Consolidation is in sight in paper and packaging! The American company, International Paper, and the British company DS Smith announced that they have reached an agreement on the terms of their merger. The bid, which values DS Smith at $7.2 billion, replaces the Mondi Group’s offer, valued at $6.3 billion. If the acquisition of DS Smith by International Paper goes through, it should be completed by Q4 of 2024. This would create a new group generating nearly $28 billion in revenues and $4.1 billion in EBITDA. International Paper expects that approximately 33% of synergies will be realized in the first year, then 66% in the second year and 95% in the third year after the transaction. Andrew K. Silvernail, who will become International Paper’s CEO on May 1st, will also become the CEO of the combined company and Miles Roberts, DS Smith’ CEO will remain on as a consultant to help with the integration. The merged company’s headquarters will be in Memphis, Tennessee. EMEA headquarters will be at DS Smith’s current headquarters in London.

DS Smith is partnering with Jonsac, a Swedish company specializing in the production of FSC-certified paper envelopes for e-commerce. The goal is to promote the use of paper envelopes instead of plastic in the sector. DS Smith and Jonsac will jointly provide a range of recyclable products to meet customer requirements in the short term, while anticipating the types of packaging solutions that will be useful to the e-sector trade in the future, in line with key market requirements and rapidly changing consumer trends. DS Smith customers will have the ability to order bulk lots from a single supplier, while simplifying and streamlining their respective supply chain activities. This partnership will enable DS Smith to offer these recyclable solutions to customers across Europe, including in the Nordic countries, the UK, and several EU countries. The aim is to meet the immediate needs of customers while setting the stage for future e-commerce market demands, offering the possibility of ordering in large quantities from a single supplier, and facilitating supply chain management. This new agreement between the two companies complements an existing agreement for DS Smith customers in the North. Note that DS Smith is currently the subject of two takeover proposals, one from International Paper and one from Mondi.

The European Commission concluded that there was no concentration problem concerning the merger between Smurfit Kappa and WestRock. The EC said that the transaction did not raise competition concerns, given the limited combined market position of the two companies. WestRock has a strong presence in North America and Brazil, and produces both corrugated and consumer packaging. Dublin-based Smurfit Kappa and American packaging company Westrock created Smurfit Westrock, a global packaging giant. The combined turnover of the two groups (over the period June 2022 to June 2023) which are present in 42 countries and each employ around 50,000 people, reached around 34 billion dollars.

The battle for the British paper and packaging company DS Smith has entered the next stage. Mondi’s deadline on their DS Smith offer is now set for April 23rd, which is the same day as International Paper’s deadline offer. International Paper said it was still considering making an offer and believed that an acquisition of DS Smith was in line with its strategy to strengthen its corrugated packaging business in Europe. They expect the combination to generate significant synergies.  A combined International Paper Group and DS Smith could generate at least $514 million in pre-tax cash synergies on an annual basis by the end of the fourth year following the acquisition’s completion. IP projects that the total cost to achieve the synergies described above would be approximately $370 million. Note that although the headquarters of the merged group plans to be located in Memphis, Tennessee, the European headquarters would remain in London. International Paper’s announcement came shortly after the announcement of the appointment of Andrew Silvernail as CEO, effective May 1st.

The Brazilian pulp giant Suzano announced a series of price increases for eucalyptus pulp orders in April. In Asia, orders will increase by $30 per tonne. In Europe, prices will increase by $80 per tonne, so the April price will be $1,380.00 per tonne. In North America, prices will rise by US$100 per tonne, for a total price of $1,590.00 per tonne in April.

The atmosphere at the Copacel press conference on April 4th in Paris felt different this year.  Even if the 2023 figures reflected, unsurprisingly, a decline in the consumption of paper and board in France (-15%), a decrease in production (-13.5%, or 6.1 MT) and a contraction in corporate revenues (-25%, to 5.6 billion euros), all speakers remained optimistic for 2024.  Good news, the market prices of gas and electricity have calmed down, “even if it remains too high,” according to Christian Ribeyrolle (Ryam) Copacel’s President. Also, lower inflation and lower interest rates should boost household consumption and business investment this year. Similarly, he said that “The draft regulations on packaging and deforestation are two misconstrued texts right now,” adding that the reduction in stocks should encourage more orders from paper companies. More broadly, he feared that these Green Deal rules will act as an accelerator of deindustrialization. Hence the European industry’s Antwerp Call, which Copacel recently signed. Paul-Antoine Lacour, Copacel General Delegate described it as “a 10-point document, calling on the EU to take measures to ensure the competitiveness of European industry, while respecting environmental objectives.”  Don’t miss the April issue of Pap'Argus le Mag where you can find all the details of the Copacel balance sheet along with graphs and also comments from François Bru  (Blue Paper’s CEO), Pierre Bonnet (Papeteries de Vizille’s CEO), Christophe Dorin (Wepa’s CEO) and François Vessière, strategist and innovation director at Fibre Excellence.

Nordic paper manufacturer Stora Enso is restarting production at its Finnish mills in Varkaus and Oulu this week. The Varkaus mill has a production capacity of 420,000 t/p of white and brown kraft paper and 360,000 t/p of pulp. The capacity of the Oulu mill is 450,000 t/p of kraft paper and 530,000 t/p of pulp. Last year, Stora Enso had a turnover of 9.4 billion euros.

The Spanish corrugated industry last year produced a total of 5.629 billion square meters of corrugated board, 314 million square meters less than in 2022. The sector’s turnover also decreased in 2023. According to the industrial association AFCO (Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Envases y Embalajes de Cartón Ondulado), the corrugated board industry in Spain generated a turnover of 6.960 billion euros last year compared to €7.618 billion the year before. According to the AFCO, Spain is the third largest corrugated board country in Europe, after Germany and Italy.

Fefco (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers), led by Eleni Despotou, is launching its Best Practices Handbook for Better Energy Efficiency. It is the result of a collaboration between the Fefco Sustainable Manufacturing Working Group and RISE Bioeconomy and Santé. The manual provides practical advice, presenting a set of proven strategies and techniques to improve the energy efficiency of corrugated board production and processing processes in line with the Fefco’s 2050 roadmap on climate neutrality. It encompasses various aspects of energy generation, conversion, and management, with a focus on short-term, usually a 1–3-year period, and achievable solutions.

Consolidation continues to be the key word in packaging! DS Smith has many people interested in it.  In addition to Mondi, International Paper is also interested in acquiring the British corrugated board recycling, paper, and packaging group DS Smith. It just made an offer that values DS Smith at £5.72 billion, against Mondi’s £5.1 billion. In accordance with the British Takeover Bid Code’ (UK Takeover Bid) regulations, International Paper has until April 23rd, 2024 to submit a firm bid for DS Smith or publicly announce its withdrawal from the auction process. They said that its merger with the British group DS Smith would strengthen its European business and offer its customers a wider range of products. International Paper also highlighted other benefits such as optimizing supply chains, integrating production networks, and balancing paper production. International Paper also tried to acquire Smurfit Kappa in 2018, but its bid was unsuccessful.

Metsä Group halted pulp and board production at the Kemi industrial complex in Finland after a gas explosion at the mill. According to the Metsä Group, it expects the production of pulp and kraft paper at the Kemi mill will be suspended for 10 to 12 weeks as it will take that long to complete the pulp mill repair work. The Metsä Board kraft paper mill in Kemi was not damaged by the explosion, but it would have been forced to close because the unbleached pulp needed at the board mill cannot be produced without the chemical recovery from the Kemi bioproducts factory. Metsä Board was studying the possibility of starting up carton production in Kemi at a significantly lower production level during repair work, or the possibility of offering alternative products to customers. The Kemi mill has a production capacity of 465,000 tpa of white kraft paper. The capacity of the bioproducts factory is 1 million t/p softwood pulp, 300,000 t/p hardwood pulp and 180,000 t/p unbleached pulp.

Metsä Board was forced to suspend production at the Simpele, Kyro, Tako and Äänekoski mill in Finland. Production at these sites was stopped on Monday, March 25th, 2024 due to a strike at the Finnish ports. The company specified that the mills will be able to start up again as soon as the raw material is available and the transport of the products begins. Gentle reminder that the production of the Metsä group’s pulp and kraft mill in Kemi, the pulp and BCTMP mills in Joutseno and the BCTMP mill in Kaskinen had already been stopped. The sawmills in Rauma, Vilppula, Renko and Lappeenranta were also affected.

As a result of the continuing strikes in Finnish ports, the Koktamills mill of the Austrian packaging and carton board group Mayr-Melnhof also temporarily ceased production since March 26th. The downtime will affect both the production of carton board (400 kt) and kraft paper (185 kt). The supply gap will be filled by deliveries from MM’s mills in Kwidzyn, Poland and Kolicevo, Slovenia. Remember that these strikes affect all Finnish commercial ports, along with freight rail traffic as well as large heavy industry production facilities. They interrupt all of Finland’s foreign trade, since 96% of this trade passes through its ports. These strikes in the ports therefore strongly impact industries, such as the paper-board sector and consequently have heavy consequences on the country’s economy. In the pulp and paper sector, Finland ranked in 2023 in the top 10 exporting countries with 7% of exports.

According to Finat (the world association of manufacturers of self-adhesive labels and related products and services), the market is growing. Specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2023, demand for adhesive complexes increased by 2.1% in Europe compared to the same quarter last year. This is the first increase after four quarters of declining sales!

Reno de Médicis (RDM) will abandon carton board production in France in August. There are 176 people affected by the closure of the group’s only French mill, which has been facing difficulties for some time, particularly since a major fire in March 2022, which led to a ten-month shutdown. (At the time, RDM invested 40 million euros in the site). Also, the Blendecques mill, which specializes in coated carton board used for food packaging or hygiene products, flooded at the end of last year, which forced it to stop production for some time. RDM also announced that a buyer search period would begin on March 26th, 2024. This announcement came shortly after the company’s decision to start up the Villa Santa Lucia plant in Italy. The Blendecques plant produced coated and uncoated recycled carton board with a capacity of 140,000 t/year.

As part of a strategic measure to strengthen its competitive position, Leipa plans to reduce its capacity to produce recycled graphic papers. The manufacturer of graphic papers based on recovered fibres has thus declared that the operation of the old PM1 at the Schwedt site will be discontinued by mid-2024. Production will focus on the more sophisticated PM4. The PM1 closure will involve a hundred employees. Closing PM1 is part of Leipa’s strategy to streamline operations. Another measure concerns the Schrobenhausen site, where investment volumes will be adapted to the difficult market environment.

The production of the Metsä Group’s bioproducts and carton board mill in Kemi, Finland, will be temporarily halted due to ongoing strikes by transport workers in Finland. According to Metsä Fibre, the pulp mill shutdown operations began on March 17th and production will be discontinued as of March 18th, 2024. During the first week of the strike, from March 11th to 17th, production will only be at the Kemi bioproducts factory. Once the rail transport of the wood raw material is stopped, production will be completely stopped. For the record, the premium and high-end carton board producer Metsä Group has already announced similar closure measures for the group’s pulp mills in Kaskinen and Joutseno. Kemi board mill is the world’s largest production unit of white coated kraft paper.

According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, global pulp market demand is expected to reach 73.84 million tonnes by 2028. Pulp market output is expected to reach 75.04 million tonnes by 2028. The Asia-Pacific region has consolidated its position as a formidable force in global pulp market demand, propelled by a confluence of factors such as rapid industrialization, robust economic growth, and the region’s booming population. Dynamic and diversified economies in the Asia-Pacific region have contributed significantly to the increase in demand for pulp and pulp derivatives. The rapid industrialization of several countries in the region has fueled an increased need for various paper and packaging materials, thereby stimulating pulp demand.

More and more consolidation efforts!  After Smurfit Kappa, which confirmed its merger with the American company WestRock, it is the Mondi group’s turn. Based in Austria and the United Kingdom, the company has made a takeover offer on its British rival DS Smith, valued at 6 billion euros. The distribution is 54% for Mondi shareholders and 46% for DS Smith shareholders. If the transaction goes ahead, it will result in a paper-based packaging giant with a turnover of more than €17 billion. The newly formed group would continue to be led by its current leadership with Andrew King (CEO), Mike Powell (CFO) and Philip Yea (Chairman). Three non-executive directors from DS Smith are expected to join the Board. Miles Robert, DS Smith’s CEO, confirmed his retirement in 2025. However, this agreement does not constitute a firm takeover bid yet.

The ‘Green Deal’ was signed! The text agreed by MEP’s and member states on Monday March 4th, bans single-use plastic packaging in restaurants by 2030 for food and beverages consumed on site, among other measures! The text also announced restrictions on PFAS in contact with food. The text specified that paper or board containers will still be allowed. The Green Deal package is expected to reduce packaging waste by 5% by 2030 (compared to 2018), then by 10% in 2035 and 15% in 2040. The text also stipulates that all packaging in the EU must be recyclable as of 2030 and be recycled by 2035. Gentle reminder that each EU inhabitant produces on average about 190 kilograms of packaging waste per year and that without further measures, this number could reach more than 200 kilograms by 2030.  

European producers of uncoated woodfree paper are expected to increase their selling prices further in a context of rising costs. In late February and early March, two producers launched a new initiative to raise prices for WFU paper grades. The Portuguese producer The Navigator Company, was the first of the leading suppliers of uncoated woodfree paper. It announced a price increase of up to 5% from March 25th onwards for all its WFU printing and writing papers. According to Navigator, prices are expected to rise both in Europe and in international markets. The company said that the price adjustment was necessary due to rising input costs. The second to report an increase was the Italian group Burgo. It plans to increase prices for its entire range of uncoated woodfree papers by up to 7% as of April 2024 deliveries. This price increase will apply to all European and foreign markets.

Hamburger Containerboard has announced its intention to increase prices of all white CCM grades by €60/t as of April 2, 2024. The company, part of the Austrian Prinzhorn Group, operates at 10 sites in 5 countries and produces more than 3 million tonnes of coated and uncoated white testliner, brown testliner and fluting as well as plasterboard.

The Swedish group SCA, Europe’s largest private forest owner, wants to streamline its operations at the pulp mills in Östrand and Ortviken, Sweden. The company has announced plans to cut 70 jobs total at both sites. For the record, the Östrand pulp mill is the world’s largest production line of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK).

Good news! The Reno de Medici (RDM) Villa Santa Lucia WLC carton board mill closure in in Italy has been avoided. The company announced today that the mill, which has been shut down since July last year, will resume operations on March 4th, 2024. In January, RDM announced it was considering permanently closing the site and had already initiated the procedure to stop production. The unions mobilized and, as a result, the procedure of closure and dismissal of the 163 employees was interrupted. The reasons for the planned closure were unresolved problems and legal disputes in recent months that prevented RDM from discharging the wastewater and sludge from the mill via the existing municipal wastewater treatment plant. The sludge had to be disposed of and therefore could not be recycled and reused in cardboard production according to the company at the time. At the end of January, RDM finally obtained an environmental permit to reuse the sludge. The RDM Villa Santa Lucia mill houses a carton board machine with a capacity of up to 220,000 tpa of WLC (White Lined Chipboard) coated carton board, mainly GD Liner.

In January, the Turkish Ministry of Trade requested safeguard measures under WTO regulations on imports of corrugated board, mainly from Europe. The investigation, initiated following a request from national producers, concerned several test coating grades, fluting... The application argued that imports of these papers have increased, causing serious damage to domestic suppliers. Imports of these papers in the first six months of 2023 increased by 35% compared to the same period four years ago, bringing the share of imports from 100 in 2019 to 132 in 2022. The origin of the imports comes mainly from Germany, Poland, Israel, and Finland.

DS Smith Packaging announced the closure of the Louth site, affecting 70 employees. According to a spokesperson, mill closure, which began on February 29th, will end in August. The Louth mill business will be consolidated at the DS Smith site in Blunham (two hours south of Louth), where a 2.8-metre wide undulator and high-tech material handling equipment were installed in 2015. With facilities in Europe and North America, DS Smith  sales were £8.2 billion (€9.6 billion) in the year 2022-2023, including £6.5 billion (€7.6 billion) in packaging.

Last week the Drupa press conference was held at Procédés Chénel International. To date, nearly 140,000 m² of net space has already been reserved by more than 1,400 exhibitors from 50 countries. Sabine Geldermann, Drupa Director of Print Technologies Messe Düsseldorf, unveiled the highlights of the biggest printing technology fair, which will take place from 28 May 28th to June 7th, 2024, and there will be new additions!  This will be the first show in 8 years due to Covid.  The forums are a must for participants. They are Drupa Cube for conferences, Drupa 'sustainability', to discuss sustainable solutions, packaging forum, DNA forum for networking, and the textile forum, which is probably one of the best innovations as it will take place in a digital textile micro-factory. “In these times of continuous changes, disruptive processes and new business models that result, our special forums offer important guidance and are indispensable for the sector,” concluded Sabine Geldermann.

Fedrigoni has certainly started off 2024 with a bang! The Italian papermaker announced the acquisition of assets from Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. where it had established an industrial partnership in September 2022. "This is our third M&A this year (after SharpEnd in the UK and Arjowiggins in China), an important step in strengthening our premium product offering for customers in the US," said Marco Nespolo,  Fedrigoni Group’s CEO. He continued, “Thanks to Mohawk joining our Group, we will now be able to produce and distribute to our customers a wide range of high value-added Fedrigoni papers directly in North America and expand access to Mohawk specialty papers internationally. We will further support the strategies of our customers who prefer proximity models to the traditional global purchasing approach, to minimize environmental impact and supply chain disruption risks.” Founded in 1931, Mohawk is a family-owned company that produces some of the best-known specialty papers for designers, brands and printers.

Due to the significant increase in raw material costs, particularly pulp, and other manufacturing costs related to recent supply chain constraints in the Red Sea region, Lecta announced an increase, from 8 to 10%, on its specialty papers price ranges. This increase will affect labels and flexible packaging papers, coated one side paper, release liners, metallized, cast coated paper, thermal and carbonless paper. This increase will go into effect in all markets for all orders delivered on or after April 1, 2024.
The Swedish paper group SCA also reported an increase in white and brown kraftliner in Europe. This increase of €80 per tonne, will be applicable on April 1st, 2024. SCA was founded in 1929 and its headquarters are in Sundsvall, Sweden.

Arctic Paper will start production of a new molded fiber tray production unit at the Kostrzyn paper mill in Poland in the Q3 of 2024. Arctic Paper is one of the leading European manufacturers of high quality fine graphic paper, organic packaging solutions and high-quality pulp. Arctic Paper is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Stockholm. The company is also the main owner of the Swedish pulp producer Rottneros AB. The company’s paper mill in Kostrzyn is located in the Lower Silesian region of southwestern Poland.  

The British company DS Smith announced a second consecutive five-year contract to be Mondelez International’s exclusive supplier of corrugated packaging in Europe (Oreo, LU, TUC and Belvita, 7Days snacks, Cadbury milk, Milka chocolate, Côte d'Or, Toblerone, etc.). The agreement represents an exclusive partnership and is an extension of existing services with a commitment to new projects. It will build on an already established between the international leader in snacking and DS Smith over the past ten years. New sustainable fiber packaging solutions will be implemented in European markets, and the two companies will work closely together to reduce the use of single-use plastics. They will also make joint efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Note that DS Smith and Mondelez will continue to use DS Smith’s Circular Design Indicators (Circular Score) when co-creating new packaging innovations.

Graphic Packaging has signed a definitive agreement to sell its bleached carton board plant in Augusta, Georgia, a site with a production of about 600,000 tonnes of bleached board. The transaction’s value is approximately $700 million, based on an adjusted EBITDA of approximately $100 million. Arsen Kitch, Clearwater Paper’s CEO, commented on the transaction saying, “'Augusta fits perfectly into our strategy and enhances our position as the leading independent carton supplier to North American processors “ The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2024. Graphic Packaging said it would continue to meet demand for bleached board from its Texarkana plant. Graphic Packaging is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Clearwater Paper designs and produces consumer packaging and is a leading supplier of tissue and bleached board products. In 2023, Clearwater Paper reported net sales of $2.1 billion.

Faced with developing alternative solutions which are allegedly 'greener' by nature than printing a paper receipt, the Two Sides association monitors all communication on the subject and reports proven greenwashing cases. In particular, the association submitted two complaints of cases that seemed emblematic to it to the advertising ethics jury. The latter agreed in two opinions published on January 31st. Here are two examples of paper bashing paper that have been denounced. The Quipo solution, without having cited proper figures, highlighted the avoided impacts of not using paper tickets. The second was the Billiv solution, which claimed an ‘eco-responsible’ ticket, ignored the AGEC law that prohibits this type of general mention. In an official statement, the association reminded everyone that digital communication in all its forms has environmental impacts that can no longer be ignored.

The trend seems to be towards larger companies. DS Smith confirmed that Mondi expressed interest in the company.   However, the British recycling, paper and packaging manufacturer DS Smith said no bids had been received at this stage. For its part, Mondi also confirmed that it was thinking about a possible merger of all its shares with DS Smith and that it was continuing to study options to accelerate its growth in the packaging sectors. Perhaps we are seeing the emergence of a leader in the European paper-based sustainable packaging solutions sector? DS Smith is one of the world’s leading suppliers of sustainable fiber-based corrugated packaging with activities in recycling and paper manufacturing. The group employs approximately 30,000 people in 30 countries. DS Smith reported an annual turnover of £8.2 billion (€9.6 billion) for the 2022/2023 fiscal year ending April 30, 2023. Mondi is an integrated global packaging and paper group organized into three business units: corrugated board packaging, flexible packaging, and uncoated fine paper. 22,000 employees work in 100 production units in more than 30 countries. Mondi had a turnover of 8.9 billion euros in 2022.

There are further investments in store for the Metsä Group, which announced a large spending program not only to boost its tissue business in the Mänttä mill, but also to develop the sustainability of its operations. The planned plan amounts to approximately 100 million euros and the corresponding investments must be made over the next five years. Under the planned program, the company will first invest in a new paper towel line, which will produce fresh fibre-based paper towels, especially for the Finnish market. Preparations for the new line are underway and the line should be operational in 2025.

Mayr-Melnhof (MM) offers packaging solutions for cardboard and folding boxes with an attractive offer of kraft paper, uncoated fine papers, notes and labels. The group recently informed its customers of its intention to increase the prices of recycled carton board by €50 or £45/t. The increase will be valid for deliveries as of April 1st. At the end of January Reno de Medici presented similar projects.

Recruitment and the keeping the profession attractive were among the key themes discussed at C!Print, the tradeshow dedicated to visual communication and graphic industry professionals, which took place on February 6th-  8th, 2024 in Lyon. FESPA France that gathers around 600 French companies from the signage and wide-format printing industry, took advantage of the show to welcome the Lycée d'Arsonval from Tours (37). The students were welcomed by Christophe Aussenac, Vice President of FESPA France and Marion Ferhat, General Delegate of the organization, who introduced them to the Visual Communication profession. During the FESPA France conference, Frédéric Schneider, President of the Commission ‘Attractivité des Métiers’ also gave suggestions to help professionals in the sector promote their professions among young people. His advice was to launch video campaigns of employees demonstrating their experience within companies; attending student fairs, training centers and schools and to rely on new business training to support the industry’s needs.  Frédéric Schneider cited the TFP (Professional Title) Medicapplicator and the TFP Digital Printing and Screen Printing. He also mentioned the Workshops and factories visit to strengthen the school/ company link to help students discover the professions from inside the companies.

Kimberly-Clark’s CEO Mike Hsu expressed his satisfaction with the company’s annual performance. The American consumer products group, known for its Huggies, Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle brands, posted a 1% increase in sales to $20.4 billion, with organic growth of 5%. It’s annual operating profit was $2.34 billion in 2023, compared to $2.68 billion in 2022. In 2024, the Kimberly-Clark company which turned 150 last year, expressed confidence in its strategic foundations and financial position.

There was a new announcement from Smurfit Kappa that it will invest 54 million euros in its Ibi Alicante Bag-in-Box factory.  What are their objectives? To double the factory’s capacity and to strengthen the sustainability of factory operations and product portfolio. Bag-in-Box Ibi Alicante has a strong track record in recycling and has several state-of-the-art systems to identify and separate by-products. For the record, 90 million euros has been spent in the Ibi factory over the past decade. Bag-in-Box Ibi creates a wide range of products for wine, dairy products, liquid eggs, cooking oils and water. Smurfit Kappa is the leading supplier of Bag-in-Box in Europe.

