ThermoSafe Brands, a business of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), is pleased to introduce Certis Silver, the latest offering in the Certis line of off-the-shelf packaging solutions for temperature-sensitive products. Designed to the ISCsilver™ Ambient Temperature Profile, Certis Silver packaging solutions offer reliable temperature assurance for moderate distribution environments.

The addition of Certis Silver effectively expands the Certis footprint to encompass a broad range of 2 C – 8 C applications. Certis Gold solutions, which are based on the rigorous ISCgold™ Ambient Temperature Profile, were developed to maintain the same strict temperature control seen with Certis Silver, but under more volatile shipping and storing conditions.

“ThermoSafe Brands has leveraged the elegant Certis design platform, expanding the product line to meet the global needs of customers with less stringent temperature profile requirements,” said D’Arcy Ryan, director of Marketing for ThermoSafe Brands. “Certis Silver offers quick-to-market and cost-effective solutions in the refrigerated temperature range,” Ryan added.

The patent-pending modular platform design common to all Certis Shippers provides plenty of flexibility for adjusting to specific needs. Standard Certis Shippers can be modified to meet customer requirements for temperature control, shipping durations and payload sizes. “A few simple modifications to the phase change materials or shipper system components is usually all it takes,” said Ken Maltas, vice president of Engineering for ThermoSafe Brands.

Although ThermoSafe can design a custom shipper to precisely match a product’s requirements, off-the-shelf Certis Shippers are ideal because they reduce freight costs, accelerate speed-to-market and increase operational efficiencies.

All Certis Silver solutions feature Thermophase™ powered by PureTemp™, a patented proprietary formulation of natural vegetable-based phase change materials for strict temperature control, easy pack outs, greater efficiency and smaller, lighter packages. ThermoPhase materials are non-hazardous, environmentally friendly and available to meet a wide range of temperature requirements.

For more information about Certis products or ThermoSafe Brands’ complete line of packaging solutions, please visit the Company website at http://www.thermosafe.com or contact customer service at 1-800-505-1886.

M-real Corporation, part of Metsä Group, has concluded the information and consultation process at the Gohrsmühle mill in Germany. In order to eliminate the severe losses of the mill, M-real started the negotiations with the workers’ representatives concerning the planned discontinuation of the mill’s uncoated fine paper and unprofitable speciality paper production. M-real released a stock exchange bulletin on 18 October 2011 concerning these plans.

Following the conclusion of the negotiations, M-real is able to make the final decisions to discontinue Gohrsmühle mill’s uncoated fine paper production and the production of the unprofitable speciality papers. As a result, M-real’s annual uncoated fine paper capacity reduces by approximately 120,000 tonnes and speciality paper capacity by 70,000 tonnes. The related personnel reduction of maximum 260 people will be implemented by the end of the second quarter of 2012. The level of redundancy costs is in line with the cost provisions made in the last quarter of 2011.

M-real continues the Chromolux business and is currently investigating possibilities to start up folding boxboard sheeting operations at the Gohrsmühle site.

Actions to establish a business park in Gohrsmühle continue together with the workers’ representatives and the local authorities with the target to create new jobs at the site. One of the alternatives is to find partners to the site to utilise the existing paper production and converting equipment as well as other site infrastructure.  An example of the successful implementation of the business park concept is the Reflex mill, where M-real was able to divest business units to different companies saving more than 200 jobs. Divestment of M-real’s last operations at the Reflex mill, the Premium Paper business, was finalised in mid-February 2012.

“We have reached a very important step in our work to eliminate losses of our paper business. Opportunities to establish a business park in Gohrsmühle are good,” says M-real’s CEO Mikko Helander.

BASF significantly surpassed the record levels of 2010 in sales and earnings, and thus again earned a high premium on its cost of capital in 2011. Compared with 2010, sales increased by 15% to €73.5 billion. All regions contributed to this increase. Income from operations (EBIT) before special items improved by 4% to €8.4 billion and EBIT increased almost 11% to €8.6 billion.

