Recent Articles

Clearwater Paper may become a takeover target for BillerudKorsnäs if the Swedish company looks to expand its North American platform, according to RBC (Royal Bank of Canada)

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company said Monday it is not aware of any compromise of client data after recently finding a systems intrusion in its technical environment.

In 2022, the International Paper mill in Cantonment will switch natural gas suppliers to Pensacola Energy, significantly increasing revenue for the municipal utility while saving money for IP.

Canfor Pulp Products Inc. announced an extended outage on one production line at its Northwood Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft ("NBSK") Pulp mill located in Prince George, British Columbia ("BC"). The outage is to enable the rebuild of the lower furnace of its number one recovery boiler ("RB1"), in order to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the boiler.

Stora Enso invests EUR 23 million for increasing flexibility and capacity at the Varkaus containerboard mill, resulting also in expanded capacity of using recycled fiber. Preparatory work on the investment will commence immediately. Investment will be completed in the end of 2022.

UPM has completed its company-wide pay equity review and now eliminates unexplained gender pay gaps - that is, differences not justified by, for example, work performance, experience, job level or location.

The Mayr-Melnhof Holz Holding Group, based in Leoben, Austria, has signed an agreement to acquire the Swedish sawmill group Bergkvist Siljan from ESSVP IV, advised by Orlando Nordics AB. This continues the consistent expansion and growth strategy of the Austrian wood processing group.

Essity has acquired the orthopedic specialist company AquaCast Liner, a provider of waterproof cast liners on the US market.

LP Building Solutions (LP) will build a new LP SmartSide ExpertFinish prefinishing facility on 75 acres in the Town of Bath, New York. With a targeted opening date in the third quarter of 2023, the facility is projected to add more than 60 new jobs to the Steuben County community.

Huhtamäki Oyj's President and CEO Charles Héaulmé has been diagnosed with a cancer which has a very good recovery prognosis but requires a treatment period. He will therefore be taking a leave of absence from early January, to undergo treatment. He is expected back in Q2 2022.

Dunn Paper, a leading manufacturer and supplier of high performance, advanced paper and tissue for use in food, medical, and specialty markets announced the appointments of Founder Brent Earnshaw as Chief Executive Officer and promotion of Wade Kemnitz to President of the Company.

Verso Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which BillerudKorsnäs AB ("BillerudKorsnäs") will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Verso for a purchase price of $27 per share in cash, or approximately $825 million. Verso's Board of Directors, acting upon the recommendation of a special committee of Verso's Board, has unanimously approved and resolved to recommend approval of the merger by Verso's shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.

Essity has acquired the company Hydrofera. The company offers technology and products within advanced wound care. The purchase price amounts to USD 116m (approximately SEK 1.1bn) with a potential additional earnout amount of USD 15m (approximately SEK 137m) on a cash and debt free basis. The acquisition supports Essity's strategic priority to grow through acquisitions in Medical Solutions.

UFP Industries announced that its subsidiary, Deckorators, Inc., has acquired Ultra Aluminum Manufacturing Inc. (Ultra), a leading manufacturer of aluminum fencing, gates and railing, for $25 million. The transaction includes $2 million to be paid if certain future performance goals are met.

PotlatchDeltic Corporation announced a merger with Loutre Land and Timber Company ("Loutre"). PotlatchDeltic issued 1.96 million shares of common stock and assumed debt of $6.6 million in exchange for Loutre's 51,340 acres of high-quality, well-stocked timberlands in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana.

Arauco has closed the acquisition of majority ownership in Odd Industries, the ethically-driven industrial artificial intelligence (IAI) pioneer. Together they will accelerate the use of artificial intelligence with the mission to slow and reverse climate change.

UFP Industries announced that its affiliate, UFP Packaging, LLC, has acquired Advantage Label & Packaging, Inc. (Advantage Label), a provider of labels and related equipment used in industrial packaging, for approximately $16 million. The transaction also includes $2.9 million for related real estate as well as incentive payments of up to $4.5 million over five years if certain performance goals are met.

Quad/Graphics, Inc. announced it has completed the sale of its former Oklahoma City, OK, and Fernley, NV, manufacturing facilities to affiliates of Industrial Realty Group, LLC, one of the country's largest owners of commercial and industrial properties, for combined net proceeds of $58.6 million.

Timi Hyppänen is appointed Senior Vice President, Supply Chain of Metsä Fibre, and a member of the company's Management Team as of 1 January 2022. In his new role, Hyppänen will report to Metsä Fibre's CEO Ismo Nousiainen.

For many, the last couple of years have seemed like a never-ending march in some not so pleasant conditions. However, I do think it will make us all stronger, like most tough situations do. Remarkably, here at Paperitalo Publications, these have been excellent years for us. We don't know what next year holds, but for me at least, it would stifle the fun of it if we did. For a moment, however, let's see what 2021 did to us as an industry.

The PM40 closed Friday, 31 December 2021, at 4565.

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 31 December 2021 up 27.6% from the 1 January 2021 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Louisiana Pacific and Rayonier.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to fine New Indy Containerboard $1.1 million over the odor dilemma in South Carolina that sparked thousands of complaints against the paper mill.

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.