Due to the continued weak and uncertain market environment, Stora Enso plans to launch a new plan, which could result in a potential reduction of around 1,000 employees. The majority of the savings would materialize in 2025, and most of the downsizing is expected to take place in the first half of 2024. “While challenging, this plan is necessary to ensure our long-term success and competitiveness. Last year, we completed a restructuring program that led to the identification of synergy opportunities, which we plan to seize through our new earnings improvement initiative. We are facing a persistent weakness in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment and need to focus on our core business activities that align with our strategy,” said Hans Sohlström, Stora Enso’s President and CEO. As a reminder, at the end of last year, Stora Enso completed a restructuring program launched in June 2023. This program resulted in an annual improvement in operational EBIT of €110 million and the elimination of 1150 employees.

Antalis is continuing to develop at a high speed with more external growth operations. The acquisition of Tecnoprimaf is the third since the beginning of the year. It comes after 100 Metros, the Portuguese market leader, and the Pakella group, based in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Tecnoprimaf was founded in 1988 and it specializes in the manufacture and distribution of wood packaging and anti-corrosion solutions for manufacturers. With a consolidated turnover of 26 million euros in 2023 and 80 employees, Tecnoprimaf has 5 sites in Italy. Thanks to this latest acquisition Antalis has become the leader in custom packaging solutions in the Italian market. Antalis, already well established in Europe, continues to expand its presence in the packaging market.

The European Association of Paper Manufacturers (CEPI) has published a list of policies to be implemented to achieve climate neutrality of the paper industry in Europe by 2050. To do so, they will focus on the specific needs of the forest fibre and paper industry which are: ensuring that industry has access to abundant and affordable fossil energy for electricity and heat generation; facilitating renewable energy production; promoting emissions reductions on an industrial scale; setting up financial instruments to mitigate the risks associated with industrial investments; and encouraging innovation. This approach comes at a time when the European Parliament’s next elections and the renewal of the European Commission are looming. CEPI’s Chief Executive Officer Jori Ringman highlighted the risks of de-industrialization and increased global CO2 emissions if the balance between decarbonization and competitiveness is not found.

It is winter, it is cold and there are ... strikes. Our industry is no exception as there were strikes in Finland between February 1st and 3rd, 2024. Companies in the paper sector and the entire forest products industry were involved. According to the Finnish paper workers' union Paperiliitto, the affected mills in the paper and forest products industry were Stora Enso Enocell, Imatra (Kaukopää and Tainionkoski), Oulu and Varkaus, as well as UPM’s Kaukas, Kymi, Pietarsaari and Rauma. According to the industrial union Teollisuusliitto, the Metsä group, Mölnlycke and the engineering group Valmet were also affected by the strikes. As the Finnish transport workers' union AKT participated in the strikes, there was also an impact on the country’s logistics operations. Operations in all Finnish seaports were suspended from February 1st at 6 am to 3 February 3rd at 6 am. Restrictions on goods transportation by road and air were also expected.

Italian recycled carton board manufacturer Reno de Medici (RDM) has informed customers of its intention to increase the price of recycled carton board by €60 (or £50/t). The new prices are valid for carton board shipped as of March 1st. Note that RDM recently announced its intention to close its Italian mill in Santa Lucia, thus removing about 220,000 tpa of WLC from the market. In addition, the group’s Blendecques mill in France operated at reduced capacity after a flood in the Q4 in 2023.

 There was a new external growth operation for Antalis (Kokusai Pulp & Paper group) which acquired Pakella, a major player in the distribution of industrial and food packaging in the Baltic countries. Pakella achieved a turnover of 15 million euros in 2023 and has 60 employees spread over three distribution sites. Hervé Poncin (see photo), Antalis’ CEO, welcomed the transaction and said, “The acquisition of Pakella is a great opportunity. It will allow Antalis to significantly develop its existing packaging distribution business in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. It demonstrates to our consumers the interest we have in the Baltic countries following the acquisition of Hansapakend in Estonia in 2015.”

Mr. Elkelenboom succeeds Ilkka Hämälä, (Metsä) as President of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI). A Dutch citizen, he has held several positions within Sappi. He was Managing Director of Sappi Benelux in 1998 and Marketing Director of the Fine Paper division of Sappi Southern Africa in 2002. In 2004, he was appointed Marketing and Sales Director for Graphic Papers at Sappi Europe, then Vice-President of the same branch in 2009. On April 1st,2021, he became CEO of Sappi Europe in Brussels.

0.8% is the stake in Smurfit Kappa held by the private equity firm PrimeStone Capital, which has expressed concerns about the merger with Westrock. In a public letter to the board of directors of the Irish group at the end of 2023, PrimeStone Capital questioned if it was the right move. PrimeStone also mentioned a strategic alternative to the potential acquisition of Westrock Company, namely a merger with International Paper

The German paper and packaging supplier, Schumacher Packaging, is off to a good start this year as it announced the successful start of its PM 2 in Myszków, Poland. With the exception of a few existing components, the entire production line was upgraded by Voith. The reconstruction allowed Schumacher Packaging to double its production capacity from 500 to 1,000 t/j. In the process, it drastically reduces waste and reduces the consumption of fiber, energy and fresh water. In 2016, Schumacher Packaging acquired the Myszków mill, which produced newsprint at the time. By investing 100 million euros, it reconfigured the machine to produce corrugated paper.

This partnership agreement was concluded on January 10th, 2024. This alliance is the beginning of a process to forge more strategic partnerships across Europe, thus strengthening the group’s global presence. Following a 2021 decision by Lille’s court, the Alkor group (Majuscule, Burolike and Ioburo) took over Office Depot France (https://officedepot.fr/), which had filed from bankrupcy.

The persistent global economic slowdown is proving more severe than expected, with market depression, geopolitical instability and weak economic growth combining to exert significant pressure on Sappi, particularly in Europe. As a result, Sappi has decided to stop paper production at Lanaken. The site closure is expected to be completed in Q2 2024. Details regarding the financial impact once all closing items are considered will be provided when the Q1 financial results are announced. For Sappi, its strategic objective is to reduce its exposure to the graphic papers segment while expanding its packaging, special papers, paper pulp and biomaterials presence. While continuing to serve the graphic paper market, Sappi’s overall priority will be to develop the packaging and specialty segment, especially in flexible packaging, functional papers, stickers including glassine, labels, and thermal sublimation. Sappi Lanaken is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Belgium, which employed 581 workers with a production capacity of 165,000 tpa of pulp used to produce 530,000 tpa of coated woodfree paper, mainly sold in the European printing market.

Paprec, present in Switzerland for 13 years with six sites, has become a minority shareholder in Helvetia Environnement, along with Swiss financial investors who continue to hold the majority of the Helvetia Environnement group.  According to Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, President of Paprec International, ”We have had great success in Switzerland with the takeover of the Lottner Group to form Paprec Switzerland. We will now also support the development of Helvetia Environnement to make Switzerland an exemplary pioneer of the circular economy in Europe,” Helvetia is a leader in waste collect and treatment in Switzerland, with 450 employees at 22 sites and 350,000 tonnes of waste collected per year. Paprec has 15,000 employees at 300 sites in ten countries. Its projected revenue for 2024 is 3 billion euros.

The paper manufacturer Mondi’s goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, and improve the operational safety of its uncoated paper mill Neusiedler in Lower Austria. It set these three goals through an investment of around 20 million euros. The project includes the modernization of the recovery boiler, pulp dryer, and steam turbine of the pulp mill. This supports Mondi’s ambitious commitments to sustainable development, with a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20%, NOx emissions up to 10% and gas consumption of about 25%. Work has already begun and the investment program is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Production at the RDM Villa Santa Lucia carton board mill in Italy has been stopped since last July. The Italian manufacturer of recycled carton board RDM is considering closing for good. RDM informed the representatives of the trade unions that it would initiate the procedure to stop production at the Villa Santa Lucia mill, resulting in the dismissal of 163 employees. For the record, the RDM Villa Santa Lucia mill houses a panel machine with a capacity of up to 220,000 tpa of WLC, mainly GD-Liner. The mill also operates a finishing department.

Did you know that thousands of books are written by artificial intelligence under alias on Amazon?!  This is possible thanks to its Kindle Direct Publishing tool which allows 'anyone' to edit a book, without it being controlled or proofread. To avoid that, a label will be set up to guarantee that a book was indeed written by a human. How? Believe it or not, by using artificial intelligence, which will determine if the text was indeed designed by a human being! Credit for this initiative goes to Librinova, a company that allows self-publishing, which has partnered in this approach with Label Human Creation, launched in 2023 that aims to certify written, audiovisual, or musical works. The service will be operational as of mid-January. The label can be applied on the cover of any author who would like to have it.

Stora Enso has gotten off to a difficult start of the year and will be negotiating possible temporary layoffs at its two mills in Oulu and Imatra, Finland. In practice, these negotiations are a preventive measure in the event that temporary redundancies may be necessary. If necessary, a total of 90 days of redundancies could then be taken in 2024, but as of now no concrete decision has been taken. Stora Enso produces up to 450,000 t/p of kraft paper at its Oulu mill, which also has a pulp production capacity of 530,000 t/p. The mill, which is part of the company’s packaging division and produced coated woodfree paper until September 2020. It is currently converting the second PM to produce carton board (FBB, CUK) for the food industry. Once completed, the converted PM 6 will have a production capacity of about 750,000 tonnes per year. As for Stora Enso’s Imatra mill complex, there are two production units, Kaukopää and Tainionkoski, where it produces carton board for the packaging of consumer products, including polymer-coated grades, with a production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year.

The graphic paper manufacturer Les Papeteries de Clairefontaine started its PM 6 after the reconstruction of a drying section at its Etival Clairefontaine mill, located 90km’s from Strasbourg. It is supplied by Toscotec. This machine produces graphic paper in a weight range from 60 to 100 g/m². The reconstruction allowed the length of the drying face of the PM 6 to increase without changing the total width of the machine frame. Located in the middle of the Vosges forest, the Papeteries de Clairefontaine  has been in existance since 1858 and employs more than 500 employees within the Exacompta Clairefontaine group. Clairefontaine delivers 170,000 tonnes of uncoated printing-writing paper per year to its customers.

In April 2023, Essity announced that it would begin a reorganization of its Consumer Tissue Private Label Europe division. The objective was to reduce the share of this division in the total turnover of the company. Finally, after reviewing all the balance sheets, the Swedish hygiene group concluded that the division was competitive and value-creating. The net sales of the Consumer Tissue Private Label Europe division were around SEK 9.8 billion (around €875 million) in 2022. The subsidiary has a total of seven production sites in Germany, Belgium, Italy and France with approximately 1,900 employees. Essity also announced its intention to divest its stake in Chinese paper manufacturer Vinda International Holdings to Isola Castle, a subsidiary of Indonesian pulp and paper producer Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (April). Essity currently holds a total stake of 51.59% in Vinda.

The Austrian group Heinzel announced that it has completed the acquisition of the UPM Steyrermühl mill in Upper Austria. This strategic decision reinforces Heinzel’s commitment to the paper and packaging industry. In March 2023, ownership of an unused graphic paper machine in Steyrermühl transferred to Heinzel, which then began converting the plant to produce up to 150,000 tpa of low-weight brown and white kraft paper from the starkraft brand. The mill shut down newsprint production in the 2nd quarter of 2023. With this acquisition, Heinzel also took over the Steyrermühl sawmill, a local power plant operated with biomass and residues, etc. Heinzel plans to transform the Steyrermühl sawmill site into a heat and renewable energy supply centre for the nearby paper mill in Laakirchen and for the Laakirchen municipality. With its production companies Zellstoff Pöls, Laakirchen Papier, Raubling Papier and Estonian Cell, Heinzel is one of the largest pulp and paper producers in Central and Eastern Europe.

The company announced that it had concluded discussions with the factory’s employee representatives to permanently suspend the machine. Following this decision, the production of Ipack Essential, Ipack Brown and Ipack Ultra kraft packaging grades will be discontinued. PM 3’s final production is taking place now in January 2024. The machine has an annual production capacity of up to 75,000 tonnes of kraft paper. Note that PM 1 and PM 2 at the Kwidzyn mill will continue to produce uncoated fine papers and Ipack Strong Pro quality bleached kraft paper. Both machines have a combined capacity of 410,000 t/year. The MM Kwidzyn mill will also continue to manufacture pulp and  carton board (PM 4, 260,000 tpa of GC1 and GC2).

There is a new project in store for Saica! The group will build a new corrugated board factory in Barcelona. Currently under construction, it will be operational in Spring 2025. Located in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, the factory will consolidate the activities currently carried out in the Saica Pack El Prat and Saica Pack Barcelona factories. The new project involves an investment of more than 100 million euros and aims to increase the current production of the two mills by 45%. It will enable the group to strengthen its presence and long-term commitment in one of the main packaging markets in southern Europe. The new mill will be equipped with the latest technology, combining flexography and offset. The Saica Group is one of the European leaders in the production of recycled paper for corrugated board, with an annual production capacity of 3.3 million tons of recycled paper.

The two carton makers are geographically complementary in Europe. This strategic decision strengthens VGP’s position in the UK market. The Cartoncare Group is composed of private companies, including Cartoncare, MSO Cleland and Pendragon Presentation Packaging. It has a combined annual turnover of 30 million euros. This acquisition brings the number of VGP sites to a total of 12 in 9 countries. The Cartoncare Group’s operational teams will remain in place and Managing Director Joanna Calixto will retain control of day-to-day business. Remember that the two board packaging specialists, already partnered a year ago, creating a 50% joint venture.

Abris Capital Partners sold Velvet Care, one of the largest manufacturers of hygiene products in Central Europe, with more than 850 employees in Poland and the Czech Republic, to Partners Group. This sale comes after five years of dynamic growth. In 2020, Velvet CARE acquired Moracell, the largest Czech manufacturer of toilet paper and paper towels, giving the group not only a strong position in the Czech market, but an experienced team and new prospects in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well.  Velvet Care products include toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and wet toilet paper. Its Velvet brand is very popular in Poland for the past 26 years and the company also produces for private brands. Velvet Care has two factories in Klucze, Poland and Žabcice, Czechia, and sells its products in more than 30 markets, mainly in Europe.

There is major construction work underway at the Laakirchen and Steyrermühl Heinzel Group sites. Several key projects are planned such as converting paper machines to the production of sustainable packaging paper, and energy supply conversion to renewable energy sources using existing recyclable and residual materials. Sebastian Heinzel, CEO of the family group said, " We intend to reduce our fossil CO2 emissions by more than 40% by 2030."  This will entail PM 11 from Laakirchen and the old PM 3 from Steyrermühl will be converted to produce sustainable products. Also, the construction of a second power plant based on the use of recyclable materials in Steyrermühl is planned. A pipeline is also planned that will connect the Laakirchen Papier site with the energy producers in Steyrermühl and supply it with thermal energy sustainable. Finally, The Steyrermühl sawmill will also be developed gradually over the next few years.  How much will all this cost?  According to the companyore than 400 million euros! For the record, the Heinzel Group produces commercial pulp, wrapping paper and magazine paper and sells pulp, paper, recycled fibres and packaging solutions.at four European sites.

It took a lot of effort, but the result is worth it!  Kemi’s bioproducts mill is moving towards full capacity production. Pulp deliveries to customers have begun. Construction of the bioproducts mill began in February 2021 and lasted approximately two and a half years. The mill will produce 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts, including 2 terawatt hours of renewable electricity. The new bioproducts mill is world class in terms of production, environmental and energy efficiency.  The Kemi bioproducts mill uses an innovative process to take advantage of all the possible benefits when producing pulp and to replace fossil fuels with bioproducts. Concretely, the mill produces energy through an unprecedented process that transforms unused bark into biogas that can be used to replace fossil fuels. The Kemi project is the largest investment ever made by the Finnish forest industry in the country.

As announced last June, the Finnish paper manufacturer Stora Enso closed a paper machine in its Anjalakoski mill in Finland in order to adapt production to market changes and concentrate the production of paper for books on a single machine. The production of PM 3 was stopped at the end of November. The closure of the uncoated mechanical paper production line will reduce the site’s annual capacity by 250,000 tonnes and sales by approximately 100 million euros. Stora Enso employs around 21,000 people and its 2022 sales amounted to 11.7 billion euros.

In the third quarter of 2023, Sylvamo reported revenues of $897 million (approximately €839 million), with a net profit of $58 million. This is a strong result, however Sylvamo anticipates a decline over the last quarter. As a result, the paper mill is working to reduce its structural costs. Their goal?  They want to save $110 million by the end of 2024. The company also plans to reduce its workforce by 7%, around 150 positions.

In concrete terms, Soprema, a world leader in waterproofing and specialist in roofing and insulation, will transform glassine collected via RafCycle by UPM Raflatac’s recycling service into new construction and insulation materials. UPM Raflatac’s RafCycle service is committed to recycling glassine. Thanks to this innovative partnership, label waste is transformed into insulation solutions, supporting the use of renewable sources in the construction sector at the Soprema site in France. Insulation materials play a central role in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Cellulose wadding is one of the best solutions for attic insulation as it offers high performance in different climatic conditions. UPM Raflatac has set itself an ambitious goal. It wants to become the first label materials company to go beyond fossils. The RafCycle label carrier recycling service helps companies achieve their sustainability goals.

It seems to be one announcement after another! After Sappi Europe announced that it would increase fine paper prices from 7 to 10% as of January 2024, now there are two other industry players who are reviewing their prices. Mitsubishi HiTec Paper is obligated to adjust their thermoscript thermal paper prices again. As a result, the company warned that prices will be increased 'individually' according to each region. Normally this increase will go into effect on January 1st, 2024. Burgo also informed its customers that it wanted to increase the prices of coated paper. The increase will be at least 7% and will be implemented in all markets from January deliveries. We already know that they are not the last increases...

What a surprise! Regarding Packaging regulations, the European Parliament has reviewed its goals, especially concerning reuse. The expectations for reuse, particularly in take-out, were reduced. Clearly, the final distributors of drinks and takeaways in the CHR sector must allow consumers to bring their own container. So, the obligation to reuse is over. On the other hand, other measures have been enacted, such as the ban on ultra-light plastic bags and the obligation that all packaging be recyclable by 2030 and recycled by 2035. Another measure proposed was the ban on the use of per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) and bisphenol A in food contact packaging. Gentle reminder that according to Eurostat every European produced 188.7 kg of waste in 2021 -- up 11 kg in one year and 32 kg in a decade -- with a recycling rate of only 64% (less than 40% for plastic packaging).

A major project is happening! The expansion of the production capacity of carton board for folding boxes at the integrated pulp and board mill in Husum, Sweden has begun. Through the modernization of the carton board machine (BM1), the annual production capacity of folding box board (FBB) will be increased by 200,000 tons to 600,000 tons. As a result, Husum BM1 will become the largest and most modern carton board machine in Europe and will strengthen Metsä Board’s position as Europe’s leading supplier of folding box boards. According to Mika Joukio, Metsä Board’s CEO, "By increasing Husum’s production capacity, we are meeting the growing demand for packaging materials that support the circular economy. The first phase of the Husum pulp mill renovation, recently completed, further increases the mill’s bio-based energy production and energy efficiency, further reducing the carbon footprint of our products and helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals".

The UPM, UPM Pulp, UPM Timber, UPM Communication Papers and UPM Biofuels business units will start negotiations on possible furlough measures. These measures could take place from January 1st to June 30th, 2024 at UPM Pulp, UPM Timber and UPM Biofuels and from March 1st to August 31st, 2024 at UPM. Earlier this year, the company conducted negotiations for UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Plywood, UPM Raflatac, UPM Biocomposites and UPM Raumacell.

Smurfit Kappa Recyclé France (SKPRF) has recently reviewed its business and announced that it will react to market difficulties by restructuring. They announced a planned closure of the Pontet mill in the Vaucluse district (South of France). The factory employs around 60 people and has a production capacity of 75,000 t/year and produces recycled brown corrugated board, mainly testliner. The reason behind this planned closure is the significant drop in demand for corrugated board throughout Europe over the past twelve months. In addition, extensive capacities to produce recycled corrugated board materials have recently been placed on the market and more will follow soon. As a result, the available production capacity is well above what the market can currently absorb. In addition to the Pontet mill, the company operates the Cellulose du Pin papermill (white kraftliner, white testliner, brown kraft), Rethel (testliner) and Saillat (testliner, recycled fluting) in the country. The Pontet papermill has existed for 102 years (since 1922. It was taken over by Smurfit in 1994.

The torrential rains of recent weeks have caused much damage. There was a cumulative rainfall of 295 mm In the Pas-de-Calais in the north of France, one of the most affected regions, from October 16th - November 14th, 2023. That made it the wettest 30-day episode in the district since the beginning of measurements by Météo-France in 1958. These rains have led to floods in some places, which has caused damage to some industry mills, disrupting their production. They include Be Paper, in Wizernes, Sical, in Lumbres, the paper mill RDM (ex-Cascades) in Blendecques, and the Arc Packaging factory, also affected by the rising waters.

The Austrian paper, board, and packaging company Mayr-Melnhof has revised its investment plans for its Polish mill in Kwidzyn. The company will not invest in converting a wood-free paper machine from the site to kraft paper production. In addition, MM started consultations with the unions and the works council on a possible closure of the small kraft paper machine (PM 3) and a reorganization, which could include the dismissal of around 110 employees. PM 3 has a production capacity of up to 75,000 t/a. These new plans would 'significantly' reduce the initially announced investment amount by 660 million euros. Reasons given for this change include non-competitive timber prices in Polish state forests and low demand in the paper and board markets products. Note that the production of pulp and board (PM 4, 260,000 t/year of GC1 and GC2) at the Kwidzyn site will not be affected by the changes.

Norske Skog announced that the start of its rebuilt PM1 at its Golbey mill in France would a be postponed again. This time it will be from the 2nd quarter of 2024 to the second half of next year. The net investment for the conversion project will increase from 265 million euros to 300 million euros, mainly due to the increase in the purchase prices of goods and services and the delayed equipment delivery. In July of this year, the company postponed the start-up to the 2nd quarter of 2024 to align it with the commissioning of the new biomass boiler. Initially, the commissioning of the reconstructed paper machine was scheduled for the 4th quarter of this year. The reconstructed PM will have a production capacity of 550,000 t/year and Norske Skog expects the machine to operate at 95% of full capacity two to three years after start-up. PM 1 previously produced up to 250,000 tpa of newsprint and was shut down in the 4th quarter of 2022 to begin reconstruction.

The graphic paper manufacturer Les Papeteries de Clairefontaine started PM 6 at its mill in Etival Clairefontaine near Saint-Dié in the Vosges in France after completing the reconstruction of the drying section. The Toscotec engineering company carried out the reconstruction. Thanks to this operation, the machine produces graphic paper in weights ranging from 60 to 100 g/m². In June 2023, the company also announced its intention to invest in a new biomass plant at the site to further decarbonize paper production. Clairefontaine, part of the Exacompta-Clairefontaine group owned by the Nusse family, operates four mills (Clairefontaine, Mandeure in Burgundy, Everbal in Champagne for recycled and Schut in Holland). At the Etival site, the company operates two machines with a total capacity of 170,000 tpa of uncoated woodfree paper.

The German company Carton Group announced the acquisition of the British luxury packaging supplier Duncan Print which manufactures folding boxes for customers in the health, beauty, personal care and food and beverage sectors. Duncan Print will join Carton Group as a direct subsidiary. The former owner, Bill Duncan, will hand over the company management to his son James Duncan, who will now become the general manager. Carton Group, owned by investment company Waterland, aims to become a leader in the European packaging industry through organic growth and targeted acquisitions. The company recently took over Wrapology which also marked its entry into the UK market as well as Noble-pac and Europoligrafico. In early October, the company announced it had received an undisclosed refinancing from credit company Capital Four for an ambitious expansion plan.

The Swedish paper manufacturer is taking a series of measures to strengthen its financial stability and ensure long-term growth. This includes eliminating 350 positions within the company, particularly in Europe and North America. The aim is to save about 300 million Swedish crowns per year. In addition, Billerud decided to delay its project to transform its mills in North America.

