UPM, Finland, will permanently close its Docelles paper mill in France. Employee information and consultation negotiations were completed last month and the Social Plan was approved by French authorities this past week.

 

Resolute Forest Products, Montreal, Que., Canada, this week announced the indefinite shutdown of a paper machine at its mill in Fort Frances, Ont. According to a report by CBC News, this means the whole mill will be virtually shut down, as pulp production was already stopped.

 

Sappi Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa, this week announced that CEO of the company, Ralph Boëttger, will be relinquishing his position as CEO and director on June 30. Boëttger, who has been with Sappi as CEO for almost seven years, has been diagnosed with a serious illness and has taken the decision to step down.

 

Smurfit Kappa, Ireland, reports that Gary McGann, Group CEO, has been named RISI's 2014 European CEO of the Year.

 

Art Ragauskas has been named recipient of TAPPI’s 2014 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award.

 

Canada-based PAPTAC (Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada) reports that this year’s recipient of the John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal is Dr. Honghi Tran.

 

The World Bank, Washington, D.C., USA, this past week approved a $5.58 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant for the Sustainable Forest and Landscape Management (SFLM) Project for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), to improve forest management of some 3,000 hectares, demonstrating modern techniques that reduce the vulnerability of forests to drought, fires, and pests.

 

Tissue makers should mark their calendar for Tissue360° Forum http://www.papercon.org/tissue.asp, TAPPI’s second annual program scheduled for April 28-30 in downtown Nashville, Tenn., USA.

 

This introductory course, covering the basic manufacturing methods and chemistry, is being offered April 30-May 1, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn., USA.

 

Formerly known as TAPPI’s Tissue Runnabiility Course, this new offering is being redesigned and will be offered in August 2014.

 

December 2013 containerboard production in the U.S. increased 4% over November 2013 and was 2.7% lower than the same month last year, as reported by the AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) in its December 2013 U. S. Containerboard Statistics Report released this past week.

 

Total U.S. boxboard production in December 2013 increased 1.4% compared with December 2012 and increased 1.1% over November 2013, according to the recently released AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) December 2013 Paperboard Report.

 

Total Kraft paper shipments in the U.S. were 125, 500 tons in December 2013, which is 9.4% higher than the prior month, AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) reported in its December 2013 Kraft Paper Report published this week.

 

SP Fiber Technologies, LLC (SPFT) says that it will convert a newsprint machine at its Newberg, Ore., USA, paper mill to lightweight packaging products.

 

Verso Paper Corp., Memphis, Tenn., USA, has idled its Bucksport, Maine, mill for some two weeks to control inventory amid a flood of paper supply on the market and a spike in natural gas prices.

 

Wausau Paper, Mosinee, Wis., USA, issued a statement this week in response to an announcement by Starboard Value LP that it has nominated a slate of three directors for election to Wausau’s Board of Directors at the company’s 2014 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

 

MeadWestvaco Corp., Richmond, Va., USA, this past week announced a new program to generate increased earnings and cash flow from its packaging businesses.

 

Mustang Elementary, Mustang, Okla., USA, has been named grand prize winner in the Evergreen Packaging, Memphis, Tenn., USA, Made By Milk Carton Construction Contest.

 

Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C., USA, this week dedicated a new biomass facility at its Hartsville plant. The biomass boiler is part of a $100 million investment in the Darlington County compound.

 

YFY Paper Mfg. Co. Ltd., Yangzhou, China, has successfully started-up its new Voith PM 3 producing packaging paper, with an annual output capacity of 450,000 metric tons and an annual turnover of EUR 145 million.

 

Appvion Inc., Appleton, Wis., USA, producer of NCR PAPER brand carbonless paper and Appleton Digital™ Paper, has announced an addition to its line of specialty substrates.

 

Voith, Germany, reports that its TissueFlex XD press fabric for tissue production "has very good saturation for maximum dewatering."

 

PMT Italia S.p.A., Italy, reports that its subsidiary, YDS Worldwide Ltd, has begun activities at its new site at Wigan, U.K., providing yankee dryer services.

 

Sappi Fine Paper North America (SFPNA), Boston, Mass., USA, has launched a Somerset brand solution to meet the demanding needs of a growing direct mail market.

 

A new educational guide from Spraying Systems Co., Wheaton, Ill., USA, explains how to optimize performance and lower costs in cleaning, coating, cooling, and lubricating operations using
spray technology.

 

Ahlstrom Corp., Finland, reports that Laura Raitio, EVP, Building and Energy business area, has resigned from the company at her own request.

 

Akzo Nobel N.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands, announced this week that Keith Nichols, CFO and member of the Board of Management, has decided to step down at the end of June after eight highly successful years with the company.

 

Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C., USA, has named Carl Kraus division VP and GM for its Protective Solutions' Industrial business segment, Jeff Christensen division VP and GM for Sonoco Alloyd (a retail packaging business), and Ron O'Neal division VP of manufacturing, Protective Solutions.

 

Nominations should be sent to Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award Foundation no later than February 15.

 

Learn new ways to spend less time and money administering contractor safety training through TAPPISAFE with this no cost webinar next Monday, January 27.

 

This advanced-level course will provide real world examples of paper mills that have made major improvements in their operations by implementing many small improvements throughout the mill.

 

This best-selling text provides an introduction to the entire technology of pulp and paper manufacture and features 27 chapters covering all aspects of pulping and papermaking.

 

The Certified Occupational Safety Specialist (COSS) Course is coming February 17-21 to the TAPPI Training Facility in Metro Atlanta, Ga., USA.

 

Member benefits from TAPPI Networking, Library.

 

This comprehensive textbook describes the entire process of manufacturing corrugated containers. TAPPI members save more than $145 on this purchase.

 

Advance your career by presenting at the 2014 TAPPI PEERS Conference in Tacoma, Wash., USA. Deadline for abstracts is March 3, 2014.

 

Be a part of the future as IBBC explores the technology and economics of commercializing biorefineries. Deadline for abstracts is March 1, 2014.

 

A call for papers has been issued for IPBC, with a deadline of March 31, 2014.