Over the Wire

Containerboard production in December decreased by 3.2% compared with December 2014, and monthly average daily production compared eith November 2015 decreased by 2.5%.

 

The U,S, sanitary paper producer price index rose to a seven-month high in December 2015, according to data recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Statistics.

 

Total shipments in 2015 were 1.3% higher than in 2014. Bleached Kraft paper shipments increased from 6.8 thousand tons in November, a 7.5% increase, while unbleached Kraft paper decreased from 123.6 to 122.4 thousand tons.

 

Paper cement sacks offer considerable cost and efficiency advantages for fillers when compared with polyethylene form-fill-seal sacks. Some cement fillers note the paper pack system as advantageous from an environmental perspective, noting that they are manufactured from renewable materials.

 

The Global Cellulose Acetate Market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 3.8% in the next five years to reach approximately $5.3 billion by 2020. This new study focuses on market trends, leading players, supply chain trends, technological innovations, key developments, and future strategies.

 

The global fluff pulp market is set to remain buoyant, even as it undergoes progressive changes. The 6.0 million air dried metric tons of fluff pulp that was produced in 2015, is projected to increase to 7.3 million air dried metric tons in 2020.

 

In the first 11 months of 2015, revenue from exports of pulp, wood panels, and paper totaled $7.1 billion, a 5.3% growth over the same period in 2014. The trade balance of the pulp, wood panel, and paper sector from January - November 2015 was $5.9 billion, an increase of 16.4% compared with the same period in 2014.

 

The national group enterprise paper company export went up 1.8x over 2014-2015. In physical terms, the export of paper and board soared by more than 80% to 8,600 metric tons. 2015 represented significant growth with new and excess capacity continuing to increase exports even after much needed domestic use.

 

Paper manufacturers have raised prices by 2-5% in anticipation of rising demand for printing of books for the next academic year (2016-17). However, the domestic paper industry is coping with higher input costs and chronic shortage of wood pulp. It's also facing a of duty-free import of paper from Southeast Asian countries.

 

Established nine years ago and headquartered at AkzoNobel's site in Columbus, Miss., the joint venture owned and controlled the 70,000 tpy hydrogen peroxide manufacturing facility.

 

Shifting the production of White Cloud paper towels from Canada to Memphis helps Kruger use the capacity of the newer machinery installed three years ago. Kruger officials indicate that their Memphis plant could be expanded yet again after the recent $350 million upgrade.

 

The new "Christian Doppler (CD) Laboratory for Fiber Swelling and Paper Performance" was officially opened as of this past week (January 11). The team will investigate swelling and de-swelling processes during paper production, printing, and converting to find new solutions in the next seven years.

 

"We see a great advantage in being able to measure both vibration and shock pulse with the same sensor, especially in paper machines, because we want to be able to analyze more than just bearings," said the preventive maintenance manager at Nordic's Bäckhammar mill.

 

Project will use flue gas from the Tranlin power plant as a raw material to manufacture the Tranlin paper mill’s requirements for customized PCC filler products.

 

Van Gansewinkel France has an annual turnover of EUR 15 million with a workforce of 70 people. It processes 80,000 metric tpy, half of which is paper-based. The Belgian group intends to focus primarily on strengthening its market recycling materials, largely paper-based, position in the Benelux.

 

In recent years, Ziegler Papier implemented innovation, efficiency improvement projects, and continued to invest at the Swedish location. But possibilities have been exhausted. The decision to discontinue production is due to persisting over- capacities, a negative exchange rate situation, and major resulting price pressure.

 

The investment value of the Lithuanian project amounts to EUR 1.5 million. The new line added to the existing paper honeycomb productivity will contribute 25 million m² of production per year, thereby increasing the total annual capacity to 38 million m².

 

The company will take on fundamental and long-term challenges in packaging. This is done to find new packaging concepts that can challenge plastic, glass, and aluminium. One concept is to produce bottles completely made of paper. Combining the knowledge of BillerudKorsnäs and EcoXpac aims to achieve this.