The PPWR is making a lot of noise. This time it was Chakib Kara, Tetra Pak France and Benelux’ CEO  & President of the Alliance Carton Nature turn to speak about the European regulation concerning packaging and packaging waste (PPWR). He said, “Some provisions are likely to jeopardize key sectors of the agri-food industry. For example, the imposition of binding reuse targets for perishable liquid food products could have unintended consequences such as: increased food safety risks for consumers, reduced accessibility for populations living in remote areas, as well as a potential amplification of food waste and waste. As reusable solutions do not always offer a better environmental result and are not able to guarantee a long shelf life of products in sanitary conditions necessary, we must consider the food brick as the useful and effective solution. The food brick has its own capabilities that allow to extend the life of liquid products up to 12 months without cold chain or additives. Therefore, it is necessary that liquid perishable goods benefit from adapted solutions that meet their needs and that they be exempted from reuse objectives in the context of ongoing discussions at European level.” By investing more than 200 million euros in Europe, the brick sector, which accounts for about 2% of the entire food and beverage sector in the EU, is actively committed to accelerating recycling and recyclability of its packaging while supporting innovation. This approach has paved the way for new markets, particularly for paper fibre, which makes up 75% of brick, and poly-aluminium.

The Finnish-Swedish group Stora Enso has decided to reduce the density of spruce trees planted in its forests in Finland from 1800 plants per hectare to 1600 plants per hectare as of spring 2025. This will increase the different species in the forest, which is one of the main objectives of the Stora Enso biodiversity program. Note that similar approaches have already been adopted to increase the share of hardwood trees in Sweden, where Stora Enso has 1.1 hectares of wood.

Sappi has concluded the sale of its pulp and paper mill in Stockstadt, Germany. According to its buyer Progroup, the Stockstadt paper mill site offers the possibility of developing a new production facility for corrugated board materials. The Stockstadt pulp and paper mill site’s takeover is scheduled for April 2024. Sappi can produce up to 145,000 t/a of pulp and 230,000 t/a of coated and uncoated woodfree paper at the Stockstadt mill. With 1,700 employees, Progroup achieved a turnover of around 1.8 billion euros in 2022. The German group has three corrugated paper mills and twelve production sites for corrugated sheets and corrugated cardboard packaging including one in France in Douvrin in the Pas-de-Calais.

On April 27th, 2023, the building, equipment, and PM 6 at the Saugbrugs mill in Halden, Norway were damaged by a landslide. As a result, production of the machine (260,000 t/a of SC paper) was stopped. In August to secure customer deliveries, Norske Skog decided to restart PM 5 (SC paper), which was stopped three years ago. Now that the agreement with the insurance company is finished, (for an amount of 2.4 billion Swedish kronor), the Norwegian papermaker announced that it was able to rebuild SC paper production on PM 6 and that it was also considering investing in other alternative products. Norske Skog said the machine was currently in preparation for start-up and production would be accelerated during the current quarter. For the record, Saugbrugs was founded in 1859.

The sawmill at the MM Kotkamills site is expected to close for good during the last quarter of 2023. This decision was made partly due to the high and sustainable price of raw materials, the reduced demand for lumber (mainly for carpentry) due to the economic cycle, and the significant investment needs to maintain the operation of the sawmill. Since fall 2022, the sawmill’s profitability has been in deficit and the situation has not improved in 2023. The sawmill, with an annual capacity of 210,000 cubic metres of lumber, has been shut down since July 2023. The closure will affect 64 employees.  MM, the Austrian board maker, had a turnover of 4.7 billion euros in 2022.

The Irish group Smurfit Kappa published their quarterly results and at last there is better news in terms of orders. The drop in demand for boxes continued to slow in the third quarter which was about 2% lower than 2022 levels, compared to -7% and -5% in the first and second quarters. It was mainly the German order books that improved. Is this a good sign for the end of the year? We shall see. Smurfit Kappa signed an $11 billion deal in September to buy out its US rival WestRock. Smurfit WestRock will be incorporated and based in Ireland, with global headquarters in Dublin and its North and South American operations based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Suzano, the world’s largest producer of market pulp, announced that it will invest 490 million reals (about $100 million US dollars) in a new line of pulp. Specifically, a BHKP pulp line from Suzano’s Limeira mill would need to be converted to produce Bleached Hardwood Kraft Pulp (BHKP) and Eucafluff. Production is expected to begin by the fourth quarter of 2025, when production capacity is expected to increase from 100,000 tonnes to 440,000 tonnes. Eucafluff is described as the world’s ‘first’ bleached kraft pulp made from 100% planted eucalyptus. Suzano pointed out that it is part of the list of raw materials allowed for use in disposable personal care products, in accordance with European eco-labels. The global fluff pulp market is currently estimated at 6.4 million tonnes per year, with an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% for the coming years.

The European Commission has proposed to make the paper version of the drug leaflets optional! If this comes to fruition, the information would be available in digital version. The only way to obtain a printed copy would be to request a printed copy of the package insert from the authorized seller. Highly impractical! Worried, the Intergraf expressed its opposition, arguing that this proposal undermines the accessibility of information for patients. To justify its claim, the organization relied on data from Eurostat 2023 which reveals that 70.7% of Europeans have only basic digital skills and 7.5% of European households do not have access to the Internet.

The VPK group, led by Pierre Macharis, has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Zetacarton, an Italian company located near Lake Como that manufactures corrugated board. Thanks to this, the VPK group is entering the Italian market for the first time in Italy. Zetacarton, an Italian company run by the Zanfrini family, is a leading producer of corrugated board packaging, including niche products such as fanfold and big boxes. In 2022, Zetacarton produced 106 million m² of board in its factory, had 110 employees and a turnover of 75 million euros. Following the transaction, Serena and Giuseppe Zanfrini will continue to manage the company acquired by the Belgian group. Last year, the VPK group recorded a turnover of 2.1 billion euros.

In July, UPM Communication Papers announced its intention to permanently close its Plattling mill in Germany to align its graphic paper production capacity with customer demand. The mill will cease production by the end of November 2023. Specifically, graphic paper production on both machines is expected to stop on November 15th for PM 11 and on November 22nd for PM 1, reducing the coated and uncoated magazine paper capacity in Europe by 595,000 tonnes. More than 400 UPM employees are affected.

The latest news for the kraft pulp manufacturer Fibre Excellence in Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône) (155 million euros turnover) is that the site will set up an oxygen-based lignin separation unit. The investment will be 80 million euros. The unit’s objective will be to manufacture ‘Fluff’ pulp (now entirely imported) to produce disposable baby diapers and thus contribute to the relocation of industrial sectors in the European market. This project is part of the overall investment plan of 180 million euros that the Fibre Excellence group committed to in August 2021.

Unfortunately, an employee shortage is a sad reality in many industries. The paper and board industry is faced with the same problem and is looking for solutions to recruit motivated candidates. Smurfit Kappa Papcart, celebrating its 75th birthday this year, specializes in the design and manufacture of carton board packaging for the food and luxury world. Since last June the temp agency Randstad Inhouse is installed in the Gétigné (Loire-Atlantique)’s headquarters. This new proximity has been a success for the company in terms of custom sourcing and the recruitment of motivated candidates. Smurfit Kappa Papcart generated revenue of 31.6 million euros last year and employs 170 people, 115 of whom work in production. Papcart, a specialist in offset printing and converting consumer packaging into carton board and corrugated board, was acquired by Smurfit Kappa in November 2018.

A plan to safeguard employment was signed at the Condat paper mills, which caused 171 employees their jobs due to the termination of line 4 (specializing in double-sided coated paper) decided by  the owner, the Spanish group Lecta which explained that it preferred to concentrate the expertise and the resources of the Condat mill’s  line 8 dedicated to the production of special papers, glassine and one sided coated paper. But on Monday, October 16th, Roland Lescure, the French Minister for Industry, met with the employees and their representatives, less than a week after the announcement of the plan. He announced that the government would support (via subsidies) the transformation of line 4 (which produces coated paper), up to 30%, or up to 40 million euros and thus keep people employed. For the record, Condat’s paper story began in 1907!  The Lecta Group, owner of the Condat Paper Mills, employs around 3,000 people in seven locations in Europe with a turnover of 1.7 billion euros in 2022.

After 20 years within the Finnish group Ahlstrom, the Stenay paper mill, which was sold to the Accursia Capital fund, officially became Stenpa for Stenay Papers. The first Stenpa reel was officially released on Thursday October 12th. Located in the Meuse (Eastern France), Stenpa specializes in the manufacture of coated paper for printed adhesive labels and paper for food packaging. The 100-year-old mill has an annual capacity of 55,000 tonnes. Gentle reminder that the acquisition of this paper mill is Accursia Capital’s second transaction of in the paper packaging industry and the 4th transaction in 2023.

It’s full steam ahead in terms of innovation in the Fedrigoni Group, one of the world’s largest operators in the production of special papers for luxury packaging and other creative solutions, as well as high-end labels and self-adhesive materials! They inaugurated an ‘innovation house,’ dedicated to quality papers and high-end self-adhesive materials that are sustainable, recycled and recyclable. Located in Verona, Italy, this 3,000 m2 space will host their Research & Development section, the innovative ideas incubator FedLab, the Customer Experience Center and the Customer Academy. This Fedrigoni Innovation Centre will be fully operational in the first quarter of 2024. It will consist of four complementary spaces, including one entirely dedicated to Research, Development, and Innovation for the group, with laboratories for the analysis of new raw materials, starting with recycled fibres and cellulose alternatives. State-of-the-art machines will test and prototype innovative treatments while minimizing the impact on the environment. Finally, a fully automated ‘sample library’, unique in the world, will bring together more than 8,000 special paper samples.

Klabin, Brazil's largest producer and exporter of sustainable paper and packaging solutions, recently hosted the Puma II's inauguration ceremony, a project that marked the Puma site's expansion in Ortigueira. This is the Brazilian pulp and paper company's largest investment in the company's history and the largest private investment ever made in the state of Paraná, Brazil.  The financial investment was BRL 12.9 billion for the installation of two new paper machines, the PM27 and the PM28, both in operation and with a total production capacity of 910,000 tons of paper per year.  Thanks to Puma II, the company strengthens its integrated, diversified, and flexible business model. This equipment also symbolizes Klabin's debut in the white board market, further expanding its product portfolio. Together, the two machines bring Klabin's annual production capacity to 4.7 million tonnes of paper and cellulose.

The British carton maker wants to increase its presence in the Romanian market with an investment of more than 13 million euros in its Ghimbav production site. Work at Ghimbav is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. This investment will promote alternatives to plastic and increase its production capacity by more than 20%. In line with its commitment to sustainable development, this strategic investment will support the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Under pressure from weak markets, weak demand and oversupply, Sappi is expected to further reduce its exposure to graphic paper markets. Following the decision to close the Stockstadt paper mill in Germany (scheduled for shutdown in the first quarter of 2024), the company is also considering closing the Lanaken mill in Belgium, it would be the end of 750,000 tonnes of graphic paper. The decision is being seriously considered since Sappi Europe has already started consultations on the future of the Lanaken mill in Belgium. Approximately 550 jobs are at risk. Sappi Lanaken is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Belgium with a production capacity of 165,000 tpa of pulp used to produce 530,000 tpa of coated woodfree paper primarily sold in the European printing market.

The very active Canadian group CCL industries (with no less than six external growth operations completed in the year) wants to strengthen its presence in Italy. The label and flexible packaging manufacturer announced the creation of a website for labels for wines and spirits in Novi Ligure, in the north of the country. This new factory will be the second Italian site of the Food & Beverage division. With this new location, the group’s objective is to have a production site in the immediate vicinity of major brand customers and to offer them the opportunity to source locally. In 2022, CCL Industries generated sales of C$6.4 billion (4.3 billion euros). It employs 25,300 people worldwide.

Metsä Tissue chose Goole, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, for its historic investment in the UK. This will increase the UK’s self-sufficiency in the production of essential tissue products by more than 30%. (Gentle reminder, up to 45% of tissue products are currently imported into the UK and Ireland). Metsä Tissue, part of the Metsä forestry group, will create more than 400 direct jobs over the next decade. The new mill will have the largest tissue production capacity in the UK and the latest sustainable production technologies. It’s expected production capacity is 240,000 tonnes.

The paper & board industry is rectifying the situation! Cofepac is reacting to the false information found in the document ‘Paper-based disposable food packaging: the false solution to the packaging waste crisis’ published by the EPN, Fern, EED, Zero Waste Europe and Rethink plastic! For example, to the statement ‘Carton board-based packaging remains the first source of packaging waste in the European Union,’ Cofepac (Comité Français de l'Emballage Papier Carton) underlines that this statement needed to be supported with more information. According to Eurostat 2020 data, the amount of cardboard packaging waste generated was indeed the largest with 32,7 Mt of waste but this figure should be compared to the amount of board packaging used for the protection of products throughout the supply chain. Thanks to its properties, board paper provides essential protection for many products during packaging, transport, and storage. More than the amount of waste, it is important to consider that these are raw materials available for stationery and that the recycling rate of paper and board packaging is the highest of all materials. In 2020, 26.6 Mt of paper-packaging were recycled, with a recycling rate of 81.5% versus 37.6% for plastics, 31.9% for wood 75.7% for metal and 75.9% for glass. This rate reached 82% in France, in a complicated year when restrictions were put in place during a health crisis (COVID) which disrupted waste management. In summary, the amount of waste generated was not a sufficient criterion to be taken into consideration when comparing recycling and reuse. Several untruths were thus 'corrected' by Cofepac, in a complete document sent to the press that must be read attentively!

The Italian group Fedrigoni finished the first half of 2023 with 971 million euros of revenues (-9.9% compared to the first half of 2022) and 150.9 million euros of EBITDA (-9.2%). Even if it is less than last year, its performance remained above the industry average. Fedrigoni CEO Marco Nespolo said, “The volatile market situation continued with recovery signs slower than expected, combined with a phenomenon of destocking from our customers, printers and processors, which we expect to end in the coming months of the year. Despite an outstanding market, we managed to defend our margins thanks to a solid strategy that for the past 4 years has focused on an increasingly high-end offer. Fedrigoni is pursuing its strategy to become a global leader in its reference sectors, with sustainable products and a growing interest in RFID and smart paper.” This is a strategy based on strong external growth. Thus, Fedrigoni’s Paper division includes the Cordenons group and the historic brand Fabriano, Eclose (November 2021), Guarro Casas (October 2022) and Stationery Zuber Rieder (November 2022); the Self-adhesive division includes Arconvert, Manter, Ritrama (February 2020), IP Venus (December 2020), Acucote and Rimark (June 2021), Divipa (February 2022), Tageos (April 2022) and Unifol (July 2022). The American distributor GPA is also part of the Group. Fedrigoni has 5,000 employees in 28 countries, 68 production factories, cutting and distribution centers.

The company announced that the new pulp mill and the expansion of the carton board factory on the site are now fully operational as planned. Operations will start department by department. Pulp deliveries from the new mill to customers are expected to begin in October. Kemi’s new bioproducts mill will produce approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year of softwood and hardwood pulp, increasing Kemi’s pulp capacity by nearly 900,000 tonnes per year. It replaced an existing 620,000 tpa pulp line that has been permanently closed. The new facility will also produce 2 TWh of renewable electricity. Mestä pointed out that thanks to its environmentally efficient solutions, the emissions from the new mill are below the limits specified in the current environmental permit for the closed Kemi pulp mill, despite the considerable increase in production capacity. The bioproducts mill will use 7.6 million cubic metres of wood per year, 4.5 million cubic metres more than the old mill. At the carton board factory,  white kraft paper production capacity was increased. The investments made and the integration of the bioproducts plant will reduce the water consumption of the cardboard plant by 40% and its energy consumption by 5% per tonne of kraft paper produced, according to the group.

The Austrian paper producer Heinzel will continue to produce SC paper on the PM 11 in its Laakirchen mill in Austria until the end of the second quarter of next year.  After that, it will begin the planned reconstruction of the machine. The start of production of recycled corrugated board materials on the PM has been moved to September 2024. Initially, the startup was planned for the second quarter 2024. Along with the conversion to wrapping paper, the capacity of the rebuilt production line will increase from 350,000 tpa of SC paper to 500,000 tpa of recycled flutes and testliner.

The Board of Directors of Stora Enso has appointed 58-year-old Hans Sohlström as Chairman and CEO of Stora Enso. He succeeds Annica Bresky, who was CEO for four years. She has joined Ørsted, one of Denmark’s leading energy companies. Hans Sohlström took over on September 18th. Until the end of 2022, Hans Sohlström headed the Finnish fibre-based materials group Ahlstrom. He has also previously held several management positions at UPM-Kymmene, which manufactures forest, biochemical, energy and paper products.

The Prinzhorn Group has invested around 300 million euros in its three business units: Hamburger Containerboard, Hamburger Recycling and Dunapack Packaging (see photo). Hamburger Containerboard is expanding its power plant in Spremberg, Germany to include a second combustion line. The project will replace externally produced lignite steam and will be an important step towards energy self-sufficiency. Hamburger Containerboard is also replacing its high-pressure natural gas boilers in Pitten, Austria with two natural gas turbines including heat recovery boilers. As a result, power generation based on environmentally friendly technology will reduce the CO2 footprint, allowing the mill to become independent of any external power supply. Dunapack Packaging completed the acquisition of the corrugated board packaging factory Scatoloficio La Veggialocated in Roteglia, Italy. The factory has a production capacity of 200 million m² per year with around 140 employees. Finally, Hamburger Recycling signed a contract to acquire the Italian recycling company Eurocart, in collaboration with its subsidiary Berica Recuperi. The recovered paper specialist located in Vicenza has three logistical facilities, 130 employees and the capacity to collect and process 239,000 tons of paper annually for recycling and other secondary raw materials. Eurocart will continue its business under its current name. The latest acquisition will bring Hamburger Recycling’s recovered paper capacity to 2.1 million tonnes per year, with 39 sites in 13 countries. Prinzhorn achieved an annual turnover of €2.9 billion in 2022.

Sappi, a specialist in flexible packaging paper with integrated barriers and heat sealing, joined forces with the digital press manufacturer Xeikon (a division of Flint Group) as part of a developmental partnership.  Along with Titon, its latest innovation in dry toner, and Xeikon TX500, the company has set its sights on the flexible paper-based packaging market, which is experiencing strong growth due to the demand for resource-efficient alternatives, recyclable and plastic-free from end users as well as brand owners and processors. The tests combining Titon toner and the functional papers Sappi Seal Silk and Sappi AvantGuard S Natural were very successful. “The printed image we created in combination with Sappi papers was simply phenomenal! Such results on paper-based substrates can normally only be achieved with flexography,” said Frank Jacobs, Market Intel & Senior Product Manager at Flint Group Digital.

Special paper producer Ahlstrom has entered into an agreement to sell its Stenay paper mill in France to the German investment holding company Accursia Capital, which owns the French tube manufacturer Cenpa among others. The company received a firm offer from Accursia in July. The transaction is expected to close at the end of September. “This acquisition is part of a long-term investment strategy to make Stenay a leading player in the highly competitive paper-based packaging market. We are therefore looking forward to developing the activity of the Stenay site in collaboration with employees,” said Martin Scheiblegger, Managing Director of Accursia Capital. The Stenay mill produces special one-sided coated paper for label, graphic and food packaging applications. It operates a paper machine with a production capacity of approximately 55,000 t/year. Ahlstrom generated net sales in 2022 of 3.3 billion euros and employs around 7,000 people.

The future of line 4 at Papeteries de Condat, located in Lardin Saint-Lazare, in the Dordogne (South-West of France), has kept the media in suspense. The unions are involved and for once, are united and speaking with one voice. They were able to meet the Minister for Industry, Roland Lescure, to discuss the future of line 4, which was threatened to shut down by the site’s owner, the Spanish group Lecta, resulting in the loss of 187 jobs out of the 330 on the site. Even if Roland Lescure reminded the unions that the Government was unable to put pressure on a private group, the September 11th meeting gave the employees some hope. The strike was stopped two days later. Negotiations continue with management, with the deadline for completing the Employment Protection Plan set for October 11th. Lecta’s management is backing down on its decision to close the production line and explained that it is betting on line 8, which specializes in label papers. It has already invested 140 million in the PM and a biomass boiler.

We're kicking off the autumn with some big news! The American company WestRock is reportedly on the verge of merging with Smurfit Kappa. If the deal goes through, it will create a new holding company, Smurfit WestRock. Smurfit WestRock would be based in Ireland, with world headquarters in Dublin and would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. What are the advantages of this merger? The combination of these two highly complementary portfolios would create a global leader in sustainable packaging. They also have unrivalled geographical reach across 42 countries with a significant presence in Europe and the Americas. There would be wider opportunities for around 100,000 employees along with improved operational efficiencies and increased returns across more than 500 converting operations and 67 mills. At current market prices, the combined market capitalization of the two companies would be around $19 billion. They achieved combined sales of $34 billion in the 12 months leading up to the end of June.

Metsä Group's Kemi mills prepared a maintenance and connection shutdown to gear up for the rollout of the forest industry's largest-ever investment in Finland, the new bioproducts mill and expansion of the Kemi paperboard mill. The shutdown began on Sunday September 10th, 2023, and the aim is to restart the mills on September 20th, 2023. The new Kemi bioproducts mill will produce around1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp and many other bioproducts each year, including 2 TWH of renewable electricity. Along with world-class production, the mill boasts environmental and energy efficiency, and despite the considerable increase in production capacity, emissions from the mill are below the limits specified in the environmental permit currently in force for the existing Kemi pulp mill. At the Kemi paperboard mill, investments will increase annual white kraft paper production capacity by around 40,000 tonnes.

It is happening! Norske Skog in Austria started the paper machine converted from newsprint production to paper production for corrugated board for a total investment of 120 million euros at its Bruck mill. The residual heat from the production will feed the district’s heating system of the city of Bruck an der Mur. “PM 3 plays a key role in our plans to introduce 760,000 tonnes of corrugated paper capacity to meet demand increasing renewable packaging and supporting Europe in its need to replace fossil-based packaging materials,” said Norske Skog CEO Tore Hansesætre.

Lecta recently made a big announcement. The paper manufacturer has shared its plan to stop its line 4 at its Condat mill (located at Le Lardin St Lazare in Dordogne) which produces coated paper on both sides. The reason given was the sharp decline in the graphic paper market. This is a real blow for the territory where the paper mill is the biggest employer, with 412 employees. Lecta plans to concentrate the expertise and resources of the Condat mill on line 8 dedicated to the production of special papers, liner and one-sided coated paper. Lecta is also currently investing in a biomass boiler (CSR) to significantly reduce energy costs and the mill’s carbon footprint by reducing CO2 emissions, in line with Lecta’s sustainable development strategy and goals. The biomass boiler (CSR) will be operational by mid-2024.

“We will close to adapt to the demand.” That is invariably the same phrase that the printing and writing paper producers who are currently taking time off are using. The PM 4 closure at UPM’s Steyrermühl mill, scheduled for the end of the second quarter is an example of this. Another machine, the PM 6 at UPM’s Schongau mill, could also be shut down soon. Negotiations on its closure are ongoing. Gentle reminder that the Steyrermühl mill’s PM 4, which can produce up to 320,000 tpa of MFS and newsprint, will be taken over by Heinzel in early 2024.

Big news for those of us who are interested in the industry with the start-up of the paper machine in Alizay which will provide an additional annual production capacity of 500,000 tonnes of recycled paper for corrugated board. Together with VPK’s six other paper mills, it brings annual production to 2,000,000 tonnes, including 1,000,000 tonnes in France. Thanks to the integrated VPK model, Alizay’s additional paper production will mainly find outlets in VPK’s packaging production sites in France and the United Kingdom. This will strengthen the group’s integration and reduce its dependence on external paper suppliers. On an annual basis, the Alizay site will reuse 550,000 tonnes of recovered paper from a 250 km radius around the paper mill, minimizing CO2 emissions from production and transportation. In addition, a biomass plant and a sewage treatment plant produces green energy used during the paper production process. Despite the market volatility in 2022, triggered by the energy crisis and high inflation, the VPK Group maintained its strong position and achieved a robust result with a turnover of 2.1 billion euros in 2022. This 22% increase was mainly due to price increases implemented to cover significantly increased energy costs and widespread cost inflation.