At the Annual Press Conference, Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF said: “2011 was another very successful year for BASF. Thus we are continuing our ambitious dividend policy and will, therefore, again propose a higher dividend of €2.50 at the Annual Meeting. This is an increase of €0.30 or 13.6% compared with the previous year.”

At around €18.1 billion, sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 were higher than in the fourth quarter of 2010, as well as in the third quarter of 2011. However, the slowing of the economy over the course of the year was reflected in the EBIT before special items, which at €1.5 billion was 14% below the fourth quarter of 2010. The trend that the company observed at the beginning of the second half of the year continued. Customers were more cautious in their ordering, reduced their inventories and put off orders in expectation that the economy would decline and prices could possibly soften.

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel highlighted the strong cash flow from operating activities. “At €7.1 billion, our operating cash flow exceeded the high level of the previous year once again,” he said. Higher net income contributed significantly to this. The expansion of business and higher prices led to an increase of the funds tied up in net working capital.

Payments related to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (capex) of €3.4 billion were €862 million above the previous year’s level. Important capital expenditures that started operations in 2011 include the expansion of the company’s site in Nanjing, China; the construction of a methylamines plant in Geismar, Louisiana; the construction of an oleum plant in Antwerp, Belgium; as well as the extension of its European natural gas pipeline system.

Outlook for the year 2012
BASF’s outlook for 2012 is based on the following economic conditions:

• Global economic growth at the previous year’s level (plus 2.7%)
• Solid growth in global chemical production, excluding pharmaceuticals (plus 4.1%)
• An average exchange rate of $1.30 per euro
• An average oil price (Brent) of $110 per barrel

Bock said: “We expect the global economy to pick up speed over the course of 2012 following a moderate start. Uncertainties due to the sovereign debt crises, in particular in Europe and the United States, will dampen growth prospects. Positive impetus for the chemical industry will again mainly come from the emerging markets.”

Excluding the effects of acquisitions and divestitures, BASF wants to increase sales volumes. The company aims to exceed the 2011 record levels in sales and EBIT before special items. Earnings will be supported by the resumption of crude oil production in Libya, as well as growing volumes in the chemicals business.

BASF plans to increase its global research and development expenditures to €1.7 billion in 2012 (2011: €1.6 billion).
“We aim to earn a high premium on our cost of capital once again in 2012. In the first half of 2012, we will likely not achieve the high levels of the first two quarters of the previous year. For the second half, we expect to surpass the levels of the same period of the previous year,” said Bock.

Sales growth in almost all segments in 4th quarter

In Chemicals, price increases in all divisions led to higher sales in the fourth quarter of 2011. In addition, the transfer of the styrenics business to the Styrolution joint venture contributed positively because ethylene sales to the joint venture have been reported as third-party sales since October 1, 2011. Due to weaker demand and ongoing high raw material prices, EBIT before special items was lower than in the fourth quarter of 2010. For the full year 2011, sales in Chemicals rose by 14% to around €13 billion and EBIT before special items grew 6% to reach a new high of €2.4 billion.

Despite lower volumes in major product lines, sales in Plastics increased in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to higher prices primarily in the Performance Polymers division. In engineering plastics, higher demand in North America, mainly from the automotive industry, compensated for lower volumes in Europe and Asia. EBIT before special items declined considerably due to lower margins as a result of weak demand and increased raw material costs, especially for TDI. For the full year 2011, sales in Plastics rose by 12% to around €11 billion while EBIT before special items of €1.2 billion was below the high level of the previous year.

The Performance Products segment posted a 19% rise in sales compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The inclusion of the Cognis businesses and price increases across all divisions contributed to this growth. Volumes declined by 6%, particularly in the Paper Chemicals and Performance Chemicals divisions. EBIT before special items declined by 25% due to expenses related to the integration of Cognis and margin pressure due to intense competition. For the full year, sales of the Performance Products segment increased by 28% to €15.7 billion. EBIT before special items reached €1.7 billion, an increase of 11%. 