 

Cartonnages du Dauphiné in France was the beta testing site for the BOBST EXPERTFOLD 165. Compared witho the unit it replaced, the EXPERTFOLD has raised productivity by 30% in its first year, with room for further improvement. Also, the company can now manufacture and sell a much wider range of box styles.

 

The fire broke out this past Monday morning in the raw materials storage area, but it could not be prevented from spreading to other parts of the facility. The corrugator was not damaged and there were no fatalities. Production will be standing idle indefinitely until further notice.

 

Tangier's factory is the largest investment that the group has made since 2010, it's first outside of Europe, and the first greenfield site. According to company representative José Miguel Isidro, Morocco is an important market for the company for several reasons.

 

Georgia-Pacific improved the facility’s testing and development areas and completed work to achieve LEED certification. Changes allow for fast prototyping and pre-test conditioning of packaging materials. Work at the institute helps lower supply chain costs, improves shelf impact, and boosts sustainability scores.

 

WG Anderson is a folding carton manufacturer operating two world-class sheet-fed folding carton converting facilities in Hamel, Minn., USA, and Newton, Iowa. The 100% outstanding equity purchase is designed to enhance Graphic Packaging's market leadership position for the company's food and consumer products.

 

Bjornberg 1781 AG, Switzerland, is a family owned international sales company focusing on high quality forest industry products.

 

Currently producing newsprint, PM 10 will be rebuilt using some of the most advanced containerboard manufacturing and automation technology to produce 360,000 metric tpy of 100% recycled lightweight and high strength linerboard. The rebuilt production line will start up in 2017.

 

Regardless, the mill which mainly produces recycled cartonboard currently had no plans for a significant increase in capacity at the site in Germany during 2016-2017. The realization of the project would depend entirely on market demand. BM 2 may be raised from currently 684 metric tpd to 1,200 metric tpd..

 

The company chose Fusion of Sappi for the topliner because of its outstanding material properties and characteristics. The success of the display and concept proves that Fusion topliner was the right choice: the evian® display won the German Packaging Award in the category of Display and Promotional Packaging.

 

The order supplies pulping and detrashing equipment for the OCC stock preparation line at the Karhula, Finland, paper mill. Startup is scheduled for Q3 of 2016. The order includes a pulper rotor, screen plate for the pulper, detrashing system, trash trap and pump, FibreGuard, reject wash drum, and field instruments.

 

Maryland is claiming it is as close to tamper-proof as any system we’ve seen and is a good example of what happens when old and new technologies are combined. The latest technology, now installed for the April elections, embraces physical security of a printed-paper ballot with speed and efficiency of digital tallying.

 

Sessions is one of a few Republicans who oppose a free trade deal also supported by many Democrats, including the President. AF&PA has argued for trade deals increasing U.S. competitiveness and aiding domestic employment. Sessions offers an opinion that unfair trade instead of free trade can have an opposite effect.

 

Lignin molecules that impart strength to paper, bamboo, and wood-frame buildings have stymied biofuels researchers by locking away more than half of a plant’s energy-yielding sugar. Breaking down lignin has often proved a tougher challenge than cellulose. As a result, the industry treats lignin as a waste product.

 

"In the future, this research might allow growers to exploit epigenetic information to improve crops and yields," said a research associate. "That genetic information shared between plants isn't DNA—the two grafted plants keep their original genomes—but information is being communicated within the plant..."

 

The low value leaves are regularly trimmed from Qatar’s 600,000 date palm trees. Considerable value could be added to the raw material in nanocellulosic byproducts as water filters, as well as in everyday products such as paper, plastic wood, and super-strong plastic reinforced in an environmentally-friendly way.

 

Swedish designers have replaced Styrofoam with a new shock-absorbing material made with renewable and biodegradable wooden material. This comes at a time a wood fiber alternative would meet high commercial demand, as sustainability represents a continually growing issue for a new generation of consumers.

 

Higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death have been linked to sitting—humans just weren’t meant to sit around for 8 hours at a time, working at a desk. Many are spending hundreds of dollars on devices that remind us to stand up while this simple and eco-friendly solution is only $25.