The Finnish paper manufacturer Stora Enso has announced that it will eliminate 1150 jos following the closure of four sites in Europe, partly due to the economic impact of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Stora Enso wants to close its wood pulp production unit in Sunila, Finland, its corrugated board site De Hoop in the Netherlands (acquired in January 2023 during the takeover of the Dutch manufacturer De Jong Packaging Group), another facility in Poland and a sawmill in Estonia. These closures will take place between 2023 and 2024. As part of the sanctions taken after the invasion of Ukraine, the Finnish authorities stopped importing wood from Russia, previously Finland’s main wood supplier, in July 2022. Inevitably, the shutdown of these imports stimulated competition in the pulp market and reduced the Sunila site’s profitability. The company, led by Annica Bresky since 2019, said that restructuring will reduce the company’s annual sales by approximately €380 million ($410.67 million), based on last year’s figures, while its operating profit (EBIT) should increase by around EUR 110 million per year.

German paper and board producer Papier-und Kartonfabrik Varel has decided not to install a new recycled board machine (PM 6) in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, as originally planned. They cited too many uncertainties at present, especially in terms of the economic environment, for such a large investment as the reason for this decision.  In 2021, Varel began exploring the opportunities for the production of ultra-light corrugated papers in Wilhelmshaven. In 2022, Varel, part of the HZI Group, generated €547 million in sales.

For Wellpappe Alzenau of Papierfabrik Palm, field studies are currently underway for the new construction of the corrugated board factory in the industrial area of Alzenau-Nord. The new Wellpappe Alzenau site is located on the edge of the Alzenau-North industrial zone. Exploratory drilling is currently underway, necessary for the preparation of a constructible terrain report. Ground reconnaissance will be completed within a few days. The new building will free up a large area on the old site in the centre of Alzenau for interesting development opportunities. In the future, the 250 employees from the Alzenau and Hasselroth-Gondsroth boxmaker will work at the same Alzenau site. They will be able to access the new plant either through the industrial area or via the national road, so commuting should not increase in the city centre.  As a point of reference, nearly 40% of employees live in the municipality. Since its foundation in 1872, the family business Palm has been producing exclusively from recovered paper and board.

After negotiations, Stora Enso will shut down one of its two paper machines at the Anjala mill in Finland. According to the company, the PM shutdown, scheduled for the 4th quarter of this year, will affect 89 people, 50 of whom will be laid off. The Anjala mill has 300 employees and two machines that together can produce up to 435,000 tpa of coated and uncoated book paper, coated magazine paper and improved newsprint. Due to low paper demand and high input costs, Stora Enso decided to concentrate all book paper production on a single PM in Anjala. This will reduce the site’s capacity by 250,000 tpa and sales by €100 million. As a reminder, the Anjala mill was scheduled to be sold, along with the Hylte, Nymölla and Maxau plants. The planned sale was part of Stora Enso’s strategy to exit the print and writing paper market, announced in March of last year. The other three sites have already been divested, but the process of divesting Anjala has been stopped for the time being. The Anjala mill is part of the integrated Anjalankoski site which also includes the Ingerois packaging and board plant.

A recent fire broke out in the rewinder of the Buchmann Karton carton board mill in Annweiler, Germany. Fortunately, it was quickly brought under control. There were no injuries and the carton board machine and rolling department were not affected. However, at this time there is no information about how long the production stoppage will be. The customer’s supply is secure thanks to a stock of coils as well as the group’s carton mill in Mayen. Buchmann Karton has been part of the Weig Group since early May 2023.  Annweiler’s board machine has a capacity of 260,000 tpa. Buchmann and Weig have a combined capacity of 550,000 tpa.

Brazilian pulp manufacturer Suzano announced a 4% reduction in the volume of marketable pulp production for 2023 compared to its usual capacity. According to the company, this decision is based on the fact that this volume production would not bring adequate returns to the company during a more complex pulp market period. The company’s marketable pulp production capacity is about 10.9 million tonnes per year. A 4% reduction is about 424,000 tonnes less.

Fibre Excellence Saint Gaudens, a pulp mill located in the Haute-Garonne, has just launched a major maintenance operation which will shut down the site for one month. The maintenance cost will be approximately 12 million euros and around a 1,000 people will work to upgrade the mill. This maintenance will consist of work on the black liquor boiler, on the malodorous gas incinerator boiler, and to implement major maintenance of the steam turbines and generators. In preparation for the maintenance shutdown, a mandatory training module on safety rules has been put in place for all stakeholders and service providers. To date, the site produces 280,000 tons of pulp per year. The classified Seveso site previous maintenance was in June 2021. At that time, the mill stopped for two weeks.

Omya is a Swiss group which produces white minerals worldwide. Its main markets include paper. In a period of full development, Omya is currently building seven calcium carbonate factories in China and Indonesia. This program based on long-term partnerships with players in the board and paper industry. In detail, the new factories in China include three factories in Guangxi, Guangdong and Shandong, two production facilities in Shandong and another plant in Fujian. The new plant in Sumatra, Indonesia, will have a combined capacity of approximately 1 million tpa. Created in Switzerland in 1884, the Omya Group now has approximately 8,000 employees at more than 180 industrial sites in more than 50 countries. In France, Omya has approximately 340 employees in 8 locations.

Eurosac, a European federation of large-capacity paper bag manufacturers, held a recent trade show in Verona, Italy from May 4th – 6th, 2023 with more than 130 delegates present. The theme was, “Paper bags: from nature to nature”, and discussions focused on recent EU packaging legislation along with different approaches to recycling paper bags and recovering fibres. At the end the most promising innovations in the industry were presented during the Eurosac Grand Prix ceremony. Saccarta won gold with its Window Valve Bag, while the dy-pack dydry won silver. The jury awarded the bronze medal to Billerud’s Performance White Barrier and Klabin’s EcoLayer. Alier’s Next Solution won the special industry award, while Mondi’s ExpandForm Protection Bag won the public vote. The federation, chaired by Olivier Tassel, represents more than 80% of European manufacturers of active paper bags in 20 countries. They produce about $5 billion worth of paper bags a year, or about 630,000 tonnes of paper processed in 55 mills.

It has been a month since the Norske Skog Saugbrugs paper mill in Halden, Norway, was hit by a major landslide. According to Norske Skog, its PM 6 will remain shut down for a longer time as the building where the paper machine is located was severely damaged. The extent and consequences of the landslide are still being assessed. Norske Skog operates two paper machines with a total production capacity of approximately 360,000 tpa of SC paper for offset and gravure printing at the Saugbrugs mill. The PM 6 is designed for a production capacity of up to 260,000 tpa. The PM 4, which was not affected by the landslide in April, can produce 100,000 tpa of SC paper. The Saugbrugs mill also houses a third SC paper machine, the PM 5, which has been permanently shut down since 2021.

High global borrowing costs have delayed the construction of the $3 billion mill that is the focus of a massive pulp project in Paraguay. Paracel, whose main shareholder is Girindus Investments, has planned to build Paraguay’s first pulp mill near Concepcion, in central Paraguay. The Paracel pulp mill will operate a single fibre line and will be designed for a maximum production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEK). Paracel also plans to produce energy from biomass on the site. However, due to the unfavorable situation in the financial markets, the start of construction work was postponed to a later date. The construction of the mill was initially scheduled to be completed in early 2025. One thing is certain, Paraguay, a landlocked South American country of 7.5 million people, is set to become a major supplier of wood pulp to Asia and Europe once the Paracel mill opens.

Mission accomplished for Norske Skog Bruck which announced the successful commercial orders forTestliner 3 and fluting. This represents the introduction of 210,000 tonnes of competitive capacity of corrugated paper to meet the growing demand for renewable and reusable packaging. The production is 100% based on recycled fibres and will use steam from the waste energy plant, which opened in April 2022. “We are thrilled to have received our first commercial orders for Strato Testliner 3 and Fluting, highlighting that customers have successfully tested our paper. This is an important step that demonstrates our commitment to the packaging market, and we look forward to further expanding our product offering in the future,” said Tore Hansesætre, SVP Strategic Projects at Norske Skog. As a reminder, Norske Skog acquired the Bruck mill in January 1996. Bruck is located in Styria, Austria.

In order to strengthen its leading position in the paper for books market and increase its production in packaging products, Holmen is investing SEK 450 million (EUR 40 million) in the reconstruction of a paper machine at the Braviken paper mill. The reconstruction of the PM 52 at the Braviken paper mill will expand its paper for books range while[M1]  allowing Holmen to efficiently increase the production of fluting for use in the center layer of corrugated board boxes. Reconstruction is scheduled for fall 2024. “After this investment, we will be able to produce a fluting product that meets quality requirements for demanding applications with less material consumption than established products. We will also be able to offer higher weights of our Braviken paper for books,” said Tommy Wiksand, Vice President of Paper Business Development.

Metsä Board, the carton board and kraftliner subsidiary of the forestry group Metsä will temporarily lay-off people in its factories in Finland in anticipation of lower orders.  Negotiations will soon begin with the 1,100 employees of the 7 factories concerned. This “technical unemployment” could reach a maximum of 90 days for each employee until the end of the year. The mills concerned are Joutseno (360,000 tpa BCTMP), Kaskinen (390,000 tpa BCTMP), Kemi (425,000 tpa white kraftliner), Kyro (190,000 t/a carton board), Tampere (210,000 t/a), Simpele (300,000 t/a folding box board) and Äääänekoski (260,000 t/a of folding box board).

The Smurfit Kappa Pruszków corrugated board factory is ramping up. With its extension, the factory will be the largest in Poland and one of the most modern and high-tech packaging factories in Europe, working mainly with brands in the food and beverage sectors. Smurfit Kappa’s investment in Poland includes the installation of a new high-tech corrugator and a range of state-of-the-art processing machines. The factory has also been equipped with a new finished goods warehouse, which can hold more than 12,000 pallets. The investment will bring the number of boxes produced annually to 500 million.

450 million SEK’s is the amount of the investment planned by the Holmen Group for its Braviken mill in Sweden. Their objective is to strengthen their position in the paper for book market while increasing its production capacity of corrugated board. Thus, the reconstruction of the factory’s PM 52 should allow the company to produce paper for books with higher weight. In addition, the production capacity of fluting should be increased. A gentle reminder that Holmen operates two paper machines at the Braviken site with a total capacity of more than 600,000 tpa, mainly paper for magazines and books composed of 100% fresh fibres.

In order to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to comply with the European Union’s carbon neutrality targets, Koehler launched the construction of a biomass cogeneration plant for its Oberkirch production site. Koehler will now use wood chips, green waste and manufacturing residues as fuel. This should enable it to save 150,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Koehler has an ambitious environmental goal: by 2030, it wants to generate more energy from renewable sources than is strictly necessary for its paper production.

Things are moving in the carton board market, this time in Sweden. Reno de Medici (RDM) has just concluded an agreement to acquire the Swedish recycled carton board manufacturer Fiskeby. The transaction is scheduled to close in the third quarter, subject to antitrust approval. Fiskeby employs 275 people and is considered the only producer of 100% recovered fibreboard in Scandinavia. The company operates a board machine that produces 170,000 tpa of recycled board in weights ranging from 280 to 500 g/m². The Norrköping site also houses four sheet cutting lines and a laminating machine. The company’s main sales markets are Sweden, Germany and the UK. Fiskeby is owned and operated by Fiskeby Holding LLC, under the management of the American industrial family Coors, which also owns and operates CoorsTek and Coors Brewery.

The MM Group has approved a major investment project to increase the long-term competitiveness of its largest board and paper mill, MM Kwidzyn in Poland.  Its objectives are to reduce energy and CO2 costs, integrate pulp and enter the kraft paper for the sack market. The group plans to spend around 660 million euros to make this happen. The purchase of a new recovery boiler and steam turbine and the conversion of the paper machine (PM 1) to kraft paper for sacks are already planned. The implementation of this program is planned for 2023-2026 with disbursements until 2027.  Mayr-Melnhof bought the site from International Paper in 2021.

British specialty paper, paper and luxury goods manufacturer James Cropper has announced a restructuring program. Among other things, the company will reduce the number of operating paper machines from four to three. Approximately 10% of employees will be potentially affected, mainly within Paper and Group functions, at a cost of £2.1 million. Specifically, James Cropper announced three strategic projects: reorganizing and renaming the brand’s profile, investing in innovation and systems and streamlining its Paper division to improve productivity and margins. This includes reorganizing its three separate divisions, James Cropper Paper, Technical Fibre Products and Colourform, into four market-oriented segments grouped under the main group heading: James Cropper Creative Papers; James Cropper Luxury Packaging; James Cropper Technical Fibres; and James Cropper Future Energy. According to the company, this reorganization will 'better target operations and streamline costs, while strengthening collaboration and sharing of functions within the group.' It hopes to complete the reorganization and name changes by the end of the calendar year.

UPM has received final operating approval from environmental authorities for its new pulp mill - UPM Paso de Los Toros. The mill is up and running and the first deliveries to customers are expected to be shipped in May. UPM has an extensive environmental monitoring program covering water and biota, air, soil, noise and socio-economic aspects. Through this growth investment, UPM and its sub-contractors will create 4,000 new jobs in the value chain, as well as approximately 6,000 induced jobs and a 2% increase in GDP for the Uruguayan economy. The UPM Group employs 17,200 people worldwide and has annual sales of approximately €11.7 billion.

According to Valmet, which will supply the PM 3 for the Turkish company Kipas Kagit’s Söke mill, the new machine is now scheduled for the end of 2023. After the inauguration of the brand new board manufacturing line, the mill will be one of the largest in Europe with a production capacity of 1,868 tonnes per day. The new 9 100 mm wide board machine will produce recycled flute, testliner and kraft top testliner grades with a range of 60 to 110 g/m2. The design speed of the machine will be 1800 m/min and the annual capacity will be approximately 650 000 tonnes. Remember that Kipa? Ka?it Sanayi Isletmeleri started as a joint venture of Kipa? Holding in 2011 and produces corrugated paper from waste paper. Kipa? currently has two paper machines: PM 1 in Kahramanmara? with an annual production capacity of 450,000 tonnes and PM 2 in Söke with a production capacity of 720,000 tonnes of coated paper.

Two years after the acquisition of Allard Emballages, Hinojosa Packaging Group entered into exclusive negotiations with the French group ASV Packaging to acquire 49% of its shares. The family-owned ASV Packaging Group specializes in the design and production of compact printed cardboard packaging for food and consumer products. This combination allows Hinojosa to strengthen its leading position in southern Europe for the manufacture of sustainable packaging solutions. Hinojosa and ASV Packaging together share the exclusivity of the production of Halopack (a fully gas-tight cardboard MAP tray) on the Iberian Peninsula and in France. Ruben Martinez Hinojosa, President of Hinojosa Packaging said, “Hinojosa sees the entry into the capital of ASV Packaging as an opportunity to expand its activity in corrugated cardboard packaging, which was made possible by the acquisition of Allard Emballage in 2021, through the integration of modern and competitive entities recognized on the market. Thus, we are bringing our model and expertise for the French market which allowed our continued growth on the Iberian market.” Last year, ASV Packaging had a turnover of 64 million euros with 210 employees.

A landslide occurred on the morning of April 27th in Halden in Southern Norway, causing property damage to building structures, cranes and other machinery and equipment related to PM 6 at the Norske Skog Saugbrugs mill. As a result,PM 6 will be out of service for an indefinite period. The Saugbrugs mill houses two paper machines, the PM 6 with a capacity of 260,000 tpa of SC magazine paper and the PM 4 has a capacity of 100,000 tpa of SC magazine paper.

The South African group Sappi and Aurelius could not agree to finalize the agreement concerning the Kirkniemi, Stockstadt and Maastricht facilities. What happened? The parties could not reach an agreement on the conditions precedent and, as a result, the agreement lapsed. Sappi will continue to manage the three mills as part of its portfolio. However, Sappi’s strategic direction remains unchanged. The group intends to reduce its exposure to the graphic paper segment and expand its presence in packaging and specialty paper, pulp and biomaterials. For the record, the Aurelius fund is the one that sold Office Depot Europe to Raja and since then, still in the graphic sector, has taken over Agfa’s offset activities which have just been renamed Eco3.

The British group DS Smith has announced an ambitious programme to upgrade its kraftliner paper mill in Viana, Portugal. The company plans to invest 145 million euros in the mill in the coming years. The proposed measures will increase the capacity of the paper machine and improve the environmental performance of the site. To date, the production capacity of the site is 425,000 tpa of kraftliner.

Swedish pulp producer Rottneros will cut staff at the Vallvik pulp mill due to rising costs, falling pulp prices and a lower US dollar in the long run. The Vallvik mill produces bleached and unbleached softwood kraft pulp with a capacity of approximately 250,000 tpa. Last year, the company laid off 36 people at the Rottneros mill when a fibre line producing mechanical wood pulp was closed due to a declining market and rising costs. The Rottneros mill specializes in the production of CTMP and is designed for a capacity of 120,000 tpa.

FunctionalBarrier papers are an interesting alternative to the growing demand for sustainable paper-based packaging solutions. This range, which replaces plastic films and laminates, offers fibre-based packaging solutions particularly suited to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and can be recycled into existing waste paper streams throughout Europe. The demand for this type of paper is growing which is why Mondi is investing in innovative technologies to strengthen its production capacity in this area. The manufacturer has invested in a new extruder at its Mondi Coating Št?tí site (Czech Republic) where production is expected to start in 2024. An investment programme is also underway at Mondi Jülich (Germany) with the refurbishment of an existing coating line. Mondi will also optimize its production site in Örebro (Sweden) by carrying out upgrades.

It’s a done deal. Stora Enso completed the divestiture of its paper production facility in Hylte, Sweden, and all the assets associated with Sweden Timber, including a sawmill and planing factory based in Sweden as well. The transaction amount was €18 million and Stora Enso’s annual newsprint capacity will reduce by 245,000 tonnes. Using the 2022 figures as a benchmark, the sale was expected to reduce Stora Enso’s annual sales by around €160 million. This operation, part of the previously announced plan to divest four of Stora Enso’s five paper production sites, will not affect the Stora Enso formed fibre and biocomposite operations located in the Hylte site. In line with its strategy, Stora Enso is now focusing on the long-term growth potential of its renewable products in packaging, construction solutions and biomaterial innovations.

After stopping the process of selling its paper mill in Anjala, Finland, Stora Enso now plans to concentrate the production of book paper on one of the two machines on the site. This would ultimately lead to the permanent closure of one of its two paper machines. Currently, the mill produces coated and uncoated paper for books, coated magazine paper and improved newsprint on two machines with a combined capacity of 435,000 tpa. The machine stop, scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2023, would reduce the mill’s production capacity by 250,000 tpa and it would affect 110 people. The Anjala site in Stora Enso in Finland includes the packaging and board production unit in Ingerois and the paper production unit in Anjala. Anjanankoski’s integrated site has been part of the Packaging Materials division since the beginning of the year.

Hinojosa Packaging Group achieved €820 million in sales in 2022, 27% more than in 2021. This was a solid performance in a complicated context, marked by historic records in energy and raw material prices, as well as supply chain difficulties. Despite increased sales, the company also reduced its carbon footprint by 12% last year. As a demonstration of its commitment to the circular economy, the group achieved a recovery rate of more than 93%. Along with this strong balance sheet there was also a positive international expansion in 2022 as the company consolidated in Portugal and France, after the purchase and integration of Allard Emballages. The family-owned Hinojosa Packaging Group, led by French CEO Eric Bacourt, currently has 2,500 employees and 19 production factories in Spain, Portugal and France, combining the strength of a global group with a local presence.

Gascogne invested 220 million euros to replace its three oldest paper machines at the Mimizan site by a single machine, supplied by Andritz. This new PM is designed to produce 125,000 tpa of unbleached kraft MG paper weighing 25 to 120 g/m². Dedicated to the new production line and its packaging chain, this new building will house the new PM and offices. Construction will begin before the end of June 2023.  

The paper maker UPM has been accepted by the environmental authorities in terms of all the procedures, systems and technologies necessary to fulfill the mill’s environmental permit. This approval precedes the final operating authorization, which should be received in a few weeks. “With an increase of over 50% in UPM’s current pulp capacity, this investment has created a radical shift in the scale of our pulp business and UPM’s future revenues,” said Jussi Pesonen, CEO. In addition to the pulp mill, the total investment of $3.47 billion includes a deep water port terminal in Montevideo, a new eucalyptus nursery and local investments in infrastructure and facilities. Bernd Eikens, Executive Vice President of UPM Fibres said, “The Paso de Los Toros pulp mill, with its annual production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of eucalyptus pulp, ranks us among the world’s leading pulp suppliers. We now have a balanced asset base and wood supply in both hemispheres. With two pulp mills in Uruguay and three pulp mills in Finland, we offer a strong supply of sustainable hardwood and softwood pulp to our customers.”

Valmet will equip DS Smith Paper Italia with a new corrugated board machine which will be installed at its Porcari site in Lucca, Italy, which up until now produces recycled corrugated board on two machines. The British group DS Smith explained that it would replace an older machine with 175,000 tpa capacity, which will have a 450,000 tpa capacity of light brown testliner and corrugated paper, with weights ranging from 70 to 135 g/m. It is scheduled to start up in mid-2025. In addition to the PM to be replaced, the Porcari site has another PM with a capacity of 235,000 tpa.

Norske Skog acquired the Bruck mill in Austria in January 1996. Thanks to this acquisition, Norske Skog’s product range was supplemented by coated magazine paper (LWC). A paper machine was recently converted to produce recycled corrugated board (PM 3, 210,000 tonnes of corrugated board). However, the rebuilt Norkse Skog machine at the Bruck papermill will not start commercial production in the 1st quarter as originally planned. Its commercial start was postponed during the first half of the year. The Bruck site has existed since 1881.

UPM Communication Papers plans to permanently close its PM6 at the Schongau mill in Germany, reducing the annual uncoated printing paper capacity by 165,000 tonnes by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2023. UPM Communication Papers has also talked about the shutdown of its Steyrermühl mill. The paper manufacturer has accelerated this process, which means the release of a total annual capacity of 320,000 tonnes of newsprint by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2023. This initiative is not expected to have any impact on the production of the other machines, namely the PM7 and PM9 at Schongau and the four other UPM uncoated paper machines in Germany and Finland. Overall, this will bring the company’s total annual capacity to 1,800,000 tonnes.

It started with Corenso in 2019, Topcore in 2021 and now Arteche Paper. Corex, the tube and edge protectors division of the Belgian family-owned group VPK, hasn’t stop innovating!  With the latest acquisition of Arteche Paper, the Iberian manufacturer of board, cores, tubes and edge protecters, this is its third external growth operation in 4 years. Its last transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the 2nd quarter. For Pierre Macharis, VPK Group’s CEO, “Corex and Arteche have achieved an impressive track record in recent years. Joining forces with Arteche will allow us to offer a wider geographical coverage while making the most of VPK’s network and expertise. Integration of a board factory creates a strategic geographic axis for the supply of renewable raw materials from the Corex tube board factory in Finland via Belgium to the south of France and Portugal.”  Arteche Paper has 65 million euros in turnover business. The company has a tube carton production facility in Porto, Portugal, and five converting factories in Portugal and Spain. Its total production capacity is 130,000 tonnes. As for the VPK Group, it generated a turnover of 2.1 billion euros in 2022 with a workforce of 6,500 employees.

High energy costs and low demand have led to the closure of German graphic, special and recycled packaging paper manufacturer Kübler & Niethammer Papierfabrik Kriebstein. Management is currently in discussions with a potential investor who may take over parts of the company. As a reminder, the German group Schönfelder, through its subsidiary Fesco Papier, withrew K&N Paper from insolvency proceedings in 2020. At the German Kriebstein mill, the company produced coated and uncoated recycled graphic paper, recycled label paper and brown (kraft) recycled packaging paper for sacks, pouches and packaging applications.