Volumes in the Functional Solutions segment were up 6% driven by growing demand from the automotive industry for mobile emissions catalysts and automotive coatings. Demand from the construction industry increased slightly, primarily due to increased building activity in North America and the growing markets in Asia. Sales increased by 12% in the fourth quarter compared with the same period of the previous year. EBIT before special items more than doubled due to the strong business in Catalysts and Coatings. For the full year 2011, sales in Functional Solutions rose by 17% to €11.4 billion and EBIT before special items was up 20% to €559 million.

In Agricultural Solutions, sales declined slightly in the fourth quarter compared with the same period of the previous year. This was due to portfolio optimization measures and pre-buying by customers in the third quarter in South America. Regionally, sales in Europe were driven by positive year-end business in France. In North America, sales were up due to higher fungicide sales. EBIT before special items in the fourth quarter almost matched the prior year’s level, despite an increase in R&D spending and selling costs. For the full year 2011, sales in Agricultural Solutions rose by 3% to €4.2 billion and EBIT before special items was up 8% at €810 million.

In Oil & Gas, sales increased by 33%, driven by higher sales volumes in Natural Gas Trading and higher prices in both business sectors. In Libya, the onshore oil production restarted in mid-October with 20,000 barrels per day, and reached 60,000 barrels per day at the end of the year. EBIT before special items for the Oil & Gas segment declined by 4% in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to lower production levels in Libya compared with the previous year. The higher crude oil price partially compensated for the lower production volumes. For the full year 2011, sales in the Oil & Gas segment rose 12% to €12.1 billion. EBIT before special items decreased by 13% to €2.1 billion.

Sales in Other fell by 30%, mainly due to the transfer of the styrenics activities to the joint venture Styrolution as of October 1, 2011. BASF’s share in the joint venture is included at equity in the financial statements. Thestyrenics business, therefore, only contributed to the sales and earnings of Other for the first nine months of 2011. EBIT before special items increased in the fourth quarter by €128 million. Positive special items resulted primarily from the disposal gain of the styrenics business of €593 million. In 2011, sales in Other increased to €6.3 billion. EBIT before special items improved from minus €648 million to minus €404 million; EBIT rose from minus €707 million to €178 million due to higher positive special items.

AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products ("Resolute") (NYSE: ABH) (TSX: ABH), has announced that the Bureau de décision et de révision (Québec) has accepted, with immediate effect, the Company's application to cease trade Fibrek Inc.'s ("Fibrek") (TSX: FBK) private placement of 32,320,000 special warrants to Mercer International Inc.("Mercer") (Nasdaq: MERC) (TSX: MRI.U).

Resolute also announced today that it has extended to March 9, 2012 the expiry date for its offer to acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of Fibrek. The offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Fibrek made by Resolute, together with RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, is more fully described in the offer circular and other ancillary documentation that Resolute filed on December 15, 2011, on the Canadian Securities Administrators' website ("SEDAR"), as varied and extended. The offer will expire at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on March 9, 2012, unless it is extended or withdrawn by Resolute.

Resolute continues to work diligently to obtain all required approvals from the Canadian regulatory authorities. As of the close of business on February 23, 2012 approximately 67 million common shares of Fibrek had been deposited to Resolute's offer, representing approximately 51.5% of the outstanding common shares.

Questions and requests for assistance or further information on how to tender Fibrek common shares to the offer should be directed to, and copies of the above referenced documents may be obtained by contacting, Georgeson at 1-866-598-0048 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Klara Helstad has been named as the new Sustainability Director at Södra and as a new member of the group executive team at Södra as of 1 March. Helstad has been with Södra since 2005, and her last position was as Environmental and Quality Manager within the Södra Skog business area.

All Södra's business operations are run on the basis of a long-term strategy to use renewable raw materials, and make biodegradable products and products which can be recycled. The appointment of a sustainability director is part of the Group's priority focus on sustainability and climate issues.

"My field of operation covers the entire chain; from responsible forest management and efficient manufacturing processes to work on the development of renewable products," commented Helstad.

