AxFlow is expanding its product portfolio in Sweden with NASH vacuum pumps and compressors

Effective February 15, 2010, AxFlow is the official distributor of NASH vacuum pumps and compressors in Sweden.

Fred Lindecrantz has been employed with sales responsibility for the NASH portfolio. Fred has many years of experience from NASH products, applications and installations from his time as sales manager at Siemens and Gardner Denver Nash in the Nordic Region.

AxFlow's vast experience from pump installations for the Nordic processing industry together with NASH vacuum and compressor systems will create a unique possibility for AxFlow to offer high quality customer adapted solutions. NASH products are well-known and appreciated within Sweden's processing industry, in particular in pulp and paper, chemical, petrochemical and mining industries where they are used for filtration in various applications.

For more information, please contact sales director Fred Lindecrantz, telephone: +46 (0) 8-602 22 13,

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www.axflow.se.

Pfeiffer Vacuum has brought to market a new, robust turbopump that is named HiPace 60. This pump is characterized by a high level of cost-effectiveness and flexibility in all mounting orientations. Thanks to its improved rotor design, the HiPace 60 offers high pumping speeds and high gas throughputs, and is insensitive to particulate matter and dust. Moreover, its robust, proven bearing concept makes this pump ideal for use in punishing industrial applications.

Integrated drive electronics. High reliability
The integrated drive electronics in the HiPace 60 reduce the need for cumbersome and costly cabling. In addition, a variety of drive versions, including Profibus and DeviceNet, are available without any increase in physical size. The employment of innovative materials has doubled the service life of the drives. And runup time, too, has been reduced. This means that the pump can go into service even faster. Remote and sensor functionalities enable pump data, such as temperatures, to be analyzed. Its functional aluminum housing makes this pump extremely light in weight, and the design of its surface offers significantly improved cooling. A sealing gas connection safeguards the bearings against particulate matter or oxidizing gases. This makes for optimum integration capability.

Photo Number 7593 that accompanies this press release is available for download in very high quality from www.pfeiffer-vacuum.de/press_photos

Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH
Public Relations
Sabine Neubrand-Trylat
35614 Asslar/Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 6441 802-169
Fax: +49 (0) 6441 802-500

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The first ever PEFC sustainable forest management certificate in Russia has been issued to Metsäliitto Podporozhye, PEFC announced today. The certificate was awarded after independent review and field auditing verified the company's sustainable management of their forest area in Leningrad Province northeast of St. Petersburg.

"This marks a great achievement for PEFC," commented Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of Geneva-based PEFC International. "PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system, and increasing the area of PEFC certified forests is essential to promote sustainable management practices globally. This certificate marks the start of that growth in Russia".

"We consider PEFC certification is an excellent tool for sustainable forest management in Russia. It offers a real solution for companies wishing to demonstrate best practice in the forest industry", said Mikhail Kobelkov, Vice-Chairman of the Russian National Council of Forestry Certification, which manages the PEFC-endorsed forest certification system in Russia.

The Russian Federation contains an estimated 800 million hectares of forest, the equivalent to over 20 % of the world's forest area and more than Canada and Brazil combined.

While major forest policy reforms are now ongoing throughout Russia to safeguard the long-term management of the resource, export markets in Europe and Asia continue to demand large amounts of Russian wood and wood products. Requiring wood and wood products to be certified is one of the most credible ways to encourage sustainability in the industry.

Forest certification is a market-based, voluntary tool designed to recognize and promote sustainable forest management practices through independent, third-party verification against standards.

"The awarding of this very first forest management certificate today demonstrates to forest managers in Russia that achieving PEFC certification is possible. Furthermore, it signals to key markets in Russia, Europe and Asia, that PEFC certified material is available from Russia and now is the time to demand it," said Gunneberg.

The Swiss corporation WIFAG Maschinenfabrik AG in Bern is negotiating a possible sale with the German company MANROLAND. Bern is to remain the company base. WIFAG announced redundancies in October and, since November last year, has been seeking a suitable partner. With the planned sale to MANROLAND, the enterprise is responding to the increasing consolidation pressure in the industry.

The Swiss corporation WIFAG Maschinenfabrik AG in Bern is negotiating a possible sale with the German company MANROLAND. A corresponding declaration of intent, which envisages a takeover of WIFAG by MANROLAND, has already been signed. These negotiations are designed to pave the way to the signing of a contract in spring.

To read more download the offical press release here

Award-winning ABB technology has improved productivity by 9 percent at a complex and energy-intensive industrial facility in Europe.

The improvements were made at Nordkalk's Lohja limestone processing plant in Finland and are indicative of the huge gains in productivity that are being achieved with an award-winning ABB process control and optimization solution for industrial facilities, Expert Optimizer.

Expert Optimizer has successfully delivered substantial improvements in productivity and energy efficiency at more than 200 production facilities worldwide and was awarded the Global Fuels Award for 'Most innovative technology for electrical energy efficiency' in 2008.

Originally developed for the cement industry but now available for all process industries, Expert Optimizer coordinates the optimal operating parameters of the various parts of the process and immediately detects any deviations that occur.

Once the deviations have been detected Expert Optimizer is able to stabilize and re-optimize the process. It is also able to calculate optimal production schedules for the entire plant. Typical increases in productivity range from 3-10 percent.