Enormous! That seems to be the right word to describe the world’s largest kraftliner machine that has just started to produce at SCA’s Obbola site in eastern Sweden. With a total investment of 7.5 billion SEK’s (660 million euros ), this major project was completed earlier than planned. At full capacity, planned for 2026, the machine will increase capacity from 450,000 tonnes to 725,000 tonnes per year. This new PM 2, provided by Voith, will replace the existing PM 1. The program has a total budget of 7.5 billion SEK’s, of which approximately 1 billion SEK’s has been allocated to environmental improvements on the site. For example, a bio-fuel furnace was installed in the mill with the goal of phasing out the use of fossil fuels and saving 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Like many companies, the Smurfit Kappa Group preferred to cease operations in Russia. The official departure of the group is scheduled for April 1st. The group suspended support for its Russian operations, including all imports and exports and all short- and long-term financing in April 2022. Its businesses in Russia represent less than 1% of its planned sales. Smurfit Kappa operated three corrugated packaging factories in Russia, located in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Copacel used the term 'polycrisis' at its annual press conference to describe the chaotic context that we have been living in since 2022. According to the association, it is characterized by three crises – a surge in inflation, which continues to erode purchasing power, an unprecedented increase in raw material costs (wood, chemicals, etc.) and a surge in energy prices. All this makes for a complicated situation, but, according to its results, the French paper industry was strong in 2022. As the 5th European producer after Germany, Italy, Sweden and Finland, France produced 7.1 Mt of paper and board in the past year. Of course, production is down compared to 2021 (-3.7%), but for reasons (stoppages for converting paper machines, technical problems, disasters, rationing of certain raw materials, etc.) that are not mainly related to a decline in demand. On the other hand, business in the sector as a whole (paper, paperboard and market pulp) grew by 31% to 7.7 billion euros, thanks to the increase in the sales price of all grades of paper and board. You can find all the results listed by Paul-Antoine Lacour, Copacel’s General Delegate, in Pap'Argus’ March issue!

There is a new acquisition in the carton board industry! German carton producer Buchmann was taken over by Weig, also based in Germany. Clearwater International advised Weig on this transaction. Buchmann has been on sale since September 2022. At that time, the company explained that the sale was not motivated by economic uncertainties, but by the context of an orderly succession plan for the family business based in Annweiler. Buchmann employs 330 people and operates a board machine with a capacity of up to 260,000 tpa. The company’s products are used by the carton board packaging industry in the food and non-food sector. Buchmann has a turnover of approximately €190 million. Weig is a group of family-owned companies, consisting of three BU, converting, board making and recycling units. It has around 1,500 employees, over €800 million in turnover and produces GD, GT and plasterboard. The company’s site in Mayen, Germany, has a total capacity of 630,000 tpa.

The future of the Ahlstrom specialty paper mill in Stenay (Meuse, East of France) is becoming increasingly precarious. In view of the existing overcapacity on the market for one-sided coated paper in Europe and the existing cost structure of the mill, the Ahlstrom Paper Group opened a consultation process on the disposal or potential closure of the site. With 127 employees, Ahlstrom Stenay has a turnover of around 56 million euros. In 2019, the company implemented a lay-off plan, which led to the departure of 77 employees.

The Heinzel Group announced the conversion of an unused paper machine at the Steyrermühl mill in Austria for the production of durable kraft paper for flexible packaging. “This is the first step in our plan to develop Laakirchen with our mill and the neighbouring mill less than 2 km from Steyrermühl into a European hub for sustainable packaging paper and renewable energy,” said Sebastian Heinzel, Heinzel Group’s CEO. “The new papers will complement our existing range and allow us to offer sustainable products as an alternative to fossil-based packaging solutions.” Once converted, by early 2024, the machine will produce up to 150,000 tonnes of low-weight brown and white kraft paper per year that will be marketed under the Heinzel Group’s Starkraft brand. The new kraft paper grades produced will be used in the production of sacks, pouches and other flexible packaging products. Heinzel will take over UPM’s Steyrermühl site on January 1st, 2024, according to an agreement signed in 2022, and will enter the market with a new range of unbleached and bleached kraft paper shortly thereafter. At the site, UPM now operates a paper machine for the production of newsprint, a sawmill and a waste incineration plant jointly owned by Laakirchen Papier (Heinzel). UPM plans to continue its business as usual until the end of 2023, when the production of graphic papers in Steyrermühl will be stopped.

Two Sides, the printing and paper advocacy group, welcomed a new member, HP. "We aim to be the most sustainable and fair technology company in the world, taking urgent action to fight climate change, protect human rights and accelerate digital equity. As sustainability is an important factor for many of our customers and consumers, the fact library we have access to by joining Two Sides will be of great use in our own communications with our customers, helping to promote our printed and paper products," said Peter Jolly, HP National Industrial Manager for the United Kingdom and Ireland. As a reminder, since 2016 HP brand paper has been sourced from recycled or certified sources.  Since 2020 this has also been the case for paper-based packaging for printers and home and office supplies, computers and monitors.

Good news for the industry! The Dutch company Crown Van Gelder (CVG) which declared bankruptcy at the end of January, has finally found a buyer, the Californian group Epac Technologies.  It will soon restart production. The official announcement was made at Hunkeler Innovation Days in Lucerne, Switzerland, which ended on March 2nd, 2023. Epac specializes in integrated supply chain management and automation solutions for book publishers and printers. They know each other well, having co-developed CVG’s flagship inkjet paper, the Crown Letsgo, launched about five years ago. The CVG mill currently has a production capacity of approximately 180,000 tpa.

Phew!  Not as bad as people thought it would be. The Latin American paper manufacturer CMPC stated that pulp supplies were not affected by the forest fires in Chile and that all contracts will be honored. Unfortunately, these fires are common place. According to Conaf figures, there were more than 4,400 fires registered this season, affecting an area nearly 500 times that of the same period last year! In addition to fire prevention and suppression work, CMPC provided assistance to the thousands of families affected by the emergency.

A real match. That’s how the Stratus Packaging Group, one of the adhesive label, sleeve and IML leaders in France, sees its association with the company located in the South of Lyon, Décomatic,  an expert in labels and secure packaging, especially in multipage industrial labels (booklets/leaflets). The two leaders, Isidore Leiser, CEO of Stratus Packaging and Jean-Luc Allègre, CEO of Décomatic, evoked “the family roots of our companies that have been fundamental in the history of our relationship and have greatly accelerated the discussions between us. As our corporate cultures are based on the same values, it will make it easier to connect.” Referred to by the two players as an “innovation and investment accelerator,” this merger forms a new industrial complex worth nearly 90 million euros (including nearly 18 million euros for Décomatic), made up of 462 employees with 8 production sites in France and Switzerland, making it among the European leaders in the sector.

The Blendecques (Pas-de-Calais) recycled board mill in Reno de Medici (RDM) in France is still in the start-up phase and will deliver the first board reels to customers in March. The Italian paper manufacturer RDM, a specialist in recycled carton board for folding boxes, plans to have an additional 200,000 tonnes of production capacity over the next three years, increasing the capacity of several sites.

Ecological transition is the main concerns for today’s manufacturers. We must find viable and coherent alternatives to plastic packaging. This message was received loud and clear by Digital Packaging, an expert in prototyping and pre-production, which certified the use of GreenBee (see photo) and UniversalBee, two innovations by Guyenne Papier, for packaging design. Greenbee was selected among the nominees for the CFIA Innovation Awards in Rennes. GreenBee (part of the Sunibarrier range) is a 100% bio-based and natural barrier paper for fats and mineral oils. It is particularly suitable for dry and oily products.

The startup of the recently rebuilt PM at the Alizay plant (in Normandy) is almost here. The Belgian group VPK announced that commercial production would start at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter 2023. The rebuilt machine has a capacity of 450,000 tpa of corrugated paper. Approximately 650,000 tpa of recovered paper will be required for production.  Keep in mind that VPK acquired the Alizay site from Double A, the ream specialist in Asia, in mid-2021, which it took over with the help of local authorities following the departure of M'Real. As a result, VPK initiated the machine’s conversion, which previously produced uncoated wood-free paper with a capacity of 300,000 tpa. The mill also houses a corrugated board factory. A new corrugator was already put into operation in November 2022.

The Italian paper and label specialist Fedrigoni continues to shop around. This time, it signed an industrial partnership with a producer  who specializes in translucent papers in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, China. As part of the agreement, Fedrigoni granted a loan to the team formed by two former Arjowiggins executives for the acquisition, in exchange for a purchase option which gives Fedrigoni the opportunity to take over the company in the long term. The Quzhou special paper manufacturer is a leading global player in the production and distribution of translucent papers (sold under the Gateway, Idem and Sylvicta brands) for applications such as industrial design, graphic solutions, consumer electronics, and food & luxury packaging. With this transaction, Fedrigoni is strengthening its presence in the Asian market, as announced this autumn by its CEO, Marco Nespolo (see photo). In Asia, the group already has an extensive distribution network, notably in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia and Bangladesh, as well as 11 warehouses and a self-adhesive materials production plant in Hefei. Today, the Quzhou production plant employs 130 people and produces about 7,000 tonnes of translucent paper per year.

Corrugated cardboard has the wind in its sails. How so? The global production capacity of corrugated board increased by about 10% (or 20 million tonnes) between 2019 and 2021, said Fisher International. It remains to be seen how long this enthusiasm will last. Already, capacity is down slightly in 2022 compared to 2021 with 2% in North America and 0.40% in Europe most likely due to the energy crisis. Don’t forget that corrugated board is the largest gas consumer in Europe. Also, lower demand in e-commerce sector played a role in the slowdown in corrugated board. However, we must remain balanced because in the pulp and paper global market, corrugated board still remains well above all other major categories at the end of 2022. Its production capacity was 140% higher than that of market pulp, the second main category.

The Swedish company Holmen acknowledged that it had a difficult, but successful 2022. It announced that it will double its investment rate in the Iggesund mill in Sweden over the next five years. Operating profit for 2022 was SEK 7,527 million, or EUR 664 million (2021: 3,431 for a total turnover of SEK 23,952 million, or EUR 2.1 billion). When the results were published, the group also revealed  that in 2022 it launched a new product for the inner layer of transport packaging, and that the product was well received by the market. The next step will be to carry out a reconstruction of one of the paper machines in order to increase volumes. When  the company published its results, it stated that it  had increased its renewable energy production capacity by 40%.

Some relief is in sight for the Spanish pulp and renewable energy group Ence Energía y Celulosa, which just received confirmation that is was legally approved for the extension of the concession granted to its pulp mill in Pontevedra, in the North-West of Spain, in Galicia. This legal decision helps secure the future of this establishment. Under the concession, the company can work on the site until 2073. It can produce up to 620,000 tpa of pulp at the Pontevedra bio-plant. The reversal of asset impairments and provisions for expenses as seen in the 2021 accounts, following the National Court’s judgments, will have a positive impact estimated at 169 million euros for the company’s 2022 results.

Here is an innovation that came out of a cooperative spirit! The Swedish paper mill Lessebo Paper worked with Bonnier Books and Livonia print. At the end of this joint venture, Livonia Zero Offset was born.  Its objective is to reduce the carbon footprint of printed books. This quality of paper produces a minimum of greenhouse gasses and all greenhouse gas emissions that are produced are offset. The product is a white, uncoated paper, available in 100g/M2 to 140 g/M2 as standard range. It has a high opacity and rough surface. The weight of the paper is specially developed to give the book a pleasant thickness and weight. In addition, Livonia Zero Offset by Lessebo Paper is developed for high performance printing machines and is available in reels and sheets.

There are differences in paper bag quality. This is why ‘The Paper Bag’ platform, an association of the main European kraft paper manufacturers and paper bag producers, has published a best practice guide for paper bags, allowing paper bag producers and their customers to get an idea of the parameters that influence the strength and durability of the bags. The detailed document presents technical processes and recommendations on how to produce paper bags that meet these criteria. Manufacturing good practices focus on the main factors that can influence the quality of a bag, from the selection of the right material, such as paper or glue, to the processing process and the type of handle. The guide also states that the European standard EN13590 allows to obtain a Quality certification proving the durability and resistance of the bags. They are tested by being lifted several times with weights adapted to their specific size and volume.

The Spanish group, a corrugated board and carton board packaging company, made its first acquisition in 2020 with the Portuguese company Graphicsleader. The following year, the group bought Allard Emballages. This year all of Allard Emballages' sites (Packaging or Paper) are now operating under the Hinojosa Packaging Solutions group logo. The group will gradually unify its visual identity for all its French sites, with a single logo and an image that reflect its values: trust, excellence, customer proximity and positive attitude. Hinojosa Packaging Group combines the strength of a large international group, while being able to guarantee locally the highest standards of quality and service.

International Paper published solid results. Net sales over the past year were $21.161 billion, up from $19.363 billion in 2021. Net income for 2022 was $1.5 billion, compared to $1.8 billion for 2021. "In 2022, International Paper increased revenues and profits in a dynamic and challenging macroeconomic environment and returned $1.9 billion to our shareholders," said Mark Sutton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He continued, "Our commercial and operational performance has been solid, while significant inflation and lower demand have impacted margins. We also made $250 million in profits through our Building a Better IP initiatives, exceeding our target for the year and creating a strong momentum for the future."

The Vänersborg Land and Environmental Court announced its decision to grant a permit to increase production at the Nordic Paper plant in Bäckhammar, Sweden. The new permit allows Nordic Paper, after investments, to increase its production of pulp in Bäckhammar by more than 20% and kraft paper by more than 10%. "The new production permit is an important step in the development of the Bäckhammar plant. We are now looking forward to finalizing our plans and preparing a possible investment decision during the year," said Christian Persson, Nordic Paper’s COO. At Bäckhammar, Nordic Paper produces unbleached kraft paper of various qualities, mainly for final packaging uses. The raw material comes from sustainably managed forests in central Sweden as well as sawmill chips. Products made from Bäckhammar paper include flour bags, transport bags and bread bags. The main market is in Europe but the papers are shipped all over the world. In 2022, Nordic Paper achieved a net turnover of approximately SEK 4,400 million, or approximately EUR 385 million.

The Spanish pulp and renewable energy company Ence (Energía & Celulosa) has already concluded sales agreements for about 1 million tonnes of pulp for 2023. Primarily, these agreements are aimed at the European market, where Ence has significant competitive advantages in logistics and customer service. Through these operations, the company is able to increase its market share on the Old Continent and improve its positioning in key and growing segments. This is the case for tissue, specialties and packaging, segments that account for nearly 90% of contracted sales. In this sense, the weight of sales of special products is significant, as they add value in a highly competitive market. Sales of these products, grouped under the “Ence Advanced” brand, represent 20% of the total committed, and have an additional growth potential of 10%. This is special cellulose for a multitude of applications. In this way, Ence reaches a benchmark position in a market where the global demand for paper has grown significantly since 2021.

Norske Skog will spend NOK 180 million to build a new thermomechanical pulp line (TMP) at the Skogn plant in Norway. Its commissioning is scheduled for the first half of 2024. The investment will replace recycled fibre with fresh fibre in newsprint production. This will reduce variable costs, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions, as well as landfill waste. The company expects to increase its thermomechanical wood pulp production capacity by 100,000 tonnes.

This is the period of strikes in France... and Finland! This is the threat posed by the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (AKT), which is currently in the middle of wage negotiations. If no agreement on wage increases is reached this week, the AKT could issue a strike warning that would affect, among other things, truck traffic and operations in Finnish ports. Possible strikes in Finnish ports from mid-February could have a significant impact on the overall Finnish pulp, paper and paperboard trade.

According to a new study by Smithers, 'The Future of Fibrebased Packaging to 2027', annual global demand for fibre-based packaging will reach $503.4 billion in 2027, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) Over the same period, the total weight of fibre packaging will increase from 264.4 million tonnes (2022) to 316.3 million tonnes (2027)., a CAGR of 3.7%. The study concludes that innovation will result in additional gains for all types of fibre packaging over the next five years, knowing that one of the strongest growth trajectories will be that of paste/moulded fibre. Several line extensions are underway to meet the demand for a more sustainable alternative to thermoformed plastics, using new coatings and faster production technology.

Italian paperboard producer Reno de Medici (RdM) is starting up again its recycled board mill in Blendecques (Pas-de-Calais) in France, with an annual capacity of 140,000 tonnes. The first reel of carton board rolled off on January 18th. Officially, production should start in February. The mill had a serious fire last March. Remember that in December, Michele Bianchi, the RdM Group’s CEO, gave an interview to Pap'Argus. You can read more about RdM in Pap’Argus #396 issue.

Get your own pdf issue through s.hubert@mpmedias.com

Dutch paper producer Crown Van Gelder is facing financial difficulties and has filed for bankruptcy at the Noord Holland District Court in Haarlem. The court opened insolvency proceedings on January 23rd. Crown Van Gelder produces approximately 160,000 tpa of paper around has 200 employees. The company is considered one of the market leaders in high-speed inkjet printing papers and also offers offset grades, label paper, barrier-function packaging paper and specialties based on alternative raw materials. The company has been in business for 126 years. For the record, the first reel of paper came out of the machine in 1896!  The company was owned by Pieter Smidt at the time and the first reel was used for the Amsterdam newspaper 'De Echo'.

Mercer International announced that due to a lack of availability of suitable fibre, its Celgar mill in British Columbia, Canada, will stop for three weeks. It is expected to begin in March 2023. The Celgar mill produces Northern Softwood Bleached Kraft Pulp (NBSK) with an annual capacity of 500,000 tpa. For the record, Mercer is a forest products company with operations in Canada, Germany and the United States. The group has an annual capacity of 2.3 million t of pulp, 140,000 m³ of cross-laminated timber, 17 million pallets, and 150,000 t of wooden pellets...

Construction began on the Essity Paper Recycling mill, a world leader in hygiene and health, at the Prudhoe mill in the UK after Northumberland County Council granted a building permit in late 2022. The main brands manufactured in the Prudhoe mill include Cushelle, Velvet, Tork and Asda Shades. The construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The work involves replacing an existing 50-year-old recycling mill with a new facility housing “the latest paper recycling technology.” Essity says this will reduce energy costs and increase its ability to manufacture household paper products from recycled fibres. Traditionally, the main raw material for recycled pulp that Essity used in the manufacturing of tissue was made from office waste paper. However, the company must compensate for the significant decrease in the amount of office waste available (due to people working from home and the digitalization process). This is why it wants to use a variety of lower grades mixed papers from household waste.

It’s a done deal! The Finnish-Swedish Stora Enso Group is finalizing the Dutch corrugated packaging manufacturer De Jong Packaging acquistion. This is a big external growth operation, which as a result will now have a production capacity of 2000million m2 of corrugated board. The transaction is expected to strengthen the group’s presence in the European packaging sectors and allow it to enter the corrugated packaging industry in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. De Jong Packaging’s 2022 turnover is expected to be around €1 billion. Stora Enso’s 2021’s turnover was 10.2 billion euros.

Mondi completed the acquisition of the Duino mill near Trieste, Italy, from the Burgo Group. Mondi plans to invest around €200 million in converting the factory’s existing lightweight coated mechanical paper machine into a recycled board machine with an annual capacity of around 420,000 tonnes. The mill is ideally located for sourcing recycled paper, supplying Mondi’s corrugated board factories in Central Europe and Turkey, as well as serving the growing local Italian market. The converted machine should start in 2025. In 2021, Mondi had a turnover of 7 billion euros. The group employs approximately 21,000 people worldwide.

The Chilean pulp giant Arauco has started its new pulp line at its mill in the Biobio region in the south of the country. This step brings the company closer to the conclusion of the Mapa project, which was fraught with difficulties. Arauco’s parent company, Copec, informed shareholders on December 30th that Arauco had started supplying the boiler chips for production line 3. The teams involved in the implementation of the Mapa project, more than 10,000 in peak activity, are expected to be withdrawn at the end of March.  The new line is designed to produce 1.56 million tpa of eucalyptus pulp, bringing the total capacity of the site to approximately 2.1 million tpa of pulp. Arauco estimates that the final investment figure will be around $2.85 billion.

Canfor Pulp attributed its decision to the reduced availability of residual fibre for pulp. In recent years several sawmills have closed permanently in the Prince George area due to reductions in annual allowable cuts and difficulties in accessing fibre at competitive prices. This has had a significant impact on the availability of residual fibre for Canfor pulp facilities. The closure is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter and will affect approximately 300 jobs companywide. On site, the fibre production line produces 280,000 tpa of NBSK marketable pulp

Here we go! The first corrugated cardboard sheets have officially left the Progroup PW14 factory’s production line, located in Stryków, Poland.  They are off to a successful start! This new factory will produce up to 200,000 tonnes of corrugated board every year. With the nearby PW07 plant, the total production capacity will increase to 825 million square metres per year. Stryków is one of the largest corrugated board production sites in the world. Progroup has invested nearly 72 million euros in this project which covers around 28,000 square meters. Almost all standard grades of corrugated board can be produced in the PW14 factory with a working width of 3.35 metres and a production speed of 400 metres per minute.   At the heart of the corrugator machine is the Modul Facer MF-A concept which was developed by BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH. This is the first time at Progroup that this module has been installed with a width of 3.35 meters. MF-A concept delivers a highly efficient production process and corrugated board of the very finest quality. It produces high-quality single and double-wall Next Board corrugated board sheets with B, C and E flutes in all combinations. In comparison to conventional types of corrugated board, the Next Board® products benefit from much lower use of energy and raw materials and reduce CO2 emissions per tonne of corrugated board by 26 per cent on average – and also deliver better strength figures.

The hygiene specialist Wepa has started a new paper machine at its Welsh site in Bridgend, doubling its production capacity for the UK market. The paper produced is transformed into toilet paper and paper towels for the British consumer market where Wepa plays a leading role. The investment has created more than 50 new jobs on the site. The new paper machine has a production capacity of 70,000 tonnes of tissue paper per year and is designed to manufacture toilet paper products from virgin fibres as well as 100% recycled fibres. Thanks to its high energy efficiency, the new fabric paper machine from the manufacturer Valmet also contributes significantly to the reduction of CO2 emissions and water consumption. The Bridgend site has been part of the Wepa group since 2013, initially as a joint venture before being fully acquired in 2018. With this investment, the Wepa Group is strengthening its competitiveness as one of the three largest European manufacturers in the toilet paper market. With a total of 22 paper machines, the group has a production capacity of approximately 850,000 tonnes per year.

Italian carton board producer Reno de Medici took over its Villa Santa Lucia mill’s business at the beginning of the new year. This came after more than four months of a forced stoppage. The mill, which produces about 220,000 tonnes/year of white-lined chipboard (WLC) on a single machine, was shut down at the end of August. RDM Group CEO Michele Bianchi (interviewed in December in Pap'Argus) warned that the start-up would not be easy given the many difficulties caused by the imposed production shutdown.

Stora Enso continues to strengthen its focus on specialty pulp grades by investing EUR 38 million in the production of unbleached kraft pulp (UKP) at its Enocell site in Finland and €42 million in improving fluff pulp production at its Skutskär site in Sweden. These investments support increasing consumer demand for unbleached renewable packaging materials and hygiene products. By increasing UKP’s share in its pulp portfolio, Stora Enso is pursuing its strategy of developing more specialized Nordic pulp grades while optimizing its share in standard market pulp. Their strategy is simple, long-term trends indicate a consumer preference for renewable packaging products based on less bleached or brown fibre. As a result of this investment, the Enocell site will be able to flexibly produce UKP and NBSK pulp. Due to the reduced use of bleaching chemicals, the carbon footprint per tonne of UKP produced will be more than 20% lower than the equivalent amount of bleached pulp produced at the Enocell site. The investment is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2024. Specifically, the investment in improving fluff pulp production at the Skutskär site is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024. The annual capacity of the Stora Enso Enocell site is 630,000 tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp. The annual capacity of the Skutskär site at Stora Enso is 545,000 tonnes of fluff, softwood and hardwood pulp.

 Here’s the latest from the Italian market, the Prinzhorn Group is considering a strategic investment by acquiring the corrugated packaging producer Scatolificio La Veggia. Prinzhorn and SLV will take the necessary steps in the coming months to prepare and close the acquisition, which is expected in 2023 after a court ruling. With 10,000 employees in 16 countries, the Prinzhorn Group is a major player in the European packaging, paper and recycling industry. With an annual turnover of 2.3 billion euros, it is #3 in Europe in this segment. The family-owned Prinzhorn Group is headquartered in Vienna, Austria and is has three divisions: Dunapack Packaging (corrugated board packaging solutions), Hamburger Containerboard (corrugated board production) and Hamburger Recycling Group (collection and trading of secondary raw materials).