Helstad, 34, is a Doctor of Forestry and has previously acted as a project manager for Södra's introduction of dual certification to FSC® and PEFC. Prior to this, she was a navigator for productivity work at Södra Timber, Södra Cell and Södra Skog. She will report to Leif Brodén, Group Chief Executive at Södra.

The Board of Directors of Ecolab Inc. announced that it has appointed Michael Larson to the Ecolab board.

Mr. Larson is Chief Investment Officer toWilliam H. Gates III and the Business Manager ofCascade Investment, L.L.C., inKirkland, WA. He has been responsible for Mr. Gates' non-Microsoft investments as well as the assets of theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust since 1995. Previously, Larson was withHarris Investment Management, Putnam Investment Management andARCO. He also serves as a director of AutoNation, Inc.; Republic Services, Inc.; Grupo Televisa, S.A.B.; and Fomento Mexicano Economico,S.A.B. de C.V.

Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented on Larson's appointment, saying, "We are very pleased to have Michael join Ecolab's board. He adds valued public company board experience as well as a long-term shareholder perspective to our board. We look forward to his counsel as we further develop our aggressive growth plans."

Larson's appointment increases the size of Ecolab's Board to 15 from 14 members.

Ecolab Inc.'s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Douglas M. Baker, Jr., will address financial analysts at the Robert W. Baird & Co. 2012 Business Solutions Conference in Boston, MA on Wednesday, February 29. Ecolab will host a live webcast of Mr. Baker's presentation. Details for the webcast are as follows:

To access the webcast, go to the Investor Calendar section of Ecolab's web site at www.ecolab.com/investor and click on the webcast details. Listening to the webcast requires Internet access and the Windows Media Player or other compatible streaming media player.

With 2011 pro forma sales of $11 billion and more than 40,000 employees, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in more than 160 countries. For more news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.

Kemira Oyj's Annual Report 2011 has been published online at www.kemiraannualreport2011.com (in English) and www.kemiravuosikertomus2011.fi (in Finnish) on February 23, 2011 at 12 pm (CET + 1). For the first time Kemira publishes the annual report only online.

As part of the Annual report, Kemira also published today its first Sustainability report, which follows the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) framework. It can be found at www.kemiraannualreport2011.com/sustainability-performance.

Kemira Oyj's Financial Statements 2011 has also been published at www.kemiraannualreport2011.com/financials. 

Clearwater Paper Corporation has reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2011.

The company reported net earnings of $11.5 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to net earnings of $37.8 million, or $1.60 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding $1.8 million in after-tax charges related to the sale of our Lewiston, Idahosawmill on November 28, 2011, fourth quarter 2011 net earnings were $13.3 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share. Fourth quarter 2010 results included $10.5 million in after-tax costs related to the Cellu Tissue acquisition and a $27.1 million benefit from a Cellulosic Biofuel Producer Credit. Excluding these items, fourth quarter 2010 net earnings would have been $21.2 million, or $0.90 per diluted common share.

Fourth quarter 2011 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, was $52.2 million, compared to $34.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter 2011 Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes $2.9 million in pre-tax adjustments associated with the sale of the sawmill, was $55.1 million. Fourth quarter 2010 Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes $17.2 million in pre-tax Cellu Tissue acquisition related expenses, was $51.9 million.

"We reported record net sales of nearly $2 billion in 2011 and remain excited about our growing tissue business," said Gordon Jones, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our new tissue machine and additional converting lines at Shelby, North Carolina are on budget and scheduled for start-up in December 2012."

As part of the company's previously announced share buyback program, during the fourth quarter the company repurchased 41,700 shares of outstanding common stock at an average price of $32.30 per share. Since announcing the $30 million share buyback authorization on July 28, 2011, the company has repurchased 333,300 shares at a total cost of $11.3 million.

FOURTH QUARTER 2011 SEGMENT PERFORMANCE

Consumer Products

Net sales in the Consumer Products segment were $268.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, as compared to fourth quarter 2010 net sales of$142.9 million. The increase in net sales was predominately attributable to the inclusion of Cellu Tissue's operating results for the full fourth quarter 2011 compared to inclusion of only four days of operating results in fourth quarter 2010. Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $15.0 million, compared with operating income of $11.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding $6.3 million in pre-tax Cellu Tissue acquisition related costs, fourth quarter 2010 operating income would have been $17.6 million.

