Major Expenditures

The investments of more than Euro 20 million announced last year further highlight Smurfit Kappa's expansion and commitment to investing in its Central and Eastern European operations.

Rengo Co., Ltd. announces that it has begun construction of its Ehime Toon Plant in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.

Pratt Industries executive chairman, Anthony Pratt, has pledged to invest $5 billion in U.S. recycling and clean energy infrastructure to create 5000 American manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years.

The Arizona Commerce Authority announced that Procter & Gamble (P&G), a global consumer goods leader with a diverse portfolio of trusted, quality brands, plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Arizona. The facility will support P&G's fabric care portfolio, which includes products such as Tide PODS®, Downy Unstopables® and Bounce® Dryer Sheets. The new facility is expected to be operational by 2025, creating approximately 500 new jobs.

The Arizona Commerce Authority announced that Procter & Gamble (P&G), a global consumer goods leader with a diverse portfolio of trusted, quality brands, plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Arizona. The facility will support P&G's fabric care portfolio, which includes products such as Tide PODS®, Downy Unstopables® and Bounce® Dryer Sheets. The new facility is expected to be operational by 2025, creating approximately 500 new jobs.

Menasha Packaging, a retail-focused packaging design, manufacturing, and merchandising solutions provider, will expand operations in Pelahatchie, Mississippi. The $79 million project is expected to create 21 jobs.

The Board has therefore approved a US$418 million investment at Somerset to convert PM2 from coated woodfree graphic paper to solid bleached sulphate board (SBS).

Stora Enso invested EUR 80 million to centralise and modernise wood handling at Imatra Mills to enhance its production capabilities for premium packaging board. The investment will additionally reduce the consumption of process water and mitigate environmental impacts. The project, which started up in the first quarter of 2021, is now complete.

Louisiana-Pacific Houlton is starting a $400 million expansion to its New Limerick plant to double the production capacity of SmartSide Siding and Trim, which is engineered wood strand technology that protects against hail, wind, moisture, fungal decay and termites, the company said.

The $50 million investment for the new drum pulper added 100 new jobs and will help expand North Pacific Paper Company's ability to make packaging paper from recycled wastepaper, said NORPAC CEO Craig Anneberg. The paper mill now employs 500 people total.

UPM said the $2.72 billion eucalyptus pulp mill located in Paso de los Toros would grow its pulp business by more than 50%.

Stora Enso has decided to invest approximately EUR 1 billion to convert the remaining idle paper machine at the Group's Oulu site in Finland into a high-volume consumer board production line. The investment supports the Group's growth strategy in renewable packaging by providing new volume for growing packaging segments. Production on the converted machine is estimated to start in early 2025.

The paper machine is expected to start up production in 2025 and reach full capacity in 2027.

Paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa said it is investing almost $100m in a sustainable biomass boiler in Colombia which will reduce its global Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions by about 6%.

With a value of Euro 260 million, the Rauma pine sawmill is the largest ever sawmill investment in Finland. The investment decision was based on the strong growth in global demand for sustainably produced premium sawn timber.

Arauco Board of Directors approves construction of a new MDF line in Zitácuaro, Mexico. The project includes an estimated investment of $235 million and state-of-the-art operational, environmental and security technology. The commissioning of the project is estimated to be in the 2Q 2025.

Looking back, construction on Enviva's Lucedale plant supported approximately 400 cumulative jobs and represented an investment of more than $215 million in George County by Enviva.

UPM inaugurates today its new pulp terminal in the port of Montevideo, Uruguay. This investment of approximately USD 280 million is a fundamental part of UPM's USD 3.47 billion growth investment in Uruguay that includes a state-of-the-art pulp mill in Paso de los Toros, new eucalyptus tree nursery as well as local community investments in Paso de los Toros.

Resolute Forest Products Inc. breaks ground on construction of new planer mill adjacent to Senneterre sawmill in Quebec, Canada. The planer, expected to be functional by the end of this year, will optimize fiber supply, enhance overall efficiency of the sawmill and reduce production costs for Abitibi regional operations.

"We're honored to have Governor John Bel Edwards here with us today," said Anthony Pratt, Executive Chairman of Pratt Industries. "His economic leadership of Louisiana is characteristic of the reason that Pratt Industries has invested $250 million in the great state of Louisiana."

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter and Georgia-Pacific officials announced the company will invest at least $425 million to construct a state-of-the-art Dixie® manufacturing facility in Jackson.

Sappi Europe will be making a significant long-term investment to further strengthen its label paper business. As of the end of 2023, production capacities for label papers will be extended at the Gratkorn mill in Austria. The double-digit million-euro investment in technological innovations, such as a new embossing calendar, will enable the modern paper mill to produce high quality wet-strength wet-glue label paper.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, is investing around €5 million in a new research and development (R&D) facility at Mondi Steinfeld, in Germany. This investment will support customers by helping them to develop solutions that achieve their sustainability goals.

With a major investment of EUR 40 million in a now operational production asset, Ahlstrom-Munksjö cements its market position, upgrading its production platform in its well-established Beverage & Casing business.

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the start of construction Wednesday on a $97 million project to expand and modernize the WestRock Company paper mill, a major employer and driver of economic activity in Jackson Parish since it began operations in 1928.