The European Association of Corrugated Cardboard Paper Manufacturers, Cepi ContainerBoard (CCB), has updated  its “European List of Corrugated Paper,” the only industry reference document, for the sixth time since the first version was created in 1992. Based on 30 years of practice, this new edition reflects improved knowledge and understanding of how the properties of paper influence the corrugated board packaging characteristics and the corrugators performances. Its purpose is to define the paper and board grades used by the corrugated board industry in Europe and to give a brief technical description. It also allows the identification of paper grades marketed in Europe along with indicating the general conditions for guaranteeing the technical specifications of the papers. Las, but not least, it presents future trends and technical developments. Note that in this update, emphasis was placed on the definition of “white coatings” (coated and uncoated). In addition, new compression properties ‘STest’ for materials based on corrugated board (based on recovered paper) have been defined. A chapter on dual-use recycled paper is also available on the CCB website.

American board manufacturer WestRock has completed the acquisition of Mexican corrugated board company Grupo Gondi. Grupo Gondi has been operating in Mexico since 1954. WestRock bought the remaining stake in Grupo Gondi for $970 million. Thanks to this, WestRock has strengthened its presence in Mexico. The acquisition includes four paper mills, nine corrugated board packing factories and six high-quality graphic mills across Mexico that produce sustainable packaging for a wide range of end markets in the region. WestRock also announced that it was divesting its interest in RTS Packaging and selling its remaining interest to Sonoco for $330 million. As a result, Sonoco will own 100 % of RTS, formerly operated as a joint venture between Sonoco (35 % stake) and WestRock (65 % stake). The Atlanta-based packaging producer has also signed a final agreement to sell its uncoated recycled board (URB) plants in Eaton, Indiana, and Aurora, Illinois, for $50 million to Ox Industries. In its last fiscal year, WestRock recorded an increase of 13.4% to $21.3 billion (€20.5 billion) and net income of 12.6% to $945 million.

The construction of a giant paper mill in India is looking good! A feasibility study is currently underway for this program, which would allow a board capacity of 1.2 million tpa in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas provide quality products to meet the growing global demand for tissue, packaging and paper. It produces over 19 million tonnes per year. The company estimates the capital costs of the project at about $1.2 billion. The e expected to be commissioned in 2025, depending on the positive outcome of the feasibility study and licensing process. The site could move to full production in 2027. APP is one of the world’s leading producers of pulp, paper and packaging based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Villa Santa Lucia factory of the Italian cardboard maker Reno de Medici (RDM) in Italy has been out of production for more than three months now. It is still unclear when the mill (with a capacity of 220,000 tpa) will start up again. The company is still waiting for the adjustment and development of the treatment units ordered by the Cassino courts. There are also concerns that the reactivation of mills will have to cope with the additional costs in the meantime, particularly the energy bills that have increased. Reno De Medici (RDM) specializes in recycled board, coated board and carton board.

Stora Enso has acquired De Jong Packaging, based in the Netherlands, for approximately €1,020 million. The De Jong Packaging company is one of the largest producers of corrugated board packaging in the Benelux. This acquisition will enable Stora Enso to strengthen its market share in renewable packaging in Europe. Thanks to this move, Stora Enso’s Packaging Solutions division will increase its corrugated board packaging capacity from approximately 1,200 million m2 to over 2,000 million m2. In the medium term, after 3 years, the acquisition should generate average annual synergies of 30 million euros over the cycle, mainly through sourcing, optimisation of the integration of cartons and commercial opportunities. If Stora Enso decides to convert the paper production site in Langerbrugge in Belgium to corrugated board, further synergies will be possible. De Jong Packaging’s sales for 2022 are estimated at around €1 billion.

The European Commission has approved the acquisition of the Sappi paper mills in Kirkniemi, Maastricht (see photo) and Stockstadt by the German private equity firm Aurelius Group. The transaction was announced at the end of September and is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2023. According to the Commission, the transaction was examined under the simplified merger procedure and the competent authority concluded that the proposed acquisition would not pose any competitive concerns. The three mills have a total capacity of 480,000 tpa of coated and uncoated paper woodfree paper and board and 750,000 tpa of coated mechanical paper. The company was valued at €272 million in the transaction.

The Finnish packaging group Huhtamaki invested €20 million in the extension of its Nules site in northern Valencia, Spain with a goal is of doubling its production capacity. The Nules site specializes in board solutions. The 12,500 m 2 extension was built to match the world-renowned BREEAM 1 sustainability standards. This is in line with Huhtamaki’s 2030 sustainability objectives, including the use of 100% renewable electricity and it is on track with a virtual power purchase contract covering approximately 80% of Huhtamaki’s current electricity consumption in Europe signed in December 2021. Thanks to the installation of an advanced HVAC system (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) which controls air quality, temperature and humidity, the plant also meets high standards of thermal comfort for its employees. Production in the new buildings will start in January 2023. Huhtamaki’s investment reflects the growing demand for renewable and recyclable paper packaging to replace rigid plastics and it is not their only one. Earlier this year, Huhtamaki announced that its manufacturing site in Alf, Germany, was concentrating plastics on smooth molded fibre products to meet the growing demand for plastic-free alternatives for the food packaging industry. When fully operational, the state-of-the-art automated manufacturing facility will have the capacity to manufacture up to 3.5 billion fibre products per year. This is the first large-scale production capacity in Europe.

There were lots of discussions during last week’s CEPI’s Paper & Beyond conference in Brussel about the European Commission’s directive proposal on packaging and in particular regarding reuse and recycling. The Commission took into account the paper industry comments (and fears) and proposed building a circular model where reuse and recycling are complementary. This was a relief to many people, considering that earlier leaks feared that reuse would become the norm and that recycling would eventually be banned from circular economy. According to CEPI, “Reuse systems have to become as efficient as recycling in the paper and board industry. The targets set in the new directive proposal should focus on markets where circular performance should be improved, and decisions to choose recyclable or reusable packaging should be based on independent scientific evidence of their respective environmental benefits.” We must be opened to the two options since the paper industry, very efficient in terms of recycling (85% at present, 90% in 2030) is not the best equipped for the reuse process.

Good news for UPM! The construction site preparing to start its new pulp mill in Paso de Los Toros, Uruguay, is on schedule. UPM will begin testing the recovery boiler, which is considered one of the most important preparatory steps for commissioning the mill. The boiler, nearly 100 metres high, will provide energy for the entire pulp production process, while playing a key role in the recovery of chemicals. UPM also reported that the first ships carrying chemicals have arrived and that the new pulp terminal at Montevideo’s port has been inaugurated and is up and running. The terminal has rail access and is directly connected to the pulp mill. The company will operate the pulp terminal, which has a capacity of over 2 million tpa and can accommodate about 100 ships per year, as a long-term dealer. The Paso de los Toros mill will produce more than 300 MW of renewable energy, which, according to UPM, is equivalent to 15% of Uruguay’s energy production. UPM estimates that the total amount of investments for the project in Uruguay is nearly $3.5 billion. Pulp production is expected to start at the end of the first quarter of 2023. The new eucalyptus pulp mill will have a capacity of 2.1 million tpa.

The South Korean company Pacific Package that has just been taken over by Autajon specializes in the manufacture of folding cases and boxes for cosmetic products. It is now called Autajon Packaging Pacific and its purchase strengthens the Autajon Group’s presence in Asia where two of its label companies, Autajon Labels Shanghai & Autajon Labels Guanghzou are already present in China. Last month Autajon took over the American company ZappPackaging based in California which specializes in folding boxes. Autajon already has three production sites in the United States.

The European Commission gave the green light to PHO P, a newly established company belonging to the German Schwarz group to acquire Stora Enso’s Maxau magazine paper mill. The Commission cleared the transaction stating that '’the proposed acquisition would not pose any competition problems, given the limited vertical links between the two companies.” The € 210 million transaction was announced at the Maxau mill in Karlsruhe, Germany where there are two paper machines with an production capacity of up to 530,000 tpa of supercalendered paper (SC). Schwarz is mainly active in food retailing in more than 30 countries through its distribution chains Lidl and Kaufland. Its subsidiary Prezero, is also active in the collection, recycling and marketing of recovered paper and other materials.

One hundred years old and still going strong! Congratulations to the dynamic and always evolving family-owned industrial group Rossmann (estimated turnover for 2022: 905 million euros). It all started with Lucien Rossmann, the current president’s father, who started a packaging factory in Strasbourg making shoe boxes in 1922. Bernard Rossmann took over in 1972. Today, the group is present in Europe and Africa and has 4 paper mills and 20 corrugated board factories.  What an inspiring success story for France France!

The Swedish paper group SCA will be start up its new CTMP mill earlier than expected at the site of the recovered paper mill in Ortviken, Sweden. When the mill is fully operational, it will produce 300,000 tpa of CTMP. This mill cost around 150 million euros to get up and running.

Austrian paper manufacturer Laakirchen Papier AG has commissioned the technology provider Voith to implement the complete reconstruction of its PM 11 at its Laakirchen site. The company, part of the Heinzel Group, is planning to convert the production mill from graphic paper to packaging board. The reconstructed production line work will start in the second quarter of 2024. This reconstruction program will increase the production volume from 350,000 tpa of SC papers to 500,000 tpa of corrugated board per year. The newly reconstructed machine will be able to produce papers with a weight of 70 g at high production speeds. Heinzel, based in Vienna, Austria, is a major player in the pulp and paper industry, with production sites in Austria, Germany and Estonia.

Burgo an Italian printing, writing and publishing paper manufacturing group, has once again stopped the production of LWC and MWC paper at the Duino paper magazine mill near Trieste (Italy). The company justified its decision by the lack of orders in a weak market.

And one more factory in Smurfit Kappa’s portfolio! This time, it is Pusa Pack, a bag-in-box packaging factory located in Onda (in the Valencia region) which specializes in the manufacture of large flexible bags, from 200 to 1500 litres, used for the storage and transport of bulk food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other liquid and semi-liquid products. Thierry Minaud, Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box’s CEO, justified this operation saying, ‘’We are seeing more and more companies moving away from plastic or intermediate bulk containers (IBC) made of stainless steel in favour of more durable corrugated board solutions.” Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box has been active in the heavy packaging market since 2002 providing high-capacity bags and high-quality corrugated cardboard containers through its sales office Liquiwell based in Wülfrath, near Düsseldorf, Germany. Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box is the European leader of Bag-in-Box solutions and its Vitop tap is the world leader in wine taps.

The fresh fibre carton producer FOLBB has restarted operations on its carton machines in Eerbeek, the Netherlands, and in Baiersbronn, Germany. The company reported that the Eerbeek mill restarted production in week 43 after being shut down for reconstruction on September 13th. The reconstruction will help the Dutch plant to reduce its natural gas consumption by at least 5%. The Baiersbronn mill resumed operations on October 31st. Both machines have a total production capacity of up to 245,000 t of folding box board.

The new SCA kraftliner PM 2 machine at the Obbola mill in northern Sweden is up and running! According to the company, testing began in the third quarter and the machine went into continuous production (24/7) in the fourth quarter, slightly earlier than originally planned. The fine tuning of the machine will continue in the coming quarters as SCA plans to operate the machine at full capacity in 2026. For the record, SCA has been present in Obbola for over 100 years. Initially, only kraft pulp was produced there. Note that SCA will introduce a new Renewable Energy reporting segment as of January 1st, 2023. This decision is in line with SCA’s stated ambition to develop and realize commercial opportunities in the renewable energy sector. Typically, sales of tall oil, a pulp production by-product, will be reported in the renewable energy segment as of January 1, 2023.

The European leader in plastic trays, Guillin, now has 31 subsidiaries in Europe thanks to its latest transaction and the success of its latest external growth operation. The group, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, is continuing its diversification towards card board packaging by buying Ciesse Paper, the number 1 Italian manufacturer of carton board trays for fruits and vegetables. It offers a complete service that integrates the technical and graphic design, manufacture and sale of carton board packaging for fruit and vegetable producers and packers. The Ciesse Paper site is located near Mantua, an ideal location for supplying the main fruit and vegetable production areas in Italy and Europe. The family group Guillin, located in the East of France, had consolidated sales of 741 million euros in 2021. Ciesse Paper posted a turnover of 28 million euros in 2021. Elisa and Lorenzo Govi, current executives of the family company will remain shareholders at 10% and continue their operational roles within the company.

The Italian market, known to be very fragmented with many large SME’s (50 to 150 million euros in turnover) in the board sector, is definitely consolidating. If further proof was needed, there was the recent external growth operation carried out by the German group Palm which bought Orsini Imballaggi ‘s corrugated board mill located in the south-east of Milan which produces packaging for the Italian market. Thanks to this recent purchase, Palm now owns two corrugated board mills in Italy. The Palm family business celebrated its 150th anniversary this year at a ceremony held at its headquarters in Aalen Neukochen. 2022 was also the year when the company integrated the PM 5, the world’s most powerful paper machine for lightweight corrugated backing.

Antalis announced that it acquired a worldwide portfolio of brands, including the well-known Conqueror, Curious Collection, Keaykolour, Pop’Set and Rives from its former long-term supplier Arjowiggins Scotland Limited, which went bankrupt in September 2022. Together with the Olin brand, this acquisition demonstrates Antalis’ commitment to continue to offer an attractive Premium Fine Papers range of Text & Cover, Letterheads, Textured boards, Premium Colored Offset, Labels and Envelopes to its customers, printers, brand owners and creative agencies. While waiting to find producers for these special papers, Antalis bought the Scottish factory’s remaining stocks. Antalis, the French-Japanese distributor, says it can deliver to customers while it searches for a new manufacturer. This should take place in the first quarter of 2023.

The German paper and packaging group Schumacher Packaging has acquired a majority stake in the Italian manufacturer of recycled corrugated board, Cartiere Modesto Cardella. According to the company’s announcement, the Cardella family still retains a significant stake and will continue to manage the company. The financial details of the agreement have not yet been revealed. Cartiere Modesto Cardella operates a paper mill near Lucca and employs 100 people. The mill houses two paper machines with a total capacity of 200,000 tpa of recycled corrugated board. At the end of 2021, Schumacher Packaging announced a €700 million investment plan to expand its paper and corrugated board capacity. Last year, this packaging solutions supplier of corrugated board and cardboard, had a turnover of 857 million euros, an increase of 27% compared to the previous year.

Suzano, the world’s largest market pulp producer, with a capacity of 11 million tonnes of BEKP marketable pulp, will acquire Kimberly Clark Brazil’s tissue assets. The main asset covered by the agreement is a Sao Paulo mill with an annual production capacity of approximately 130,000 tonnes. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. Suzano has also acquired the 'Neve' brand and the rights to use the international brands currently used by KC Brazil. At the same time, the Brazilian pulp manufacturer is continuing its investment towards a new mill in Ribas do Rio Pardo (the Cerrado project) which will increase its annual capacity by 2.55 million tonnes to reach a total of 13.6 million tonnes. The plant is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2024.

Surprise! While the British subsidiaries of Arjowiggins, placed under judicial administration, are in search of a buyer, another subsidiary of the group, Guarro Casas was taken over by the Italian paper maker Fedrigoni. This one, like the Chinese subsidiary, does not have to abide by the procedure that affects the British subsidiaries. Based in Gelida (near Barcelona), the Guarro Casas mill, founded in 1698, specializes in the production of fine papers. This acquisition reinforces Fedrigoni’s offer in the special paper sector.

The new eucalyptus pulp mill of the Finnish UPM in Uruguay will begin commercial production in the first quarter of 2023. Located in Paso de los Toros, this mill will increase its pulp business by more than 50%. UPM employs 17,000 people worldwide and its annual sales amount to approximately €9.8 billion.

Packaging is a growth sector. That is the motor behind Stora Enso’s effort to spend €1 billion to convert the remaining unused paper machine at its Oulu site into a FBB and CUK board production line. It is scheduled to start in early 2025 and its total annual capacity will be 750,000 tonnes of cardboard. The target segments are food and beverage packaging, especially frozen and chilled, along with dry food, primarily in Europe and North America. Bear in mind that the paper manufacturer already converted a machine, from paper to kraftliner, at the Oulu site in 2021.

The industry is suffering from the energy and inflationary crises. The Banque de France recently stated that the first problems appeared in September. Despite this, the banks said normally the French economy should have done rather well in the third quarter, with 0.25% expected growth. However, not all companies are equal in the face of the energy shock. Which ones are the most impacted? According to INSEE, in terms of industries, (excluding energy producers), the chemical industry is the most dependent on intermediate energy consumption. Metallurgy (9%) and the paper and board industry (8%) followed.

We mentioned it in our September newsletter, but things seem to clearer now. The Finnish paper manufacturer Metsä Board might build the world’s largest paper machine which would have a production capacity of around  800,000 tonnes of folding carton board (FBB).  Initial studies are being launched at the Kaskinen site in Finland. The mill currently produces approximately 390,000 tonnes per year of bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP).

Equipped with the latest technology, the Halden mill incorporates industry 4.0 principles such as artificial intelligence and a high degree of advanced automation. In addition, the factory is completely CO2 neutral by using biogas for steam production and heating. Energy efficiency is further increased thanks to a heat recovery system on the inverter. The plant’s strategic location on the Norwegian-Swedish border makes it geographically attractive and close to potential customers in Scandinavia and Europe, making it even easier to deliver packaging solutions to customers. High quality and protective corrugated board packaging is mainly used for consumer goods, food and beverages, e-commerce and industrial packaging. VPK is the first packaging company in Norway to build a fully automated and integrated warehouse. With a storage capacity of 16,000 pallets, the high-bay warehouse is unique in size and technology. In 2021, the VPK Group achieved a turnover of €1.75 billion, an increase of 28%.

A merger and a nomination! That’s the big news in Krakow, Poland where members of the two industrial associations CEPI Cartonboard and Pro Carton announced their intention to merge into a joint alliance under the name Pro Carton. At the annual general meeting, Michele Bianchi (RDM’s CEO and CEPI Cartonboard’s President since June 2020) became Pro Carton’s new President. He said, “We are confident that the new organisation will be the right platform for the future of the European cardboard and cardboard industry. We expect that our alliance will support the sustainable growth of our industry through increased member engagement.” Michele Bianchi has been RDM’s CEO since 2016. RDM is one of the leading manufacturers of recycled carton board and the largest producer in Italy, France, the Netherlands and the Iberian Peninsula.

WestRock recently announced that it will permanently close down the corrugated board manufacturing operations at its recycled paper mill in St. Paul, Minnesota. The corrugated board machines at the St. Paul site would require significant capital investment to be maintained and improved in the future. As a result, the mill will be closed. The shutdown of these assets will result in a reduction of 200,000 tonnes of annual corrugated board production. Approximately 130 jobs will be lost as a result of this closure. WestRock is committed to improving its return on investment and maximizing the performance of its assets.

Pixelle Specialty Solutions announced that its Jay Maine site will close in the first quarter of 2023. To date, the factory employs around 230 people. The factory produces special labels and non-stick papers, as well as industrial and packaging solutions for e-commerce and food services. Its two paper machines have a capacity of 230,000 tons per year. 'Pixelle will continue to manufacture high-quality specialized solutions for our customers in our three specialized factories in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio', said David E. Dickerhoof, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing.

The situation is critical for Arjowiggins, who entered insolvency proceedings since September 22nd. Blair Nimmo, Director General of Interpath Advisory and co-administrator-designate for the group said,  “We urge all interested parties to contact the joint administrators urgently, regardless of their interest in the company (or part of it) and/or specific assets.” He noted that the Stoneywood Mill and Chartham Mill sites had maximum exposure to attract the attention of potential buyers who would continue to manufacture paper. In the meantime, the two British paper mills, the Stoneywood Scottish Graphic Paper and Packaging Plant and the Chartham English Innovative Paper and Tracing Plant, have stopped production. 368 of the 463 employees were let go. This will be the end of an era for the paper industry. The group also owns and operates plants in Spain and China through its subsidiaries Guarro Casas and ArjoWiggins Quzhou.

Intergraf is the European association of graphic industry, representing employers in the graphic industry. The European graphic sector is made up of around 112,000 printers (95% of which are SME’s), employing 640,000 people and generating a combined turnover of 82 billion euro (EU27 + UK, Switzerland and Norway). The printing industry belongs to the paper and board value chain. As we know, the paper and board industry, an energy-intensive sector, was one of the first to be hit by rising energy prices. This has led to soaring paper and board prices and critical shortages. The printing industry therefore suffers the double penalty of soaring raw material costs combined with rising energy costs. Due to their SME-based structure, this is a situation that many printing companies will not be able to cope with any longer. Clearly, it is the SME’s that are paying the price of the energy crisis. Intergraf stated,  “It is essential that legislators at both European and national level also support sectors such as ours which are part of Europe’s critical infrastructure. The printing industry is almost entirely made up of SME’s (95%), an energy-intensive manufacturing sector, dependent on energy-intensive raw materials, which plays a vital role in supplying value chains that provide essential services and products to society.”

Due to the energy crisis, we were worried about production shutdowns which unfortunately are coming true. Faced with high production costs, Lecta, the Spanish producer of fine and special papers has decided to temporarily stop production at several of its paper mills. At this time we do not know which mills will be affected nor when the shutdowns will take place. Note that the company remains confident about its financial outlook for the fourth quarter. Lecta is a major producer of special papers for labels and flexible packaging as well as coated and uncoated papers for publishing and commercial printing, among others. The company operates seven paper mills in Spain, France and Italy, with a combined capacity of approximately 1.7 million tpa.

A $280 million USD investment is a key component of UPM’s $3.47 billion growth investmentin Uruguay, which includes a state-of-the-art pulp mill in Paso de los Toros, along with a new eucalyptus nursery and local community investmens in the same town. The terminal will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with an annual operational capacity of over 2 million tons of pulp and about 100 ships per year, creating a 60% increase in total annual cargo exported from Montevideo’s port. The new 2.1 million-tonne eucalyptus pulp mill near Paso de los Toros in central Uruguay is expected to start production by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Pierre-Yves Guégan, who has managed La Rochette Cartonboard since its takeover by the German investment fund Mutares in May 2021, has passed the baton to Christophe Lloret Linares. The new manager, recruited externally, started his new position at the head of the mill last summer. Christophe Lloret Linares has solid experience in the industrial sector (Zentia, Placo, Groupe Roullier, Brabant, etc). His promotion comes at a time when the carton board production factory based on virgin fibres is modernizing. Around €15 million has been invested in its production facility over the past 18 months.

It is the end for the paper producer Arjowiggins Group (the result of a spinoff of Arjowiggings Creative Papers in 2020 which was part of the dismantling of the Sequana group) is shutting down. Headquartered in Aberdeen (Scotland), the group has been hard hit by the effects of the pandemic and the recent energy and cost crisis. As a result, the British sites (Stoneywood in Aberdeen and Chartham in Kent) and all the group’s commercial structures in the United Kingdom were placed under trusteeship on September  22nd, 2022 as part of an insolvency proceeding. The group also owns and operates a production site in Spain (Guarro Casas) and one in China (Quzhou). They are not currently affected by the procedure.

On September 26th, the Italian paper and packaging group ProGest restarted operations in its recycled corrugated board mill in Mantua.  Located in the north of Italy, the mill was stopped several weeks ago.  This mill was one of the many Italian factories that were shut down due to the difficult market situation such as higher energy prices, higher raw material prices, higher transport costs, etc.

An important news flash! The German recycled cardboard manufacturer Buchmann Karton,  one of the leaders in the manufacture of carton for folding boxes, is for sale. The owners and management of the company are looking for a strategic successor to ensure the long-term continuity of Buchmann Karton and to help realize capacity expansion plans at the Annweiler site. In Annweiler, approximately 330 employees produce up to 280,000 tonnes of cardboard each year from recovered paper. The challenges facing production sites in Germany have increased considerably in recent years. In addition to strict regulatory requirements, manufacturers are facing international competition from factories whose raw material and energy costs are currently more advantageous. The sharp rise in energy and chemical costs in Germany in particular requires sustainable and intelligent concepts. “We aim to produce about 400,000 tons of cardboard for folding boxes per year in Annweiler. In addition to the increase in performance, we also deal intensively with sustainability concepts through the most efficient use of raw materials and the reduction of specific energy requirements,” said Daniel Schätzle, Buchmann’s CEO.