 

Viewing movies in the "comfort" of a small corrugated paper box is part of a larger cultural trend in Japan where things are small already. It is a small box with a lid that can accommodate a smart phone or a tablet. You lie down on your back and look up at your screen, in "an environment of darkness and solitude."

 

Able to erect, pack, and seal up to 12 bath tissue, paper towel, napkin, and facial tissue cases/min, Raptor SL lowers end of line labor expenses. Knock-down flat corrugated cases are put onto infeed conveyor, and more than six skids containing KDFs may be staged with optional extended infeed conveyor.

 

Utilizing progressive metering devices, the EDL1 has been developed for usage in sectional lubrication systems as well as in large machines with different lubrication requirements at varying distances.

 

The initiative was announced at the UN climate talks in Paris last month, and is another in a growing list of programs by APP supporting its Forest Conservation Policy adopted in 2013. The company will establish an up to $10 million program to support economic development of 500 villages around its supply chain.

 

Cascades recycles and reuses every drop of water between 10 and 40 times, and has reduced its energy consumption by 7% since 2010. Over the past decade, Green Seal’s highly regarded certification has been an important part of that process.

 

Styrene is a known animal carcinogen. It is not good for birds, fish, turtles, or cetaceans. Styrene is a known human neurotoxin, possible human carcinogen, and it migrates easily into food or drink when foam containers are heated or come into contact with hot food, acids (like lemon or tomato juice) and fats or oils.

 

"Hungary is a perfect example of how the forestry sector can benefit from forest certification... While our forest related regulations are said to be among the most rigorous in Europe, the general public is unaware of this... This means that Hungarian forest products are not favored by environmental-conscious consumers."

 

"...Iggesund is a global leader in paperboard manufacturing and their sustainability record is a great fit for Two Sides," remarked Two Sides North America's President. Iggesund said it is proud to be one of 300,000 forest owners that manage Sweden’s forests which have nearly doubled in volume in the last 90 years.

 

As India's ITC groups’s large-scale social farm forestry program has greened more than 2,00,000 hectares, it has also created over 95 million days of employment for farmers as the leading national company moves toward widespread use of the most modern, sustainably efficient global methods for the paper industry.

 

New York City Councl member distributed 1,500 Staten Island pizza boxes free to local pizzerias. It's believed that good local customer relations on Staten Island by Staten Islanders will result from the promotion. The Pratt box plant is using recycled paper recovered entirely from streets of Staten Island.

 

Norway now has more than 9.1 million hectares of PEFC (as of Tuesday) certified forest, equaling more than three quarters of the country’s forest area .In Slovakia, two-thirds of the country’s forest area, approximately 1.2 million hectares, are PEFC certified in the 10 years since the country's system was first endorsed.

 

A lock was placed on the trash compactor, and individuals were trained to manage waste streams and identify recyclables to be diverted. Recycling containers were placed on each production line, as well as in office and break areas. Ultimately, these changes resulted in 98% of waste being diverted from the landfill.

 

"UPM’s invitation is a recognition of the company’s industry-leading sustainability practices and long-standing commitment to the UN Global Compact," said Executive Director Lise Kingo of the Global Compact.

 

Two regional plants that generate electricity by burning wood waste in boilers are now scheduled to shut down. Although the Verso plant closed in 2014, the power plant continued to operate. The West Enfield and Jonesboro plants also closed due to the low cost of energy and loss of renewable energy credits in Mass.

 

The R&D director position is new in the company, and Ari Saario will concentrate on ensuring an effective R&D process and commercialization of new innovations, right R&D project portfolio, and a clear R&D road-map to secure Valmet's technological leadership in the future.

 

Have you been looking for an online resource to collaborate, share knowledge, problem solve, and expand your personal and professional network? TAPPI has you covered!

 

Hosted by Smithers Pira and TAPPI, the conference will take place April 4-6 at the Hilton Manchester in Manchester UK. Now in its 8th year, Specialty Papers Europe will bring together manufacturers and suppliers in the specialty papers business to gather, network, exchange business ideas, and find solutions.

 

Get Ready for TAPPI’s 2016 Nanotechnology Conference this June 13-16 in Grenoble, France.