Displaying items by tag: North America

NewPage Corporation announced today that it will release its first quarter 2010 financial results on Thursday, May 6, 2010, before the market opens. The news release will be available on the NewPage Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com .

The company will broadcast its first quarter 2010 analyst conference call on Thursday, May 6, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with access available through the Internet and telephone. The teleconference is expected to last one hour. Tom Curley, president and chief executive officer, will review operating performance. David J. Prystash, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will review the financial results.

The live conference call and presentation slides may be accessed on the NewPage Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com . Click on the link to the Conference Call and Webcast and follow the instructions to access the Webcast in listen and view mode. Please go to the Web site at least one hour prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The call will be available live and stored on the Web site for five weeks.

Analysts and i nvestors may access the call by dialing (866) 244-4629 (toll-free domestic ) or (703) 639-1176 (international), conference ID 1413359. A replay of the call can be accessed via telephone (888) 266-2081 (toll-f ree domestic) or (703) 925-2533 (international), access code 1413359. The replay will be available starting at 2 p.m. (ET) on May 6, 2010, and will remain available until midnight (ET) on June 10, 2010.

About NewPage Corporation

Headquartered in Miamisburg , Ohio , NewPage Corporation is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America , based on production capacity, with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009 . The company's product portfolio is the broadest in North America and includes coated freesheet, coated groundwood, supercalendered, newsprint and specialty papers. These papers are used for corporate collateral, commercial printing, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts, newspapers, packaging applications and direct mail advertising.

NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky , Maine , Maryland , Michigan , Minnesota , Wisconsin and Nova Scotia , Canada . These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 4.4 million tons of paper, including approximately 3.2 million tons of coated paper, approximately 1.0 million tons of uncoated paper and approximately 200,000 tons of specialty paper.

For additional information, please visit the company's Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com .

Media Contact:
Amber Garwood
937-242-9093

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) today released its 50^th Annual Survey of Paper, Paperboard, and Pulp Capacity,  which reported that U.S. paper and paperboard capacity declined 2.5 percent in 2009 to 93.9 million tons. The decline took place against a backdrop of a severe global economic recession.  Paper and paperboard production is rebounding from the recession-induced lows reached in early 2009.

The Survey also reported that 14 U.S. mills were permanently closed in 2009, shutting down 16 paper and paperboard machines, and an additional 11 machines were permanently shut down at other mills.  Furthermore, several mills and machines have been indefinitely idled in response to weak market conditions, but have not been removed from the Survey base because they may be restarted at some future date.

According to data reported to the Survey, total paper and paperboard capacity is expected to decline 3.4% in 2010 and then remain essentially stable in 2011 and 2012.

The Survey reports U.S. industry capacity data for the years 2009 through 2012 for all major grades of paper, paperboard, and pulp, based on a comprehensive survey of all U.S. pulp and paper mills. Survey respondents represent about 90 percent of the U.S. industry capacity.

The complete Survey with detailed tables can be purchased for $1,650 by contacting Michelle Gaskins at AF&PA (202-463-5162, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

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The operator of three newsprint mills in Quebec, White Birch Paper Company, has filed for creditor protection in Canada and the U.S., to improve its capital structure.

White Birch Paper is the parent company of the F.F. Soucy mill in Rivière-du-Loup, the Stadacona mill in Quebec, and Papier Masson in Gatineau. The company's U.S. subsidiary, Bear Island Paper Company, also filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

"This process is about fixing our capital structure," said Christopher Brant, president. "We remain committed to delivering the highest quality product to our many valued customers, and through this financial restructuring, we believe we will be better positioned to continue to do so well into the future."

White Birch expects operations to continue as usual during and after the restructuring process.

The company is seeking approval in Canada and the U.S. of a $140 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
White Birch Paper is the second largest newsprint producer in North America. It cites a decline in demand for newsprint, combined with a decline in prices, as well as the increased strength of the Canadian dollar, as having a negative impact on its business. AbitibiBowater, another large newsprint producer in North America, is also operating under bankruptcy protection

ISRA PARSYTEC – the world's leading supplier of surface and web inspection systems for strip products – received a purchase order by the stainless steel manufacturer for a surface inspection system at their Annealing Pickling (APF) line as well as a full license for the Quality Yield Management software.

The Thai stainless steel producer ThaiNox Stainless PLC, Thailand's only manufacturer and distributor of premium cold-rolled stainless steel sheets and coils and largest manufacturer in ASEAN, chose to equip his cold annealing-pickling line at their production site in Rayong with the state-of-the-art inspection system espresso SI. Not only the lean hardware convinced ThaiNox, but more importantly the user-friendly setup and operator software, which enables achieving valuable production benefits on the market shortly after installation.

In order to emphasize the production use, ThaiNox decided to purchase a full parsytec 5i license and to integrate the application 'Coil Decision' in their daily operating cycles. The application is standardized software using database rules for automatic and interactive coil decisions, including any 3rd party gauge data.

ThaiNox' decision for ISRA PARSYTEC was mainly based on the supplier's impressive customer references in the stainless industry such as North American Stainless, ThyssenKrupp Stainless or Acerinox, who emphasize the combined benefit of surface inspection and parsytec 5i. This solution helps the producers to gain significantly higher yields by improving the production quality and by accelerating reliable coil decisions.

The main benefit for ThaiNox? – The preservation of their reputation as being solid-based on outstanding performances and having strong commitments to excellence and customer satisfaction.

The ISRA VISION PARSYTEC AG is the world's largest vendor of surface inspection systems: Today, all of the top 10 steel producers and 15 of the top 20 paper producers employ its products. With more than 600 installations worldwide, it provides its customers with the most advanced surface inspection system as well as reliable and comprehensive information about the relevant surface defects at all production steps. The innovative EXPERT5i software solutions enables customers to easily create individual surface quality yield management applications while integrating surface quality data with process data.

The ISRA VISION Group is the world's largest and most capable vendor of surface inspection systems. The systems are used in the glass, banknote paper, paper, plastics, non-woven fabrics, printing and metalworking industries. The ISRA VISION Group is operating globally with its headquarters in Germany (Darmstadt and Aachen) as well as 15 additional subsidiaries worldwide, e.g. in North America, Korea and China.