Sappi concluded an agreement with Aurelius concerning the divestment of its Maastricht mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt plant in Germany and its Kirkniemi plant in Finland. The Sappi mill in Maastricht produces 260,000 tonnes per year of wood-free coated paper and board, mainly sold to printers and packaging converters around the world. Sappi Stockstadt is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Germany, producing 145,000 tpa of pulp that is used to produce 220,000 tpa of uncoated and uncoated woodfree paper primarily sold in the European printing market. Sappi Kirkniemi is an integrated pulp and paper mill in Finland, producing 300,000 tpa of bleached mechanical pulp. This transfer is explained by the fact that the paper manufacturer is reducing its exposure to the declining graphic paper segment and is investing in growth segments such as packaging and special papers, pulp and biomaterials. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023. The business value of the sale is approximately €272 million.

The acquisition announced in May 2022 was finalized on September 15th, 2022. AMC (Advanced Methods of Coating) employs more than 300 people and has two production sites in northern Germany, in Kaltenkirchen and Hagenow.  It has a turnover of 110 million euros and operates two factories in Germany. Label manufacturer UPM Raflatac expects to achieve significant synergies through this acquisition. New product areas include Viscom/Graphics materials that are currently sold under the Intercoat brand, and removable self-adhesive products under the Global Notes and Print Inform brands. In addition, the transaction will strengthen UPM Raflatac’s position in Central Europe.

Let’s talk about the latest external growth operation completed by Smurfit Kappa. The packaging manufacturer is currently buying  a packaging plant called Paperbox located in Saquarema, 70 km east of Rio de Janeiro. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be finalized in late October. Brazil is the largest corrugated board market in Latin America, with 7.4 billion m² produced annually, and the SouthEast region, where PaperBox is located, makes up 46% of this volume. Smurfit Kappa is already present in Brazil, where it currently operates in three other states: Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Ceará.

Sappi Europe, the packaging and special paper manufacturer, is set to expand the capacity of its mill in Gratkorn, Austria, which will allow it to also manufacture moisture-resistant label papers. As of the end of next year, the production capacity of label papers will be extended to the Gratkorn mill. Thanks to the central location of the Gratkorn production site, the transport distances will be shorter, saving energy and reducing the environmental impact. At the same time, more efficient and shorter production cycles ensure fast delivery and an even more flexible response to customer requirements. Sappi has other paper mills in Europe (Alfeld in Germany and Carmignano in Italy), as well as the Somerset site in the United States. Also, in mid-2021, Sappi expanded its moisture-resistant wet label paper products portforlio with the new Parade Label Pro. In January 2022, Parade Label SG, a high-performance semigloss paper for self-adhesive labels was added.

And more new production in the future! The German corrugated board producer Varel is planning to build a new factory to manufacture ultra-light recycled corrugated board at an additional site in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This site would offer all the opportunities for CO2-neutral and resource-efficient production. The new PM would have a capacity of 600,000 tpa and would be designed to produce ultra-light weights from 60 g/m2. The company plans to make a final decision on the project in the first half of next year. The company currently has a total production capacity of approximately 930,000 tpa.

On September14th, Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, gave a speech on energy prices and the tariff cap on electricity and gas. He invoked the government’s desire to protect companies, especially production capacity. He said, “We have 3 numbers that we want to talk about specifically. First there are 1.5 million companies that are SME’s, that have a turnover of less than 2 million euros, and that have less than 10 employees. These companies have access to regulated electricity rates, with the 4% tariff cap, they will continue to benefit from this access to regulated rates. I repeat, that’s 1.5 million companies. Then you have larger SME’s that have access to 2 million euros of aid based on criteria that I’ve already said are far too complex. We’ll put the new criteria in place as of October 1st. Any SME whose turnover includes at least 3% of its energy bills will have access to this aid up to €2 million once its profits have fallen over the period of one month. To all the SME’s that would have lost money in July, In the past few months, they can reapply to the Public Finance Branch “Window” to access this support in a simplified manner as of October 1. Finally, there are energy companies, those companies that spend even more in energy bills than the 3% of turnover and that can have access to aid up to 50 million euros. These are companies like Aluminium Dunkerque, Arc, in Duralex; printers, chemical sector, steel sector. The European system, which is too complex, must be completely reviewed. These are not small adjustments that need to be made, but rather a complete overhaul of a system that we said from the outset was too complex and is not working today. We are talking with the European Commission. We want these discussions to be finished before the end of 2022, because there is an urgent need for these energy-intensive companies.”

Due to increasing pressure on energy costs, the Italian pulp and paper group Burgo is planning short-time work and pulp and paper production stoppages at its Treviso (just north of Venice) and Tolmezzo (on the borders of Italy, Austria and Slovenia) mills. The Tolmezzo mill has two paper machines with a total production capacity of 180,000 tpa. The PM 3 produces uncoated woodfree paper for offset printing, office paper and envelopes. The PM 1 produces paper for food packaging and technical applications. At the Treviso mill, paper production business would be completely shut down between September 16th and 25th, 2022.

Things are moving at Stora Enso! Last week, the group declared that it was buying the Dutch packaging company De Jong for an enterprise value of €1.02 billion. This time, he announces that he is transferring his Maxau SC paper mill in Germany to Schwarz Produktion. The latter is part of the Schwarz Group, one of the world’s largest retailers, including Lidl. The amount of the transaction is €210 million. The closing is scheduled for early 2023 at the latest, subject to regulatory approvals. Schwarz’s plan is to continue producing paper on the site. For its part, Stora Enso states that it will continue to operate the Maxau site and serve its supercalendered (SC) paper customers until the transaction is closed. The transaction will reduce Stora Enso’s annual SC paper capacity by 530,000 tonnes. Stora Enso also announces that it will continue the sale process for the remaining paper mills in Nymölla, Hylte and Anjala. Stora Enso currently has five printing and writing paper production sites. In total, the Paper division currently employs approximately 2,300 employees. In 2021, the Paper division’s turnover was €1.70 billion.

Large international companies in the paper and packaging industry withdrew from the Russian market after the outbreak of the Ukrainian war. Smurfit Kappa, Mondi, Stora Enso, Huhtamaki, Elopak, Tetrapak, Sylvamo… This represents so many opportunities for companies wishing to seize assets that were not previously available. Segezha is one of them. It is one of the largest timber producers in Russia. It is controlled by the Sistema conglomerate. For the record, Segezha entered the Moscow Stock Exchange last year.

This is the first major acquisition of  BTS 2022: the paper manufacturer Stora Enso acquired the corrugated packaging specialist De Jong Packaging for 1 billion euros. This operation will enable Stora Enso to strengthen its position in the European corrugated board market, in particular in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. What does the medium-term outlook look like? In 2025, when the current expansion projects in transforming packaging shifts into high gear, the group expects an additional EBITDA of €40 million. “In line with our strategy, we are investing in renewable and circular packaging solutions. De Jong Packaging has a strong presence in the corrugated board packaging industry and an impressive customer base. The acquisition of their businesses supports our future strategic direction to advance renewable packaging solutions in Europe,” said Annica Bresky, Stora Enso’s CEO. De Jong Packaging currently has 17 sites.

The cost of electricity for Lessebo Paper increased from €3 million a year to €19 million a year. This unprecedented increase  forced Lessebo Paper to stop production on Wednesday, August 31st. A Deciding whether or not to produce will now be made on a daily basis based on the price of electricity. Remember that the spot price of electricity in southern Sweden has increased considerably in recent months. On Wednesday, August 31st, the price of electricity was 518.73 euros per MWh, resulting in a daily cost of electricity of more than 58,000 euros for Lessebo Paper. “Since fall 2021, the price of electricity has gradually increased. Historically, the winter season has resulted in high electricity prices, and the fact that we already have record electricity prices in August is a concern,” said Jens Olson, CEO of Lessebo Paper. Lessebo Paper is a historical Swedish producer of fine papers and specialty papers. This stoppage does not bode well for the graphic grades supply levels in an already stressed market. It will also impact prices. Indeed, it is likely that it is a harbinger of other interruptions in production, both at Lessebo Paper and elsewhere.

There is another addition to the list of closures as the German company Delkeskamp plans to close its paper factory in Nortrup at the end of the year, due to the massive increase in energy costs. The packaging manufacturer had already announced its intention to close Nortrup’s paper mill in March 2022, but it was able to continue production thanks to the solidarity of its customers, suppliers and other stakeholders at the time. The Nortrup site produces approximately 135,000 tpa of corrugated board and employs 70 people.

If energy costs are a scourge for the industry, the lack of water is another. The Spanish pulp and renewable energy company Ence (Energía & Celulosa) has yet to start up its business at the Pontevedra pulp mill after more than a month of forced shutdown. On July 20th   the regional authorities ordered Ence to stop industrial operations on the site after certain ecological parameters of the flow of the Lerez River, when Ence draws water for its production, fell below minimum levels due to persistent dry weather in the region. The situation hasn’t changed  as the water level and the river flow  had still not returned to normal by the beginning of September. The Pontevedra mill has a production capacity of 620,000 tpa of hardwood pulp.

Following Elopak’s decision to suspend operations in Russia in March 2022, the company undertook a thorough review of all available options. It recently concluded an agreement to sell its Russian business (JSC Elopak) to local management, by selling 100% of its shares. The company sold 100% of its shares to Packaging Management and Investing, which is owned by the JSC Elopak management company. The company will operate independently and be controlled by its new owners. The Elopak plant in St Petersburg was the main supplier of milk cartons to the Russian market. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the Government Commission for Foreign Investment Control in Russia. The company’s busineness in Ukraine and Russia accounted for 9% of the group’s turnover.

No break in August on the price front! With soaring gas and electricity prices reaching record levels during this BTS time, factories are experiencing unprecedented pressure that is undermining their business and forcing some to stop their production.  This has never been the case before! If we add the dollar which is clearly strengthening against the euro (On Monday September 5th, 2022 the European currency plunged below 99 cents for the first time since 2002).   Thanks to this, pulp, tissue and graphic grades in France saw their prices rise in August. This trend should continue in September.

While the recovered paper sector, impacted by the decline in packaging business, saw ordinary grades prices plummet (-50 to -70 euros/t), CCM and carton board did not record price changes over the period. Between a drop in business and the stratospheric energy prices, this period seems hard to predict.

The French paper and sack manufacturer Gascogne plans to install a new paper machine in its mill in Mimizan, in the south of France. This paper machine will replace 3 of the 4 existing paper machines and it will be possible to optimize the quantities of paper produced by making full use of the site’s pulp production capacities, to offer the best qualities of unbleached kraft paper, to better meet the packaging markets demands, improve the site’s energy efficiency and environmental performance, and reduce production costs. This will ultimately lead to an improvement in performance and a significant increase in Gascogne’s EBITDA. In order to finance this ambitious investment program, the Group has drawn up a financing plan involving several players, including investment loans for €175 million and a future capital increase of at least €10 million. The balance will be financed through self-financing. The Gascogne group, which is based on 4 complementary businesses, is the leading multi-specialist wood operator in France, the world’s leading producer of natural machine-glazed kraft paper, the third largest European producer of industrial and consumer sacks and one of the world’s leading producers of packaging and protection complexes. Olivier Tassel, Managing Director of Gascogne Papier, will speak on September 22nd at the Pap'Argus Conference in Paris.

The Metsä Tissue mill in Kreuzau, Germany, is back in full operation. Production at the site has been at a standstill since the morning of August 28th,2022, when a fire broke out in the area of the steam plant. Thankfully there was more fear than harm, since by the end of the evening on the same day, production limited production restarted. Now just a bad memory, the mill is running at capacity. The fire did not spread to other buildings and no one was injured. This mill has 400 employees and is the largest site in Metsä Tissue in Germany. It operates four paper machines with a combined capacity of 150,000 tpa, nine conversion lines and two de-inking factories.

Say goodbye to gas and hello to oil! The label and packaging paper producer Feldmuehle is investing EUR 2.6 million in its Uetersen mill (Germany) in order to no longer rely on Russian gas and instead use fuel oil.  Their objective was to find a solution to adapt to gas shortages, following the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Gentle reminder that Feldmuehle has been owned by a subsidiary of the German investment fund Beteiligungsgesellschaft Kairos Industries since June 2018.

This is great news coming from the United States! (And we know that usually what happens in the United States happens in France a bit later). Print marketing will grow!  This is a first in ten years, as reported in the latest American CMO survey, released by the Harvard Business Review. It stated in February 2022 that CMO’s marketing directors predicted that their traditional advertising spending was on the verge of increasing. It is the consumer service companies that are leading this trend towards the return of print media. Business-to-consumer (B2C) businesses expect to see the largest increase in traditional advertising spending, up to +10.2%. Consumer goods businesses also expect to see an increase of +4.9%.

Arauco plans to invest $3 billion in a new pulp mill in Brazil. With this in mind, the company signed a cooperation agreement last week with the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Arauco announced that this was the first stage of the Sucuriú project, which aims to build a plant with a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of hardwood pulp on a site near Inocência. However, the project is still subject to a number of conditions that Arauco is currently reviewing, including environmental impact assessment, board approval, wood supply, future market development, etc. Arauco said the construction of the new mill could start in 2025, with commissioning three years later in 2028. The site 50 km from Inocência would offer several advantages; among them, a large availability of wood nearby and good logistical opportunities for pulp exports. Arauco has been active in Brazil since 2002 and is now planning to start its own pulp production in the country. The group currently has a production capacity of 3.9 million tonnes of pulp, spread over plants in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The new Arauco pulp line in Chile is almost complete. The line will have a capacity of 1.56 million t of bleached eucalyptus pulp.

UPM has received approval from Uruguay an environmental authorities for the start-up of its new pulp mill in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay. The pulp is scheduled to go into production by the end of the first quarter of next year. The new UPM eucalyptus pulp mill will have a capacity of 2.1 million tpa. The new pulp mill is expected to increase UPM’s pulp capacity by more than 50%. Today, the company has four pulp mills (Fray Bentos, Kaukas, Kymi and Pietarsaari) with a combined production capacity of 3.7 million tpa. The company also claims to have invested $280 million in the construction of a new port terminal in Montevideo, which will have the capacity to process approximately 2 million tonnes of pulp per year. The plant’s eucalyptus pulp will be shipped to customers around the world. Once the mill is up and running, Uruguay will be the world’s fifth largest pulp producer.

Label specialist UPM Raflatac is strengthening its position in the US market with a new cutting machine and increased automation of production at its Mills River mill. This $10 million investment will increase the strong production capacity of UPM Raflatac’s three US-based plants and eight cutting and distribution centres across the Americas. This will improve the quality of the company’s film products, while reducing the need for manual handling. UPM Raflatac continuously invests in technology, equipment and its personnel to increase capacity and advance the production capacity of its global network of 10 factories and 27 terminals. UPM Raflatac has been in operation in Mills River for 20 years. Located in North Carolina, the mill now employs more than 200 people. UPM Raflatac employs around 3,000 people and had a turnover of 1.7 billion euros in 2021.

Hakim Serhir is responsible for the International Paper Group in France which is dedicated to the production of board for industrial and food packaging business. Hakim Serhir will lead a team of plant managers and support functions and will be responsible for the continued strategic and commercial development of International Paper in France. He has been working with the group for thirteen years and has held several senior positions in Morocco, France and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Recently, he managed the three Normandy factories of International Paper (Saint-Amand in the English Channel, Cabourg in Calvados and Saint Langis-Lès-Mortagne in Orne). In France, International Paper has approximately 750 employees and operates 5 corrugated board packaging plants. Don’t miss the interview with this new leader in Pap'Argus’ next issue!

Recently the European Parliament approved a very ambitious, but realistic target for the European forests to reduce the amount of CO2 in the air. The goal can only be achieved by adapting our forests in Europe to the climate change threats and by increasing their annual growth, including through afforestation. Legislators rejected a proposal to combine the agricultural and forestry industries in the tabled revision of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulations (LULUCF). This should ensure that forests are not used to offset emissions from agriculture, which is known to be a "hard-to-decarbonize sector."  The LULUCF settlement vote sent a positive signal regarding the role of forestry in mitigating climate change, stressing that forests must not become a tool for other sectors, including agriculture, to compensate for insufficient emission reductions. The Cepi, a representative confederation of the European pulp and paper industry, welcomes this decision. Parliament members also supported the European Commission’s proposal to achieve net removal of 310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030. This new goal can only be achieved if climate adaptation practices from active forest management receive political support. Beyond simply safeguarding existing forests, the paper sector represented by Cepi has also pledged to support the EU’s goal of planting an additional 3 billion trees by 2030.

Another aspect of the forest carbon accounting voted by Parliament is the possibility of considering certain categories of products as temporary means of carbon storage. The forest fibre and paper value chain is already exploring new business models based on these biogenic carbon cycles. Unfortunately, Parliament’s vote limited these categories to "long-life" products only, missing the opportunity to recognise the level of storage permanence that can be achieved through more traditional paper and pulp products, including through their recycling. More than just carbon storage, pulp and paper also reduce emissions by replacing fossil products in a number of strategic sectors, such as construction, textiles and packaging. These substitution effects are currently reducing EU emissions by 410 Million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year by replacing fossil or CO2-intensive materials with wood-based products.

Arauco’s new BEK pulp line will not start in June. Arauco, a company that produces wood-based products, has once again postponed the start of its new bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEK) line in southern Chile. It will have a capacity of 1.56 million tonnes per year.

This annual maintenance operation is currently being carried out by the pulp mill Fibre Excellence Saint-Gaudens, located at the foot of the Pyrenees. This means that the site will be shut-down for about about ten days depending on the company. This is a large-scale operation that requires the presence of more than 120 companies and 700 specialists with an investment of about 4.5 million euros.

A 30% bottleneck in natural gas supply would have a huge impact on, or even severely perturb paper production in Germany. This is according to an ongoing survey conducted by the association Die Papierindustrie among its members. According to the survey, if the amount of gas was reduced to 30%, only 39% of the usual amount of paper, cardboard and cardboard could be produced.

Stora Enso has started a feasibility study at its paper production site in Langerbrugge, Belgium in terms of the conversion of one of the two paper machines into a large-volume recycled board machine. To date, the Stora Enso site in Langerbrugge has two paper production lines, one for newsprint and one for super-calendered magazine (SC) paper. The study will focus on converting the site’s newsprint line. The conversion would allow Stora Enso to further develop its capacity for recycled and recyclable packaging materials and meet the growing demand in end-use segments such as manufacturing, e-commerce, furniture and electronics. The feasibility study is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023. Depending on an investment decision, the converted line should be in production during 2025. The annual capacity would be 700,000 tonnes of recycled testliner and recycled fluting and would generate sales of approximately 350 million euros at full capacity. The total investment for conversion is estimated at around €400 million. “A conversion to Langerbrugge would allow us to establish a competitive position in Western Europe as well', said Hannu Kasurinen,  Stora Enso’s Packaging Materials Division’s Director, referring to the company’s existing presence in the Eastern European market through its corrugated board production in Poland.

2021 was a busy year for the Belgian Group VPK which already had a strong balance sheet, up 28% with a turnover of 1.75 billion euros. The group’s paper recycled 1.4 million tonnes of recovered paper. However, due to inflationary pressure on the essential components of raw materials, the increase in EBITDA was limited to 7% or 212 million euros. Net current income remained stable at EUR 88 million. Last year, VPK invested in further integrating its sites and expanding its European presence. The new corrugated board processing site near Wroclaw, Poland has been commissioned. Thanks to the two other Polish production sites, this investment will help meet the growing number of customers in this promising market, through new solutions for corrugated board packaging. Closer to home, remember that in June 2021, VPK signed an agreement to acquire Alizay’s 75-hectare industrial site. What’s on tap?  The printing paper machine will be transformed into a production unit for recycled corrugated paper with an annual production capacity of 450,000 tonnes. In addition, the site is preparing to create a corrugated board that will be dedicated to producing innovative corrugated board in «Folded in Z».

The Swiss manufacturer Bobst rebounded strongly in 2021 with a turnover similar to 2019 (1.563 billion Swiss francs) and solid prospects for 2022. The Mex group near Lausanne shared its future objectives using a united management style led by the CEO Jean-Pascal Bobst, with Alain Berger in charge of manufacturing, Raphaël Indermühle, in charge of services and Attilio Tissi, head of finance. The factory was overhauled from top to bottom for more automation and an optimized lean management. This is done to maintain and strengthen its leadership in its major business areas such as not only printing and shaping of corrugated packaging, but also of carton board and flexible packaging, as well as in the conventional and digital printing label sector. They are also launching Bobst Connect, allowing its customers to better manage their equipment performance and maintenance. Bobst also announced the construction and installation of a giant warehouse in Belgium that will serve as a spare parts hub for the entire EMEA region. Finally, in terms of sustainable development, Bobst has set up a repair and upgrading plant in Italy near Lake Garda, thus extending the life of its machines and thus reducing their carbon impact. (Pictured here is the Speedpack, released last summer, for the packaging and shipping of formed boxes)

UPM Raflatac is accelerating its growth in labelling materials by acquiring AMC AG (Advanced Methods of Coating),  based in Germany, best known for its ‘Intercoat’ brand. This acquisition will expand UPM Raflatac’s product offering. “This acquisition will strengthen our position in Central Europe and expand our offer to new self-adhesive product lines,” said Antti Jääskeläinen, UPM Raflatac ‘s Executive Vice President. The transaction is expected to be completed by Q3 2022.  Founded in 1996 with roots dating back to 1959, AMC AG has two production sites, Kaltenkirchen and Hagenow, located in northern Germany. AMC’s business includes the Intercoat, Global Notes and Print Inform brands. The company employs over 300 people. In the last financial year, its turnover amounted to 110 million euros. UPM Raflatac employs around 3,000 people and had a turnover of 1.7 billion euros in 2021.

In September 2021, the Bracell mill (part of the Royal Golden Eagle Group) in Lençóis Paulista completed the assembly and commissioning of two lines designed for a capacity of up to 2.8 million tpy of BEK pulp or 1,5 million tpy of Eucalyptus Fibre Based Dissolving Pulp (DP). Andritz is the main supplier of Bracell’s Project Star to Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo. The company also delivered a recovery boiler, a wood processing machine, two fibre lines and a pulp drying system made up of two pulp drying lines. Additional ‘key technologies’ such as an evaporation machine and a white liquor machine were supplied by Valmet. RGE acquired the Lençóis Paulista plant in Lwarcel in 2018. In addition to the two new fibre lines, the mill also houses an old 250,000 tpy BEK pulp line.

New newsprint capabilities have been put online in India. How? By restarting the Hindustan Newsprint papermill, located in the south of the country, which had been closed for more than three years. Kerala Paper is behind this re-start. At the end of the recovery program, the mill will be able to start newsprint and printing paper production. The final phase will focus on the restructuring of existing machines towards kraft paper packaging grades production. For initial production trials, the site uses its own de-inked pulp and pulp purchased from Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited. It should be noted that plans are underway to roll out a paper collection program as well.

RDM will increase its GD production capacity by up to 200,000 t over the next 3 years. To do this, the manufacturer will increase the capacity of existing mills, including the French Blendecques mills. The unit’s start up is scheduled for early next year. The goal is to meet European demand, which has increased over the past 18 months. RDM Blendecques is a manufacturer of recycled carton board, located in the north of France near Saint-Omer. RDM is the largest producer of recycled carton board in Italy, France, the Netherlands and the Iberian Peninsula.

Clearly, the label industry continues to make noise. The Canadian label giant CCL Industries will invest 70 million euros in a new 8-metre-wide multi-layer co-extrusion line for its German plant, which is based near Leipzig and managed by its subsidiary Innovia Films. The goal is to produce high-quality, low-thickness labels to meet the growing demand for low-resin materials. The annual capacity of the new production line will be approximately 36,000 tonnes. Production is expected to start in the second half of 2024. Guenther Birkner, Innovia’s President said: "The new line in Germany will provide finer films for the label market, closer to where many customers are located." CCL Industries employs approximately 25,100 people and operates 204 production facilities in 43 countries.