Nordkalk is the leading producer of high-quality limestone-based products in northern Europe. The company operates 20 sites in five countries. Lohja (above) in Finland is one of the largest. The site consists of an underground mine, crushing plant and lime kiln.
ABB took over site-wide maintenance activities at Lohja in 2006 as part of an ABB Full Service® contract in which it undertook to improve productivity and reduce maintenance costs at the plant, one of the largest limestone processing facilities in northern Europe.

ABB has more than 150 Full Service agreements in operation worldwide

Drawing on its expertise as the world's leading supplier of power, automation and optimization solutions for the cement industry, ABB was able to propose the installation of Expert Optimizer to help solve a production and fuel problem in the kiln, which is the heart of the lime-making process.

Prior to the installation of Expert Optimizer it had been difficult to determine the optimal operating point of the process as the kiln uses several different types of feed material, each with different properties. Expert Optimizer resolves this difficulty by finding the best operating conditions to maximize output and minimize fuel consumption for each type of feed.

The overall result was a 9 percent increase in production.

In a typical Full Service agreement ABB and the customer jointly agree on the targets to be achieved in areas like maintenance expenditure, plant availability, equipment reliability, energy efficiency and safety.

ABB has more than 150 Full Service agreements in operation in a broad spectrum of industries worldwide – from cement plants to petrochemical refineries, pulp and paper mills, oil and gas sites, steel mills, and consumer goods factories.

After a difficult year, during which the industry encountered more down-time and capacity closures as a result of the weakened global economy the indications are that CEPI member countries produced less than 90 million tonnes of paper and board in 2009, the lowest annual total production since 2001. This represents a fall in the region of around 11% over 2008, which is slightly better than the European manufacturing industry taken as a whole. It would appear that the overall output performance of the CEPI countries in total during 2009 is much the same as that of the other major paper producing regions of the world.

Download the Offical Release here....>

According to SCA's articles of association, owners of Class A shares have the right to have such shares converted to Class B shares. Conversion reduces the total number of votes in the company. When such a conversion has occurred, the company is obligated by law to disclose any such changes in this manner.

In February, at the request of shareholders, 5,300 Class A shares were converted to Class B shares. The total number of votes in the company thereafter amounts to 1,632,380,571.

The total number of registered shares in the company amounts to 705,110,094, of which 103,030,053 are Class A shares and 602,080,041 are Class B shares.

Stockholm, 26 February 2010

For further information please contact
Petter Tiger, Press & Media Officer, +46 8 788 53 62

The Alliance for a Competitive European Industry (ACEI) has called for a new industrial partnership between the EU and its major industries. In its Manifesto, entitled "Shifting Gears for a New Industrial Policy", the ACEI stresses what needs to be done so that manufacturing industry can remain one of the engines of the economy. The presentation comes ahead the meeting of the Competitiveness Council on 1-2 March on industrial policy.

Europe needs a vibrant manufacturing industry to spark the economic recovery, innovation and growth required to meet the societal and environmental challenges which lie ahead. Manufacturing provides a fifth of EU GDP and provides three quarters of EU exports. Over 80% of the EU private sector research and development expenditures are provided by industry. Manufacturing firms are also key clients of many services activities. Many of the services jobs in the EU would be lost without a strong industrial base.

Download the offical release here....>

CEP members at Fraser Papers' Edmundston mill have voted 69.3% to ratify an agreement to change the pension plan and complete the conditions required for the company to restructure and emerge from bankruptcy protection.

"This was a very difficult decision for our members but it was the least of two evils," said CEP Atlantic Vice-President Ervan Cronk, following ratification meetings held over the weekend.

"Bargaining into the wee hours of the morning, we were able to lessen the blow on pensioners and active employees," said Cronk. "The result is that they will realize about 10% more of what they would otherwise have been entitled to.

"But we have made it very clear to the company that we will be back to fight another day to restore pensions.

"Goverments must not be allowed to sit back on their heels while companies use bankruptcy protection laws to shed millions of dollars in debt on the backs of pensioners." "We have turned a page at Fraser Papers but we will continue the fight for justice," added CEP National President Dave Coles.

"The struggle at Fraser Papers revealed everything that is wrong with a system that allows companies like Brookfield Asset Management to make pensioners and workers the victims of restructuring."

The agreement at Fraser Papers will see an 8-year extension of Fraser's insolvent pension plan. This will require legislative changes by the New Brunswick government.

After arduous negotiations, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) has agreed to a tentative agreement with AbitibiBowater to renew the collective agreement. This deal fulfills an essential condition towards the emergence of the company from the current restructuring process.

"We have the best possible agreement, given the precarious financial condition of the company", says CEP President Dave Coles. "We are proud to have been able to protect retirees and to have created a new stable pension plan for the active workers. Our members will no longer have to fear the shadow of an insolvency of their plan".

The company took off the table its proposal to terminate the pension plans, which would have reduced pension benefits by an average of 25%. Provincial government will now bear the responsibility to adopt the appropriate regulatory changes to allow the company to financially fix the pension plans.

However, the union is furious at the total lack of help shown by the Conservative government to the forestry workers. "It is our members who had to make sacrifices to save the company from bankruptcy", says Dave Coles. "The last federal budget fully demonstrated the contempt of this government for forestry workers. It is now clear for our workers, our retirees and our communities that the Conservatives have abandoned them".

This agreement covers about 4,500 workers and 8,000 retirees from 23 AbitibiBowater locals at 12 pulp and paper mills in Eastern Canada.