Ian Melin-Jones

Ian Melin-Jones

Metso's biggest single investment in India – Metso Park – was inaugurated on Wednesday, March 10, in the city of Alwar in Rajasthan. Paving the way for an even more significant operational and manufacturing presence in India, the investment comprises multifunctional premises, including workshops, offices, engineering, logistics and training centers. Metso Park will be completed in phases from 2010 onward, and upon completion the EUR 30 million industrial center will extend to an area of almost 47 acres and will provide employment opportunities for up to 700 people.

Metso Park will cater to meeting the rapid growth in demand for the products and services of Mining and Construction Technology in India and Metso's other rapidly growing markets in Asia Pacific. The products manufactured at Metso Park will be primarily delivered to our mining and construction industry customers in India and neighboring areas. Some of the products will also be transported to our other manufacturing units for adaptation for global markets. During the first operational phase, Metso Park will manufacture components for mobile crushing and screening plants, vibrating screens and vibrators, slurry pumps and rubber products.

"During the past five years we have significantly strengthened our presence in Asia and particularly India and our ability to serve our customers locally. Metso Park is the largest single investment ever made in India by Metso and its Mining and Construction Technology, confirming our confidence in the potential market growth in India and in line with our strategy of growing our presence in emerging markets. The investment will also significantly improve our competitiveness not only in India, but in the whole of Asia Pacific market area. In terms of our image, Metso Park is an integral complement to our supply and manufacturing network," says Matti Kähkönen, President of Metso's Mining and Construction Technology.

In addition to Metso Park, Metso´s Mining and Construction Technology operations in India consist of a factory in Bawal, a foundry in Ahmedabad, and regional sales and service offices in New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Thane, Hyderabad and Chennai. Metso Group has currently altogether 17 units and 735 employees in India.

Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have about 27,000 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com

Further information for the press, please contact:

Matti Kähkönen, President, Mining and Construction Technology, Metso, tel. +358 20 484 3100

Sudhir Srivastava, Senior Vice President, Asia and Pacific market area, Mining and Construction Technology, Metso, tel. +91 124 2351575

Kasuga of Fuji, Japan has ordered a tissue converting line from Futura SpA of Lucca, Italy. Startup is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

This 2.9-m machine will produce top quality embossed toilet tissue in single- and two-ply. The line will feature two unwind stands, JOI embosser, trim cutter, log saw and core winder.

Kasuga aims to enhance productive efficiency with the new line.

Futura sales manager Carlo Berti said: "We have worked closely with Kasuga, and it is a great honour and responsibility to supply a line for such a high level producer. Our lines have an established reputation for quality and ease of use, and we are confident that this line will take Kasuga to a new level of reliability, and guarantee a superb quality finished product."

The joint-venture company between Corelex Corporation of Japan and New Toyo Pulppy of Vietnam recently started up a 2.8 m wide tissue machine from A Celli Paper, according to the Italian company.

The Mill has an output of 80 tons/day of tissue products. A Celli supplied the approach flow as well as the combining slitter rewinder AC861 with unwind stands and calender 581. The opening ceremony is due on 4 March 2010.

For Corelex Group, this tissue machine is the third from A.Celli Paper. The other two, including one of double width (5.6 m) are in operation in Japan.

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 10:00

SWUG conference goes a little bit country

The Single Width Users Group (SWUG) will be taking its annual conference to Tamworth this year. The conference will begin on Friday, March 19 and conclude with the SWUG Awards gala presentation on the evening of Sunday, March 21. There will be no Monday morning conference sessions as in previous years.

The conference sessions will be held at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre, while the annual SWUG dinner will be held in the historic surroundings of Tamworth Town Hall.

Bob Lockley, SWUG president says, "This will be a great venue for our conference and I would encourage everybody to get in early with their registration and accommodation bookings. It is sure to be a very informative and highly entertaining weekend, with several overseas guest speakers lined up."

The host print site this year is the Fairfax Media Regional Print facility that houses a six tower Goss Community pressline. Organisers says the press is expected to be of interest to delegates having been installed just last year as the result of a project which saw reconditioned units from various sites around Australia combined at the one location.

The flagship publication produced at the site is the Northern Daily Leader, a six-day-a-week local newspaper with a circulation of over 13,000 copies.

Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited of India selects Raumaster Paper Oy of Finland for Roll Handling and Wrapping System

Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) has once again selected Raumaster Paper Oy (RMP) for the delivery of a roll handling and wrapping line to the customer's mill in Kagithapuram, Tamil Nadu, India. The start up of the line is scheduled for the second quarter of 2010 calendar year.

The scope of supply covers a complete roll handling system from PM 1 & 2 to the new roll storage along with a Swingmaster axial stretch film wrapping system. It also includes a rebuild of the recent roll handling system delivered in 1993 by RMP. This order is in continuation of the long cooperation and relationship between the two companies.

TNPL operates two fine paper machines and a third one is being installed at their site. TNPL is the largest single location fine paper manufacturer in India and highly respected for their technical and cost effective operations.