• Tissue volume increased to 123,046 tons in the fourth quarter of 2011, as compared to 55,626 tons in the fourth quarter of 2010, with the increase predominantly attributable to the addition of Cellu Tissue volumes. Including Cellu Tissue in our fourth quarter 2010 results would have resulted in pro forma volume of 132,673 tons. The decrease in fourth quarter 2011 tons versus 2010 pro forma tons sold by the combined business was due to softness in our contract manufacturing and machine glazed tissue markets. We also converted more parent rolls into finished cases in 2011, which results in a yield loss associated with the process of manufacturing converted cases, and curtailed parent roll sales to build retail inventory to support customer service needs.
• Net selling prices decreased to $2,182 per ton in the fourth quarter of 2011 as compared to $2,567 per ton in the fourth quarter of 2010, due predominantly to the inclusion of Cellu Tissue products in the total product mix for the 2011 period. The former Cellu Tissue operations have a broader range of products and tissue grades than the legacy Clearwater Paper facilities. On a pro forma basis, net selling prices increased 6.3% versus fourth quarter 2010. This selling price improvement is the result of a previously discussed price increase, the vast majority of which was implemented in the fourth quarter of 2011, and a direct result of our efforts to improve product mix.
• Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 when compared to 2010 was negatively impacted by higher pulp, transportation, packaging and energy costs with the increase predominantly attributable to the addition of Cellu Tissue.
• The first two lines at our Shelby facilities contributed modest operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011. We expect these two lines to contribute approximately $8 million of operating income in 2012, which includes approximately $2 million of depreciation.
• We estimate that the net cost savings from synergies from the Cellu Tissue acquisition were approximately $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. We anticipate achieving between $15 and $20 million of cost savings from synergies in 2012 and expect the annual run rate cost savings from synergies to be in the range of $35 to $40 million by the end of 2012.

Pulp and Paperboard

Net sales of $197.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 were down 2.3%, compared to fourth quarter 2010 net sales of $202.6 million. Operating income for the quarter declined to $16.5 million, compared to $29.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding $15.4 million in sawmill sale and related costs, operating income would have been $31.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. The company also made offsetting adjustments to LIFO inventory reserves in connection with the sawmill sale, which were accounted for at the corporate rather than the segment level.

• Paperboard net sales were higher for the quarter, driven by a 2.4% increase in paperboard pricing to $970 per ton and a 4.8% increase in paperboard volumes to 185,487 tons, compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Partially offsetting higher paperboard net sales were reduced pulp sales due to increased transfers of pulp to the Consumer Products segment for internal utilization. External pulp sales decreased from 17,387 tons in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 2,360 tons in the fourth quarter of 2011. Net sales were also lower due to the sale of the sawmill in the fourth quarter of 2011.
• The increase in operating income, excluding the sawmill sale, was driven by higher paperboard sales, partially offset by higher input costs for chemicals and wood fiber in the fourth quarter of 2011 as compared to the same period of 2010.

Taxes

The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2011, excluding discrete items, was approximately 35.6%, compared to 35.8% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The actual income tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2011 was 47.8%, compared to a benefit of 213.1% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Our 2010 effective rate included the benefits from the Cellulosic Biofuel Producer Credit.

Metso has received an arbitration award in its favor amounting to EUR 10 million plus around EUR 2 million in interest. The arbitration process was related to a large project delivery in Turkey. The arbitration tribunal denied substantially the claims made against Metso and its decision is final. Metso will book the amount awarded in its financial statements when the payment has been received. 

Metso is a global supplier of technology and services to customers in the process industries, including mining, construction, pulp and paper, power, and oil and gas. Our 30,000 professionals based in over 50 countries deliver sustainability and profitability to customers worldwide. Expect results.

www.metso.com , www.twitter.com/metsogroup