Recent Articles

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.

In addition to causing cancer, the compound known as dioxin can also cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system and interfere with hormones. It's sometimes produced by chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper.

R. R. Donnelley & Sons said the recent systems intrusion that it disclosed last month has been contained, as per its latest SEC filing.

Columbia Pulp I, LLC and GMCO Corporation announced plans to partner in the processing and sale of an innovative chloride-free soil stabilization and dust control product under GMCO's IntegriBlend brand. The IntegriBlend-CF product developed by GMCO is built upon Columbia Pulp's novel biopolymer chemistry platform, introducing a high-performance non-chloride alternative to dust suppression and soil stabilization applications.

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc., a global leader in the production of high purity cellulose pulp, announced that it has achieved International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC+) recognition at its Fernandina Beach facility.

UPM Raflatac and WWF Poland have renewed their contract to build a smarter future beyond fossils together.

The province's independent watchdog for forest practices says Tolko Industries Ltd. could have done more to assess the potential impacts of its tree harvesting over the past few years between two North Okanagan communities.

Huhtamaki has taken a significant first step in China towards its global sustainability ambitions by installing and commissioning its first solar panel arrays at its factories in Guangzhou and Shanghai and successfully connecting these to the electricity grid on January 1, 2022.

A hack targeting business communications company RR Donnelley was behind recent service outages at Fidelity and may have caused a six-day outage on Vanguard's website, according to news reports.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced on Wednesday a settlement with Verso Corp. over National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System violations at the company's Escanaba Mill.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan dismissed claims by water management company Suez Water New York Inc that E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co and three related companies should pay for upgrades to five water-treatment plants in southern New York due to the companies' alleged role in pollution of the state's water with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Smurfit Kappa has had its emissions reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The targets covering greenhouse gas emissions from Smurfit Kappa's operations (scopes 1 and 2) are consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to well-below 2°C.

SWM International released its 2021 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report as part of its ongoing efforts to increase transparency around its ESG strategy and initiatives. The report highlights the Company's commitment to sustainable business practices and how it is addressing key ESG areas of focus.

Nouryon has signed a 15-year agreement with Suzano, a world leading eucalyptus pulp producer. Under the long-term agreement, Nouryon will commission its sustainable Integrated Manufacturing Model for the new Suzano eucalyptus pulp mill in the municipality of Ribas do Rio Pardo, located in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.