Market Roundup
Wood Fiber Prices Trend Downward in World Pulp Producing Regions

Over the Wire

TAPPI

Thursday, January 16, 2014 - members edition
Weekly Spotlight
Faced with soaring natural gas prices, Gorham Paper and Tissue, Gorham, N.H., USA, reports that it will run only one or two of its four paper machines on a regular basis the remainder of this winter.
 
Anirudha Surabhi, who lives in London, U.K., recently had a severe biking accident.
 
Carrie Enos has accepted the position of president of the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation, Orono, Maine, USA.
 
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.
 
The current listing includes job openings for a variety of positions including executive director, technical manager, process engineer, design assistant, papermaking and laboratory project specialist, and director of advanced materials.
 
GapCon
Wood costs for the global pulp industry have trended downward in a majority of the pulp-producing regions of the world the past two years, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ), Seattle, Wash., USA.
 
U.S. Containerboard Production Declines
November 2013 containerboard production in the U.S. decreased 7.2% from October 2013 and was 4.5% lower than the same month last year, as reported by the AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) in its recently released November 2013 U. S. Containerboard Statistics Report.
 
AsianPaper
Pulp & Paper
Ahlstrom to Sell Paulinia Plant in Brazil to Suominen
Ahlstrom Corp., Finland, will sell its shares of Brazil-based Ahlstrom Fabricação de Não-Tecidos Ltda to Suominen, also of Finland.
 
Bazhou Mingxing Starts up New Tissue Machine at Mill in China
Bazhou Mingxing Paper, China, has started up a 12,500 metric tpy tissue machine at its mill in Korla city in the Xinjiang autonomous region, according to a report by RISI, Brussels, Belgium.
 
Lincoln Paper & Tissue Indefinitely Shuts Down Pulp and Paper Mill Operations
Due to the "situation" created with a November 2013 recovery boiler explosion at its mill in Lincoln, Maine, USA, and the costs associated with the event, Lincoln Paper & Tissue reported in December that it has decided to indefinitely idle the pulp and paper mill portions of its facility.
 
Metsä Tissue Advances Sustainable, Low-Carbon Tissue Manufacturing
Metsä Tissue, part of Metsä Group, Finland, is continuing its work on lowering carbon dioxide emissions and improving energy efficiency in tissue manufacturing.
 
Norske Skog, CellMark Agree to Publication Paper Sales Cooperation in Asia
Norske Skog, Oslo, Norway, and CellMark AB, Gothenburg, Sweden, have entered into a long-term marketing agreement for sales of publication paper in the Asian markets.
 
Wuhan Chenming Starts up New Advantage DCT Tissue Line at Mill in China
A new tissue line delivered by Valmet (previously Metso Pulp, Paper, and Power), Finland, has successfully come on stream at Wuhan Chenming Hanyang Paper Co.'s mill in Wuhan, China.
 
Xerium to Close European Rolls Facility
Xerium Technologies Inc., Youngsville, N.C., USA, reports that it has initiated consultation proceedings with the works council at its rolls facility in Heidenheim, Germany.
 
Containerboard/Packaging
Newark Paperboard Mills Granted FSC Chain of Custody Certification
Newark Recycled Paperboard Solutions, Cranford, N.J., USA, reports that SCS Global Services, an independent auditor, has completed its audit on all six Newark Paperboard mills.
 
NorPaper Avot Vallée Installs Two Edge Dryers on PM 4 at Mill in France
Bekaert Solaronics, Armentieres, France, has installed two Edge Dryers on PM 4 at NorPaper Avot Vallée in Blendecques, France, to improve the moisture profile on the paper edges.
 
Rengo Starts up Shin-Nagoya Corrugated Plant in Kasugai, Japan
Rengo Co., Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, this week announced the start of operations at its Shin-Nagoya corrugated board and box plant (Kasugai-shi, Aichi Prefecture), replacing the company former Nagoya plant (Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi).
 
RockTenn Acquires NPG
RockTenn, Norcross, Ga., USA, has acquired NPG Inc., an independent merchandising displays company. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., NPG provides a broad range of display products and services to many of the world’s most recognized retailers.
 
Thimm Verpackung Acquires Reka Corrugated Plant, to Build New Facility in Near Future
Thimm Verpackung GmbH, based in Northeim (Lower Saxony), Germany, has taken over the Lohhof (Bavaria) corrugated cardboard plant from Reka Wellpappenwerke GmbH, where 114 people are currently employed.
 
