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Valmet will supply drying technology to Spinnova-Suzano joint venture textile fibre factory in Jyväskylä, Finland. The facility, producing SPINNOVA® fibre, is the first step towards scaling production volumes to one million tonnes annually within ten years. Spinnova's annual capacity could be 50,000 tonnes of textile fibre by 2024.

Americans are awash in boxes from a pandemic-induced push to online shopping. But how do consumers feel about those boxes? Baby Boomers, the generation that came of age amid the first Earth Day in 1970, are the most motivated to recycle those leftover boxes, according to a nationwide poll by global packaging leader DS Smith. And the majority of consumers (57%) don't mind the extras, because "you can never have too many boxes" for re-shipping, storage and other purposes.

Lumber prices and tariffs

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

Domtar Corporation announced it will expand its Jesup, Georgia based Engineered Absorbent Materials (EAM) facility. The project will play an integral role in helping the company grow its position as a leading global absorbent materials and technology business offering fluff pulp and airlaid nonwoven materials.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, a leading vertically-integrated provider of sustainable fiber-based consumer packaging solutions, and CVC Capital Partners Fund VI today announced a definitive agreement under which Graphic Packaging will acquire AR Packaging Group AB ("AR Packaging"), Europe's second largest producer of fiber-based consumer packaging, for approximately $1.45 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments.

BTG Pactual announced that a consortium led by its Timberland Investment Group (TIG), along with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), one of Canada's largest institutional investors, and APG, one of the world's largest pension providers, has agreed to acquire Chilean timberland assets from Arauco for US$ 385.5 million.

UPM has signed an agreement to sell its Shotton newsprint mill site in North Wales, United Kingdom and all related assets to Eren Paper Ltd, a subsidiary of Modern Karton Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.Ş., the containerboard and corrugated packaging business of the Turkish industrial conglomerate Eren Holding ("Eren").

Gov. John Bel Edwards and Weyerhaeuser announced the company plans to make a two-phased capital investment in its Holden facility. The project would result in approximately $157 million invested over several years to upgrade equipment and modernize the sawmill. Phase one includes nearly $19 million to upgrade lumber kiln-drying capacity, while the second phase will include a major investment of approximately $138 million to completely modernize the facility.

The unit will be built in the municipality of Ribas do Rio Pardo, in Mato Grosso do Sul state, and should start production by the end of the first quarter of 2024. The project estimates industrial investments of R$14.7 billion, making it one of the largest private-sector investments currently under development in Brazil.

One person was taken to the hospital after a chemical spill at the Solenis water treatment plant in Chicopee Thursday morning.

Governor Brian P. Kemp announced that Interfor, a forest products company and the largest lumber producer in the state, will invest $30 million in expanding their sawmill operations in Perry.

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.