Stora Enso has sold its three corrugated board packaging mills (Lukhovitsy, Arzamas and Balabanovo) in Russia. Their total annual production capacity is estimated at 395 million m² of corrugated board packaging. It should be noted that the sale of its mills, which had a turnover of 35 million euros in the first quarter, will have no significant impact on Stora Enso’s annual sales and operational EBIT. As a reminder, the paper manufacturer announced on March 2nd that it would stop all production and sales in Russia until further notice. Last year, Stora Enso had a turnover of 10.2 billion euros.

In its latest press release, Sylvamo announced that it is currently in the process of selling its Russian businesses. It plans to complete this process quickly, including obtaining approval from its board of directors, as well as the government approvals required to complete the transaction. Sylvamo, which is the spin-off of International Paper’s printing paper business, owns the Svetogorsk pulp and paper mill in Russia’s Leningrad region. The Svetogorsk plant employs more than 1,700 people and produces printing papers, carton board for liquid packaging and innovative BCTMP. The plant is also the main supplier of water and electricity to the city of Svetogorsk. In 2021, Russian operations accounted for about 15% of Sylvamo’s total turnover. For the record, Sylvamo announced at the beginning of March that it would suspend its operations in Russia until further notice. Sylvamo is a global paper producer with mills in Europe, Latin America and North America. Its net sales for the past 12 months, ending June 30,th  2021, reached 3.2 billion USD

The response to climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Sappi is committed to this and is focused on decarbonizing its operations. To do so, Sappi will abandon the use of coal at its German site in Stockstadt where it will operate only with renewable biomass and natural gas. The Sappi mill in Stockstadt was founded in 1898 and is one of Sappi Europe’s  ten production sites. Coal removal is expected to reduce annual emissions in Stockstadt by at least 100,000 tonnes of CO2. This corresponds to about 1/3 of the previous fossil emissions. In addition, the project is expected to have many positive environmental benefits in terms of reduced traffic, noise and waste. This transition began in late 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of September 2022. As a reminder, Sappi’s decarbonization targets for 2025 include reducing specific greenhouse gas emissions by 25% and increasing the share of renewable energy in Europe to 50% (compared to 2019). Sappi’s decarbonization roadmap includes nearly 80 projects to be implemented in all European factories between 2021 and 2025.

In the turbulent context of ongoing blockades in southern and central Chile, the pulp producer Empresas CMPC has stopped production in its three Chilean pulp mills. As a result, pulp lines with a total capacity of 2.3 million tonnes are currently shut down. But other entities in the group are also affected. The production sites affected by its stops are as follows: the Loncoche sawmill, the Santa Fe pulp mill (celulosa), the Villa Mininco plywood mill, the Mulchen sawmill, the Los Angeles refurbishment plant, the Laja mill (celulosa), the Pacifico plant (celulosa), the Nacimiento sawmill and the Coronel reconditioning plant. Overall, more than 3,000 employees are involved.

Global average prices for softwood and hardwood pulp increased significantly in 2021, with spot prices soaring in the second quarter.  Despite a decline, they remained significantly high; in 4Q 2021, softwood prices rose by 25% and hardwood prices rocketed by 35% compared to 4Q 2020. According to Fisher International, there are the five main explanations. The first is related to supply chain problems. Shipping times increased by 4% between December 2021 and February 2022 and 21% from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second reason is the fact that South American producers are having difficulty modifying contracts for shipping from Asia to Europe, where prices are more attractive. The third reason is the market for recovered paper. Many expect a difficult year of export for recovered paper in terms of export. The fourth reason is the recent strike in the UMP Finnish factories. Finally, the fifth factor is the war in Ukraine, which, because of the embargoes on the Russian markets, leads to a drop in the tonnage produced on European territory.

After a 16-week strike, UPM’s Finnish paper mills could bring a new twist to the supply-demand relationship in the European print and writing paper markets. After the end of the strike in the UPM mills in Finland on Friday, April 29th, UPM started to be operational right after. Sources close to the company indicated that the Jämsänkoski paper mill (630,000 tpy of SC paper and label/packaging paper) started to produce and sell paper on Thursday, May 6th. The Rauma paper mill, which has a capacity of 665,000 tpy of LWC magazine paper, began operation in early May too. The UPM mill in Kymi (700,000 tpy of coated and uncoated woodfree paper) was expected to enter service in mid-May, while the start-up of the Kaukas paper mill could be slightly delayed due to ongoing maintenance work at the pulp mill.

In March 2021, Papresa, one of the leading newsprint manufacturers in southern Europe, commissioned Voith to convert its PM5 at its Rentería mill in Spain. One year after the order was placed, the machine was successfully put into service. The machine’s capacity is approximately 205,000 tpy of testliner and fluting, at a design speed of 1200 m/min. This conversion is part of the company’s new strategic plan, launched in 2021, which focuses on paper production for the packaging segment without giving up newsprint, which until 2020 was Papresa’s main activity. Production is concentrated on lightweight packaging between 65 and 140 g/m². The mill’s PM6 machine produces newsprint.

Sanctions against Russia continue to accumulate. The European Union now includes trade in paper, board and pulp. Depending on the grade of the paper, this can affect imports and/or exports. The regulation, which went into effect the day after it was published on April 8th in the Official Journal of the European Union, contains a number of exceptions, such as commercial contracts signed before April 9th. Article 3i now prohibits the importing products in category 4804, consisting of uncoated kraft paper and board, in rolls or sheets, other than 4802 or 4803. This also applies to products in category 4705, namely wood pulp obtained by a combination of mechanical and chemical pulp reduction processes (CTMP). At the same time, EU producers are not allowed to export to Russia exports of kraft paper and kraft board, testliner, filter paper, special paper and printing and writing paper such as LWC. The ban also applies to exports of carton board and folding boxes, recycled paper (4707 10 and 4707 30) and chemical pulp (4701, 4703 to 4706). Belarus is not directly affected by these sanctions.

After acquiring the Kotka cardboard factory from Kotkamills, Mayr-Melnhof plans to expand the site. MM Kotkamills, part of the Mayr-Melnhof group, will increase the capacity of this factory located in Finland. The company announced that it would upgrade its PM 1 at the site, which can currently manufacture up to 170,000 tpy. The reconstruction work will be carried out by the German engineering company Bellmer. The pre-drying section will also be renewed. Mayr-Melnhof acquired the Kotkamills site last year and stated that it would expand it. In addition to its PM 1, the factory operates a cardboard machine, which was built in 2016 and has a capacity of 400,000 tpy of FBB in virgin fibre and of FSB (Food Service Board). MM Kotkamills said last year that its medium-term goal was to increase the sales volume of its BM 2, which at the time was about 260,000 tpy. The Kotka factory employs 500 people.

Van Genechten Packaging (VGP) has opened its second packaging factory in Komárom, Hungary. The factory started production in April. VG Komárom II, another VG factory, consists of a 10,000 sqm production building, offices and warehouses for raw materials and finished products. Once fully operational, VG Komárom II will create more than 100 jobs. Zsolt Horvath, the director of the VG Komárom I factory, will also be the director of this one. With this factory, VGP is answering the growing demand for alternatives to plastic packaging along with sustainable and recyclable packaging materials. Van Genechten Packaging, headquartered in Turnhout, Belgium, is a large folding box company with ten processing factories and an extrusion site in seven countries. The company employs more than 1,500 people and has an annual turnover of 350 million euros.

The European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) has announced the release of the 12th FEFCO code. This code is the internationally applied system for the design of corrugated board packaging. It was developed by the FEFCO in the late 1960’s to replace complicated discussions on packaging design and create a common basis for communication with customers around the world. The code’s evolutions aim to keep up with developments in the corrugated board industry, new technologies used and market developments. More than 100 new designs were integrated, especially in the retail and e-commerce fields.

Finally! UPM and the Paperiliitto Paper Workers' Union have finally found common ground. Both agreed to the settlement proposals submitted by the conciliator after the negotiations were suspended on April 14th. “We are very pleased that the parties have approved all settlement proposals and that the long strike of the paper workers' union is ending. UPM and the union made history together by agreeing on five company-specific collective labour agreements, which replace the old paper industry agreement. dating back to the 1940’s,” said Riitta Savonlahti, UPM’s Executive Vice-President of Human Resources. The strike concerned UPM Pulp, UPM Communication Papers, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Raflatac and UPM Biofuels sites located in Finland. It began on January 1st, 2022 and lasted 112 days. The company also stated that it would resume deliveries to customers as soon as possible. The duration of the new agreement’s contract is four years. Salary revisions will be negotiated after the first two years.

The Austrian group Mayr-Melnhof will reduce its GD carton production at its Neuss, Germany mill. The company announced that its GD carton production will be reduced by 50,000 t as of June 2022. At the same site, Mayr-Melnhof plans to increase its recycled liner.

Like all industries, the paper industry, which is already experiencing supply difficulties and shortages, is feeling the brunt of the Ukraine conflict. Bernard Lombard, Trade & Industrial Policy Director of Cepi (pictured here), gave Pap'Argus an overview of the situation in Europe, which was published in the French version of Pap’Argus last month, along with an analysis from Paul-Antoine Lacour, Copacel’s General Delegate, specifically tailored to the French market. Finland (20%), Germany (15%) and Poland (13%) account for about half of the EU‘s  paper and board exports to Ukraine, with around 212,000 tonnes of products. They are closely followed by Hungary (10%), Austria (9%) and Sweden (8%). Germany and Sweden account for 55% of EU pulp exports to Ukraine. Finland is by far the largest paper and board exporter to Russia, contributing 54% of all EU exports to Russia. Germany (16%), Poland (6%) and Sweden (6%) also export paper and paperboard to Russia, but at much lower volumes. As for pulp, almost 70% of EU exports to Russia come from Finland (45%) and Sweden (25%). To date, the EU-Ukraine trade in pulp and paper is almost one-way, with approximately 440,000 tonnes of paper and paperboard imported from the EU. Ukraine’s exports are very limited. Belarus is similar, importing even less volumes, 60,000 tonnes of paper and board from the EU. As far as Russia is concerned, that is another story. About 900,000 tonnes of paper and board are imported by Russia from the EU, while Russia exports nearly 700,000 tonnes to the EU. Italy (23%), Germany (19%) and Poland (8%) account for 50% of Russian exports to the EU. About two-thirds are packing grades, with boxes accounting for 43% of all exports. As far as pulp is concerned, EU-Russia trade is fairly balanced with around 400,000 tonnes traded in total.

The Austrian group Mayr-Melnhof (MM), one of the main producers of carton board and folding boxes in Europe, is no longer supplying Russia with carton board. The group also announced a global, financial and overall support program for its employees in Ukraine and their families. According to the Mayr-Melnhof Packaging website, the MMP site in the village of Villozi south of Saint Petersburg which includes MM Polygrafoformlenie Packaging and MM Polygrafoformlenie Rotogravure, is the largest producer of folding boxes in the region as well as the market leader in the Russian Federation. The factories mainly supply the food, personal care and cigarette packaging markets. Including their most recent acquisitions, the MM Group generates a turnover of around 3.2 billion euros and employs 12,500 people.

The Turkish paper and hygiene manufacturer Lila Kagit, founded in 2006 by the Lila conglomerate group, is continuing its rapid expansion. In mid-February, Lila Kagit started up its fourth paper machine at the Corlu mill and expanded its production capacity to a total of 270,000 tonnes of tissue per year. As a result, it is  one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of toilet paper. The four paper machines come from the Finnish machine manufacturer Valmet. The TM 4 can reach up to 2,200 m/min and can produce up to 70,000 t/year of fresh fibre toilet paper.

Breaking news! The Nordic paper manufacturer Stora Enso has started a process to possibly sell four sites that produce mostly coated and uncoated for publishing, newsprint and improved newsprint for the press. This is in-line with the group’s strategy to focus on the long-term growth potential of its renewable products in packaging, construction solutions and biomaterials innovations. More specifically, the paper production sites to be sold are the following: Anjala in Finland, Hylte and Nymölla in Sweden and Maxau in Germany. The Stora Enso site in Langerbrugge, Belgium will remain within the group. Stora Enso currently has five paper production sites that are supported by sales, management and divisional administration functions. In total, the Paper division currently employs approximately 2,200 people. In 2021, the Paper division’s turnover was €1,703 million.

From 4 pm to 10 pm on March 22nd, firefighters battled a fire that spread through the RDM cardboard mill (formerly Cascades) in Blendecques, in Pas-de-Calais, near Saint-Omer. They were finally able to contain the fire. According to witnesses, the fire started in a storage building, at the level of a baling press before spreading to the paper roll stock and the cutting room. Luckily, none of the 72 employees present were injured and the paper machine was not touched. The Italian recycled cardboard producer RDM to reassured its teams by stating that although the plant’s production was temporarily suspended, the main production line was not damaged. Under normal circumstances, RDM Blendecques has an annual production capacity of 140,000 tonnes.

Andritz successfully started the rebuilt kraftliner paper machine PM2 for Cartiera Giacosa in its mill in Front Canavese, Italy. With a design speed of 400 m/min, it produces kraftliner in the range of 170 to 225 g/m². Andritz also received an additional order to further improve the machine’s performance. Marco Roscio, Cartiera Giacosa’s CEO, said: "Thanks to this successful reconstruction, we can now produce our kraftliner more efficiently and sustainably. Our PM2 offers potential for further improvement, especially in terms of better quality and profiles - so it is no surprise that we have partnered again with Andritz." Cartiera Giacosa was founded in 1961 and specializes in the production of decorative paper production and kraft paper for laminated plastic, mainly used in furniture.

ND Paper, the American subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper, like many of its competitors, is now making packaging products. At the ND Paper plant in Biron, Wisconsin, USA, the company announced that it will convert its B26 paper machine. The Biron division employs over 300 full-time people and operates two paper production lines with a combined annual production capacity of approximately 530,000 short tons. Its B25 paper machine produces about 270,000 short tons per year of corrugated board and linerboard for packaging applications, while its B26 machine produces about 260,000 short tons per year of lightweight coated mechanical paper for uses such as catalogues, magazines and retail inserts. Once the conversion is complete, the machine and plant will have increased annual production capacity. The B26 machine will have a capacity of over 500,000 short tons of wrapping paper, and the plant, in total, will have a capacity of over 800,000 short tons. Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2022 with start-up expected by the end of 2022. These changes support the Biron Division’s strategic transformation. In recent years, demand for packaging qualities, such as kraft paper and paperboard lining, has grown substantially due to a shift towards e-commerce along with the consumer demand for more sustainable products. This growth should logically continue in the future.

Andritz received an order from Chinese pulp and paper producer Liansheng Pulp & Paper to supply the most value-added and resource-efficient technologies for a new pulp mill in Zhangzhou located in Fujian province, China. The new site is scheduled to start in mid-2024. Liansheng Pulp & Paper is a new production facility of Liansheng Paper.  It was created in April 2020 to enter the domestic paper production industry. Liansheng Paper is Fujian’s largest wrapping paper manufacturer in China.

The Austrian group Mayr-Melnhof (MM), one of the main producers of carton board and folding boxes in Europe, is no longer supplying Russia with carton board. The group also announced a global, financial and overall support program for its employees in Ukraine and their families. According to the Mayr-Melnhof Packaging website, the MMP site in the village of Villozi south of Saint Petersburg which includes MM Polygrafoformlenie Packaging and MM Polygrafoformlenie Rotogravure, is the largest producer of folding boxes in the region as well as the market leader in the Russian Federation. The factories mainly supply the food, personal care and cigarette packaging markets. Including their most recent acquisitions, the MM Group generates a turnover of around 3.2 billion euros and employs 12,500 people.

The war in Ukraine continues, but the gas market is stabilizing. This helps explains Norske Skog’s decision to resume operations at its Bruck site in Austria. The paper manufacturer stopped producing newsprint and magazine paper on March 9th due to operational difficulties caused by the significant energy price increases. The company also announced the upcoming opening of a new waste-to-energy facility at the Bruck plant. This should reduce the plant’s exposure to gas prices which is certainly a wise move these days.

Several new corrugated board capacity projects are being implemented in Europe. The Turkish company Ankutsan has announced a new PM for fresh fibres and recycled corrugated board. In January, the Turkish paper and packaging producer began construction of the second production hall at its site in Adana, Turkey. The company is investing 60 million euros in its expansion project and plans to put its new corrugated board machine into service in the fourth quarter of 2023. This new equipment will produce kraftliner, kraftliner substitute, corrugated board and testliner in the weight range from 80 to 270 g/m².

It was a foregone conclusion: with Russia’s war against Ukraine, virtually all Ukrainian pulp and paper companies stopped production in the afternoon of February 24. Eduard Litvak, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Pulp and Paper Industry Association (UkrPapir), based in Kiev, made the announcement. He explained that the military operations that were taking place throughout the country had led to a break in the supply chains and that, for the sake of safety for the employees, the factories had been temporarily closed.

The war in Ukraine and exorbitant energy prices left their first traces in the paper industry. The ProGest packaging group has announced a temporary halt in the production of all its paper mills in Italy. As a reminder, the Italian producer operates nine machines in its six paper mills. We see that the price of natural gas today is more than ten times higher than it was twelve months ago and has tripled in just over a week. We will do our best to accompany our customers by assessing the delivery situation on a case-by-case basis. We sincerely hope to be able to resume production as soon as the situation allows,' the company said in a statement. To date, the Pro-Management Group employs around 400 people in Italy.

Due to the unaffordable nature of operations in the current energy environment, temporary shutdowns have been initiated at the Norske Skog paper mill in Bruck, Austria. The publishing paper manufacturer temporarily stopped production at this plant. Norske Skog Bruck houses two machines with a production capacity of 120,000 tpa of newsprint and 260,000 tpa of coated magazine paper (LWC).

The latest report from Fachverband Faltschachtel-Industrie (FFI), the German association that represents folding box companies, shows that communication in the supply chain has improved significantly compared to the pre-Covid era for almost 90% of the 40 participating folding box manufacturers, though not in the same way for all customers.  “A fundamental change in mindset is needed, especially among brand owners and retail customers,” observed Andreas Helbig, the FFI’s board of Directors spokesman. He added, “Folding boxes are becoming increasingly popular. As at the moment, we think the demand for recyclable and durable folding boxes will also increase in the post-Corona era” At the same time, current peaks in demand are meeting supply that is working at full load.  He told customers in the folding box industry that “what we need is the safety and predictability to be able to plan. Now we need much more open communication between suppliers, processors and customers to rebalance the demand for folding boxes and the carton and board supply.“ According to the survey, only 12.5% of participants believe that current delivery times for virgin fibre board among existing customers have not changed since October 2021. By the same token, 77.5% of folding carton manufacturers report extensions of between 4 to 16 weeks. The same goes for recycled cardboard. No surprises on prices: they have increased! The majority of survey respondents reported price increases of at least two digits, regardless of fibre type. Price increases since October 2021 have gone up to 25% for recycled board, and in some cases more than 30%. For virgin fibre board, price increases since then have increased up to 25%.

Intense negotiations between UPM and the paper workers' union continue… as well as the strikes.  The announcement was recently made by the Paper Workers' Union and it suggested a three-week extension of the strike in most Finnish UPM factories until April 2, 2022, unless new collective agreements are concluded by then. For the record, the union strike in the UPM Pulp, UPM Biofuels, UPM Communication Papers, UPM Specialty Papers and UPM Raflatac mills in Finland began on January 1, 2022. As a reminder, in 2020, strikes causing the closure of UPM’s pulp and paper mills for two weeks and its wood and plywood mills for four weeks cost them an estimated 30 million euros.

The South African paper manufacturer Sappi will invest at least €10 million to expand its Italian mill in Carmignano dedicated to special papers. What is its objective? The company wants to support the thermal sublimation industry’s current growth. Even in 2018, Sappi recognized the importance of sublimation paper for digital transfer printing. The company had even taken over Cham Paper Group’s specialty paper business with high-performance mills in Carmignano and Condino (Italy). The opening of the Digital Solutions Center in Carmignano a year later supported the launch of other product innovations in the sublimation printing field - such as the Transjet Tacky Industrial and Transjet Drive. "By expanding our Carmignano mill, we can offer a complete in-house solution for sublimation papers, from development and production through conversion to shipping. This will allow us to maintain the highest quality standards in all stages of production and provide world-class service to our customers, while having a positive impact on our CO2 emissions", said Pierluigi Masi, the Carmignano paper mill’s director. Site work is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Georgia-Pacific has announced significant investments totalling more than $500 million for its Green Bay, Wisconsin, mill which will significantly improve the company’s retail paper and towel business. Investments in the Green Bay plant include the construction of a new paper machine which will use “through air-drying” technology. (TAD), as well as the additional associated converting equipment and infrastructure. The new machine is scheduled to be operational in the first half of 2024. Approximately 150 jobs will be created to operate the new paper mill complex, in addition to the 850 current employees. To date, the Green Bay Broadway mill operates seven paper machines and several processing operations which manufacture toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and tissues for retail and away- from -home use. Remember that Georgia-Pacific withdrew from the European market about ten years ago by selling its tissue business to SCA.

Russian Arkhbum-Upak LLC, part of the Austrian Pulp Mill Holding, increased its paper bag production by 162% to 71 million units in 2021. The company has also expanded its export range. Deliveries are now destined for both markets in the CIS countries and European countries, such as Germany and France. Arkhbum-Upak LLC currently specializes in the production of kraft paper bags with a 140 to 540 mm width that have twisted and flat handles. Their customers are mainly large domestic and foreign chains, such as McDonald’s, KFC, Adidas, in particular, along with   others. The company recently acquired a factory in the city of Kolomna to create a single modern production complex. After moving to a new site and installing additional equipment, the company’s productivity will increase to 120 million eco-friendly packagings per year.  That will depend on the current political situation.

Stora Enso is investing €8 million to double its European shaped fibres production capacity. With new machines in Hylte, Sweden, Stora Enso will be able to meet the growing demand for shaped fibres. This investment further strengthens Stora Enso’s position as a leading supplier of renewable materials that replace fossil materials. Stora Enso’s shaped fibre products are currently used in food packaging such as bowls, trays and lids. The technology is also used for the development of fibre bottles. Once the investment is complete, the annual fibre capacity of the Hylte site will increase from 50 to approximately 115 million product units, making Stora Enso one of Europe’s leading suppliers of shaped fibre. Shaped fibre is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, and can be used to replace plastics in a wide range of applications. PureFiber from Stora Enso is thus a range of shaped fibre products that do not contain perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and have a CO2 footprint up to 75% lower than than alternative packaging materials such as plastic and bagasse. In addition to shaped fibre products, Stora Enso produces newsprint in Hylte with a yearly capacity of 240,000 t.  Stora Enso is committed to offering 100% regenerative products and solutions by 2050.

The German paper manufacturer Leipa is reorienting its businesses by optimising and structurally modernizing its sites. The family business, led by CEO Peter Probst, announced its intention to transform its Schrobenhausen site based near Munich. The projects include the permanent closure of the site’s paper machine, which currently produces mainly envelope papers. Investments will also include extensions and upgrades to the carton & board machine. The restructuring plans also include the construction of a power plant in Schrobenhausen.

Word on the street is that the paper & board packaging manufacturer Westrock has decided to build a corrugated board box factory in Longview, Washington. What is their objective? They hope to meet the growing demand of clients in the Pacific  Northwest. The new factory will serve all segments of the industry in the Pacific Northwestern markets. Once completed, this new factory will replace the company’s current corrugated board operations in Longview.

Bérangère Abba, Secretary of State for Biodiversity, presented the Norske Skog Golbey site located in the Vosges with the ‘Ecological Transition’ Award during the 3rd edition of the ‘Choose France 2021’ Awards. Organized by Business France, this award recognizes international investors and their contribution to the France Relance plan. In this case, it rewarded the Box project, created to convert one of the newsprint production lines to corrugated paper. Norske Skog Golbey was selected among 50 entrees! Don’t forget that Norske Skog diversified its production towards CCM. Specifically, Norske Skog will enter the European packaging market at the end of 2022, when the converted PM 3 from Norske Skog Bruck in Austria will begin producing CCM. Almost a year later, Norske Skog Golbey will follow suite, when its converted PM 1 will be fully operational. At full capacity, the two paper machines will produce up to 760,000 t/year of testliner 3 and recycled flute grades.