Recent Articles

Longtime business Hankins Timbers is expanding in Grenada County and creating 43 new jobs.

Paper Excellence, a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, and Domtar, a leading provider of fiber-based products, announced that they have entered into a strategic business combination under which the Paper Excellence group of companies will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Domtar common stock for $55.50 per share, in cash.

DS Smith, bolstering its commitment to accelerate its work in the circular economy, announced today a $140 million investment in research and development, including developing new materials to replace plastics and a testing program to strengthen corrugated cardboard and reduce G-force shock in home delivery packaging.

The Duluth City Council unanimously agreed Monday night to abate up to $600,000 in property taxes and offer a $242,000 forgivable loan to ST Paper to help the company complete an acquisition of Verso Corp.'s Duluth mill, which has been shuttered since last summer.

West Fraser plans to invest roughly US$150 million at five of its U.S. South lumber mills under its strategic capital program. Already, it's increasing the number of working shifts at mills where possible, the company said.

Interfor is announcing a $35-million improvement project in its Castlegar facility, according to vice-president of western operations Andrew Horahan.

Rep. Scott Krug (R-Rome) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) have authored a bill to provide assistance in the purchase of the Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids.

Drax Group will begin constructing the first of three new "satellite" pellet plants in Arkansas. The plants are together expected to produce around 120,000 metric tons of sustainable biomass pellets a year from sawmill residues, supporting the renewable energy company's plans to increase self-supply to its power station in the UK.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö will invest EUR 58 million in a new glass fiber tissue production line in the U.S. to support the flooring industry in North America. The investment will further strengthen the company's position as a leading global supplier of high performance materials. The new line will produce a full range of glass fiber tissue nonwovens with a main focus on Luxury Vinyl Tiles and Vinyl sheet materials. Customer deliveries from the new line are expected to start in mid-2023.

On Tuesday sections of the historic Whiting Paper Mill building in Menasha started to be demolished. But city leaders say the potential changes coming to the lakefront property could benefit the community.

Twin Rivers Paper Company's Edmundston pulp mill recently completed a biomass cogeneration unit maintenance shutdown; a project which began in the middle of April. In planning for more than a year, the project was designed to maintain and refurbish the co-generation unit to ensure green power continues to flow to the grid uninterrupted.

Catalyst Powell River's mill is running paper again.

A pile of raw wood at a facility in Faison, in Sampson County, caught fire. In a statement, the company said it was investigating the cause. According to TV media reports, the fire, whipped by strong winds, also spread to a nearby woods. More than 50 firefighters, as well as the NC Forestry Service, were on the scene. No one was injured.

UPM will close the unexplained gender pay gap that cannot be explained for example by person's performance, work experience, job grade or job location, i.e. the factors that typically determine a person's salary and its development. The pay equity review, carried out this year, applies to all of UPM's operating countries and is part of the company's fair remuneration policy.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is exploring strategic options for its Decor business, including the possibility of divesting the business. The review process, first announced on September 17, 2019, has been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Arup Basu, President, Flexible Packaging, and a member of Huhtamaki Global Executive Team has decided to leave Huhtamaki. The process to find Arup's successor has been initiated.

Clearwater Paper Corporation announced that Christine M. Vickers Tucker has been elected to the company's board of directors, effective May 18, 2021.

Sustana, a manufacturer of premium, sustainable recycled fiber and paper products, announces the appointment of Emily Olson to Director and Sustainability Ambassador. In this new role, Emily will be an ambassador for driving Sustana Group's sustainable products, strategy, and circular economy initiatives across Sustana Fiber and Rolland, advancing the group's leadership in providing sustainable recycled products to the paper industry.

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, more than 140 papermaking innovators and legends have been enshrined. This month, we profile the late Arnold E. Grummer, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

The PM40 closed Friday, 14 May 2021, at 4449.

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 May 2021 up 75.7% from the 15 May 2020 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Clearwater Paper and Neenah Paper.

A federal bankruptcy judge gave final approval to the sale of the shuttered Ponderay Newsprint mill in Usk to Allrise Capital Inc.

Interfor announced that its Board of Directors has declared a one-time special cash dividend of $2.00 per share, which will be paid on or before June 28, 2021 to shareholders of record on May 28, 2021.

Sonoco announced an agreement to repurchase $150 million of its outstanding common shares in an accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") transaction with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., using available cash on hand.