Raumaster Paper is a global leader in roll finishing systems. For more information please refer to www.raumasterpaper.fi or contact our local representative Mr. Tushar Deshpande at +91-9843077796 and visit www.conteq.biz

Appleton Coated LLC, NewPage Corporation, and Sappi Fine Paper North America – together with the United Steelworkers commended the U.S. Department of Commerce for its preliminary countervailing duty determinations against subsidized coated paper imports from China and Indonesia.

As a result of these determinations, the Department of Commerce will impose tariffs on imports of coated paper to offset the unfair advantage provided by subsidization. The Department of Commerce found that Chinese coated paper was subsidized by an average rate of 8.38 percent.

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) producers Gold East, Gold Huasheng, Ningbo Zhonghua and Ningbo Asia Pulp and Paper received a subsidy margin of 12.83 percent, while Sun Paper received a rate of 3.92 percent. In Indonesia , APP/Sinar Mas producers Tjiwi Kimia and Indah Kiat received a subsidy margin of 17.48 percent. All other Indonesian producers/exporters will be subject to this same rate. The result of the Department's actions will be the immediate requirement that these importers of paper from the subject countries will have to post bond or cash deposits in an amount equal to the announced margins pending final resolution of the cases later this year.

The companies and the USW filed unfair trade cases on September 23, 2009 with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission ("ITC") alleging that certain coated paper from China and Indonesia had been dumped and subsidized resulting in injury to the domestic industry and its employees. The paper products covered by the petitions include coated paper used in high-quality writing, printing and other graphic applications, using sheet-fed presses with a GE brightness rating of 80 or higher and weighing up to 340 grams per square meter.

source: NewPage

To read the full article go here....>

Hannapak, who recently installed the first Roland 700 HiPrint in Australia, is opening its doors for a manroland hosted open house, which will allow visitors to see the new generation Roland in full operation firsthand.

The invitation only event will include speeches by Steve Dunwell, managing director of manroland Australia as well as Dr. Markus Rall, member of the executive board, manroland AG.

The demonstration of the Roland 700 with InlineFoiler Prindor along with an accompanying presentation will be conducted by Tony Kenney, manroland.

Sam Hanna, sales and marketing director of Hannapak says, "There are many new inline technologies that have not been seen before in an operational environment. Visitors will see firsthand how well the HiPrint performs as well as the design innovation that can be achieved with the inline foiler."

The open house will be held at Hannapak, North Richmond on March 16, to request an invitation contact Allison Whitelaw

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The Indian paper industry today failed to get any relief from the Delhi High Court over the government's decision of not imposing safeguard duty on imports of coated paper and paper board.

A division bench Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul declined to give ex-parte stay over notification issued by the Director General of Safeguards on November 13, 2009, in this regard.

However, the court issued notices to the government and the Director General of Safeguards (DGS) and directed them to file reply to the petition filed by domestic paper producers - ITC, Ballarpur Industries, J K Paper and their lobby group India Papaer Manufacturer Association (IPMA).

The petition filed by leading paper producers and IPMA, requested the court to set aside the notification issued by DGS which falls under the Ministry of Finance.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 12:00

CPI’s profits take a hit in tough market

CPI's net profit dropped 4.2 per cent to $2.04m for the first half of 2009-10 while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell 27.6 per cent to $4.2m. The Australian paper giant says trading conditions remain difficult with volumes still below the levels two years ago.

In a telling insight into the current state of the domestic printing industry the company also reports its revenues from ordinary activities are down 24.6 per cent to $209m, from the $277m it recorded in the latter half of 2008.

CPI told shareholders today that in view of the still difficult conditions in the industry it has determined not to declare a dividend for the time being. CPI's share price plummeted 22 per cent following the release of its figures.

Bernard Cassell, managing director of CPI says, "During the six months to December 31, conditions remained difficult due to the depressed levels of activity in the economy generally, and the printing industry particularly. Volumes were significantly affected with anecdote evidence suggesting the industry volumes were down by 20 per cent."

Cassell also says that in line with the difficult conditions the Group has focused strongly on cost and balance sheet control. He says, "Cost control initiatives which had begun in the previous financial year, were continued and consolidated. Overheads for the first six months were 17 per cent below the prior year, exceeding the targets that had been set."

Commenting on the decision to sell its Graphics Division, with Komori presses, to Ferrostaal Cassell says, "The opportunity was taken to further rationalise product ranges and clear out discontinued lines. This process is now well advanced."

International technology Group Andritz has received an order from Nanning Phoenix Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd, Guangxi, China to supply a PrimeLine high-speed tissue machine. Start-up is scheduled for mid- 2011.

andAndritz™s scope of supply includes a complete stock preparation plant that is also designed for bagasse pulp and the PrimeLineTM machine, which has a design speed of 2100 m/min and a width of 3.65 m. The machine will feature a two-layer PrimeFlow headbox, an EquiDry hood, and a PrimeDry Steel Yankee " a high-precision drying cylinder for excellent drying at low cost.

Part of the machine and equipment will be manufactured in Europe and part in China by Andritz Technologies Ltd, Foshan.

This order is the 11th high-speed tissue machine delivered to China by Andritz Pulp & Paper, making it one of the leaders in the Chinese market.