Over the Wire

Total kraft paper shipments in July were 147,200 short tons, 9.4% higher than in July 2014.

 

PW paper output remained steady from 2014 levels, but softwood sawn timber production shrank.

 

The U.S. sanitary paper price index increased in July, representing the first rise in 10 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

Company is committing to retire some 7,000 hectares of commercial plantation areas to protect threatened carbon-rich peatlands, the first time that plantations on tropical peatland have been retired for conservation purposes worldwide.

 

New technical support agreement, which will focus on providing onsite maintenance technical advice and expertise to the mill's maintenance organization, replaces the old maintenance agreements between Valmet and Australian Paper.

 

The facility exports about 70% of its product, employs about 200 workers in the research center and mill, which was upgraded by this investment to boost productivity, safety, and quality of the material it makes.

 

Acquisition will optimize the product mix between Schades and R+S Group and improve operational efficiency of the group's converting business in Europe.

 

Pulp mill is designed for flexible production to respond to market development, and the pulp line can be run to produce softwood kraft pulp and dissolving pulp, depending on the market needs. New mill is expected to start up in 2017.

 

Through its experienced, controlled approach to harvesting, Pacific Ag is able to ensure a high product quality and timely delivery to customers across the region.

 

Company will close the tissue production plant in Saint-Cyr-en-Val, France, as part of its ongoing cost-savings program related to the acquisition of Georgia-Pacific’s European tissue operations.

 

The New York Stock Exchange has notified Verso that it has fallen below the NYSE's continued listing standard requiring that Verso's average market capitalization be at least $50 million over a consecutive 30-trading-day period. As of this past August 13, the date of the NYSE notification, Verso's average market capitalization over the past 30 consecutive trading days was approximately $44.2 million.

 

Production was 1.8% higher than in July of last year, according to the AF&PA (Washington, D.C., USA) "July 2015 U.S. Containerboard Statistics Report."

 

The Lucca mill was experiencing inconsistent paper profiles and wrinkles due to the former actuator control of the existing control system of its PM 2. Voith recommended the OnQ Profilmatic cross profile control software, which is part of its modular and flexible Voith ComCore platform to optimize the shape of the profiles.

 

Package designers are turning to bold, unconventional structures that stimulate imaginations and kindle desires. This year’s entries also displayed a previously unseen level of graphic and finishing techniques. There have also been new innovations for stackable carton design.

 

Field support tool provides unique insight into the tissue sheet structure, with the ability to easily measure crepe bar frequency and count, as well as bar length and height.

 

Using advanced optics and algorithms, the OpTiSurf quickly quantifies the optical roughness of an entire sheet.

 

Software allows tissue producers to fully automate paper log measurement to 1 mm diameter before arriving in the packaging line.

 

The increase of at least 6% is required to recover escalating costs, including paperboard, other raw materials, labor and benefits.

 

Strong pressure on the industry's cost structure, continuous profitability deterioration, and high operating rates have made the current prices unsustainable, the company noted. The increase, effective September 1, will be between 4% and 8%.

 

"The price increase is driven by recent increases in costs for recovered paper, chemical, and other operating costs," said Palace Stepps, director of sales and marketing for Sonoco’s North America paper business. The price increase will be effective August 31.

 

As Brazil faces challenging economic times, Alfano has successfully driven Klabin's finances with a sound and agile strategy, making extraordinary use of the company's assets, and as a result, this year Klabin posted a strong 24% EBITDA growth

 

Porta joins Pöyry from Siemens Corp. where he is currently CEO of Siemens Building Technologies in Europe. Previously, he held leadership positions at Siemens spanning European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latin American countries.

 

The 2015 TAPPI PEERS Conference, October 25-28 in Atlanta, Ga., USA, offers career development with brand new tutorials.

 

An active TAPPI member and a past technical editor for TAPPI Journal, John was a member for 46 years who always enjoyed volunteering for the association. In 2013 he was named a TAPPI Fellow.

 

The 2015 PEERS Conference features five new panel discussions. Gain first-hand knowledge of new solutions and best practices through a series of important and lively panel discussions at the TAPPI PEERS Conference, October 25-28 in Atlanta, Ga., USA.

 

TAPPI’s International Bioenergy and Bioproducts Conference will feature a tour of API’s Biorefinery during October’s conference.

 

TAPPI's Tissue360° forum is seeking forward-thinking speakers and ideas for the upcoming program.

 

More than 100 talented Students will be attending the summit.Take your recruiting efforts to the next level in January 2016.

 

Orders received from August 25 to 31 will be shipped in the order they have been received starting September 1. All normal payment processing will resume on September 1.

 

For a limited time, until August 31, customers of TAPPI Press can save half-off any purchase from the book store by using the special summer promo code.

 

Gain a solid introduction and practical information on identification, measurement, and control of primary IH hazards at this September 16-17 course.

 

While woodchip shipments continue to be impressive, the growth in the wood pellet trade has been astounding.