed the acquisition of a 60% stake in Chinese decor paper producer Minglian New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. and forms a joint venture which comprises a state-of-the-art plant in the city of Xingtai, Hebei Province, China. A non-binding letter of intent with the majority shareholders was initially signed in November 2019 but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the negotiations and closing of the transaction.

IT Tech Packaging, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of diversified paper products in North China, released a letter to shareholders from the Chairman of the Company's board of directors.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, purchases from Pohjolan Voima Oyj all the shares in Hämeenkyrön Voima Oy that it owns. Metsä Board has announced its plan to purchase the shares on 27 September 2021.

Jan. 3 marks Enviva Inc.'s first full trading day as a corporation on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EVA) following its successful conversion (the "Conversion") from Enviva Partners, LP, a master limited partnership, to Enviva Inc. ("Enviva"), a Delaware corporation, on December 31, 2021. As part of the Conversion, Enviva also announced the appointment of three new members to its board and changes that will further strengthen its executive leadership team.

Sonoco Recycling, a unit of Sonoco, has acquired American Recycling of Western North Carolina, a privately owned recovered paper recycler located in Asheville, North Carolina.

Ladies and gentlemen, the first class of inductees to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in Appleton, Wisconsin was inducted more than two decades ago in 1995, and today, close to 150 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile the late Harry F. Lewis, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

The PM40 closed Friday, 14 January 2022, at 4516.

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 14 January 2022 up 35.4% from the 15 January 2021 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate WestRock and PCA.