New Products
Appleton Coated U2:XG 30% PCRF Now Priced Same as 10% PCRF
Appleton Coated, Combined Locks, Wis., USA, is now offering its U2:XG® 30% PCRF (post-consumer recovered fiber) No.2 coated paper for the same price as its standard 10% PCRF No.2 sheet, Utopia Two®. Making ordering easier, the company is stocking 69 new U2:XG stock items in its national distribution centers.
 
FutureMark’s Future Jet Gets High Ratings from Kodak, HP, Screen USA
FutureMark Paper Group, Westport, Conn., USA, reports that its Future JetTM, the first high-recycled, coated digital inkjet paper, continues to gather industry accolades following its September launch, including top ratings from Kodak (4 diamond rating), HP (recommended media to best performing media) and Screen USA (A rating). Compatible with both dye- and pigment-based printers, Future Jet offers publishers, direct mail providers, and commercial printers excellent print quality on the greenest paper available, FutureMark notes.
 
Motion Industries Video Shows How to Install Universal Driveshaft Assembly
Motion Industries, Birmingham, Ala., USA, has released a new video on its "MiHow2" series of product/application solutions. The instructive video series’ goal is to share practical industrial applications that viewers can adapt in their own facilities.
 
Touch Screen Instrument Controller Puts Materials Testing at Technician’s Fingertips
Thwing-Albert, West Berlin, N.J., USA, reports that its new EJA Vantage Series Universal Testing Machine has a new option available to customers.
 
Energy
BPF Orders Voith Prehydrolysis System for Bio Pilot Plant
Bioprocess Pilot Facility BV's (BPF) bio pilot plant in Delft, the Netherlands, has ordered a prehydrolysis system from Voith, Germany. Prehydrolysis is an initial process step in several biorefining processes.
 
People
Asunta Continues as Chairman of Metsäliitto Cooperative
The board of directors of Metsä Group’s parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative, Finland, elected in its constituent meeting Martti Asunta, M.Sc. (forestry), to continue as chairman of the board of directors.
 
Paperworks Appoints McSwain Interim President, CEO
PaperWorks Industries Inc. (PWI), Philadelphia, Pa., USA, has named William McSwain interim president and CEO, replacing Mark Staton, who is departing in January.
 
Rayonier Elects Wilson EVP of Forest Resources
Rayonier, Jacksonville, Fla., USA, has elected Lynn Wilson EVP, Forest Resources. Wilson is a member of Rayonier’s senior management team and is responsible for 2.6 million acres of timberland in nine states and New Zealand. She’s also responsible for the administration of Rayonier’s Land Information Services and leadership of the company’s timberland acquisition team.
 
TAPPI News
Free Webinar on TAPPISAFE
Learn new ways to spend less time and money administering contractor safety training through TAPPISAFE with this no cost webinar January 27.
 
Case Study with Wet End Microwave Moisture Control: Free Webinar from TAPPI
This January 23 webinar will present a case study on how advancements in instrumentation have opened new avenues for effective use of vacuum table elements to control sheet consistency for a variety of papermaking applications.
 
TAPPI Press: The Corrugated Containers Manufacturing Process
This comprehensive textbook describes the entire process of manufacturing corrugated containers. TAPPI members save more than $145 on this purchase.
 
In Memoriam: Michael E. Rakocy
TAPPI member since 1996 was a long-time sales and service manager specializing in engineering.
 
In the Spotlight: Brian Brogdon - First Paper Published Becomes First Career Step
Member benefits from TAPPI Networking, Library.
 
Call for Papers: 2014 PEERS Conference
Advance your career by presenting at the 2014 TAPPI PEERS Conference in Tacoma, Wash., USA. Deadline for abstracts is March 3, 2014.
 
IBBC 2014 Announces Call for Papers
Be a part of the future as IBBC explores the technology and economics of commercializing biorefineries. Deadline for abstracts is March 1, 2014.
 
Improving Paper Machine Performance Course Returning this Month
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.
 
Earn Confidence and Clarity in Job Safety with February COSS Course
The Certified Occupational Safety Specialist (COSS) Course is coming February 17-21 to the TAPPI Training Facility in Metro Atlanta, Ga., USA.
 
International Pulp Bleaching Conference Issues Call for Papers
A call for papers has been issued for IPBC, with a deadline of March 31, 2014.
 
TAPPI Press: Pulp & Paper "Mills of the World"
Wall sized (measuring 3' x 5’) and laminated, this map is ideal for display in executive or mill offices, reception areas, or conference rooms. Each map is shipped in a protective tube, ready for display.