Displaying items by tag: buckeye

Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) announced the release of its 2012 Sustainability Report. This report (which summarizes calendar year 2011 results) highlights Buckeye’s continuing efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage, water usage, solid waste production, and air emissions. Buckeye has reduced greenhouse gas emissions which are generated by fossil fuels and purchased electricity by over 10% per ton since 2007, and now generates 77% of its total energy needs from renewable biomass. In addition, significant reductions of water used daily were achieved (down 6% since 2007) while reducing wastes by 30% since 2007. The report also shares information about Buckeye’s social impacts, including employees’ impressive response to a renewed corporate-wide commitment to safety, reducing the Total Incidence Rate from 3.5 to 2.0 during the reporting period.

Buckeye announced separately in May 2012 that our Foley plant located near Perry, FL, achieved certifications from three internationally recognized organizations that promote responsibly managed forests: the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™). These certifications followed a rigorous year-long process of developing documents, manuals and procedures to guide fiber procurement and track fiber chain of custody. The purpose of these certifications is to ensure that companies which use forest resources meet society’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Buckeye is committed to monitoring and reviewing its sustainable forestry programs and to continually improving and broadening the practice of sustainable forestry. Certification to these standards further demonstrates Buckeye’s commitment to meeting customer demand for products that are derived from forest fiber that is legally harvested and well-managed.

John Crowe, Chairman and CEO, emphasized that “Buckeye is continuing to make progress on our sustainability strategy which embraces the importance of protecting the environment and resources for future generations while leveraging long-term business and shareholder value.”

Published in North American News
Monday, 27 August 2012 10:30

Buckeye Announces New Board Member

Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) has announced that Mr. Shannon A. Brown has been elected to serve as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors effective August 24, 2012. Mr. Brown is elected to serve the unexpired term of former Board member Kristopher J. Matula, who resigned from the Board on August 7. The election of Mr. Brown increases the number of independent Directors from seven to eight.


Mr. Brown is Senior Vice President/Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation. In that position - which he has held since 2008 - Mr. Brown is the Company’s senior human resources executive, with responsibility for providing strategic direction for all global human resources practices, policies and operations. Prior to his current role at FedEx Express, Mr. Brown served as senior vice president of human resources for FedEx Ground.

Mr. Brown earned his undergraduate degree from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois and holds a Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation from the University of Denver. He is active in numerous national civic and professional organizations, having served on The University of Denver’s Board of Directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute; the Board of Trustees of National Louis University; and on the March of Dimes Board of Trustees. He was the 2010 General Campaign Chairman for United Way of the Mid-South and currently is the Chair Elect of the United Way of the MidSouth.

Buckeye Chairman John B. Crowe stated, “We are pleased that Mr. Brown has agreed to join the Buckeye Board of Directors. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we feel he will be a valuable contributor to our Company’s future success.”

Published in North American News
Saturday, 25 August 2012 01:18

Buckeye Announces a New Board Member

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that Mr. Shannon A. Brown has been elected to serve as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors effective August 24, 2012. Mr. Brown is elected to serve the unexpired term of former Board member Kristopher J. Matula, who resigned from the Board on August 7. The election of Mr. Brown increases the number of independent Directors from seven to eight.
 
Mr. Brown is Senior Vice President/Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation. In that position - which he has held since 2008 - Mr. Brown is the Company’s senior human resources executive, with responsibility for providing strategic direction for all global human resources practices, policies and operations. Prior to his current role at FedEx Express, Mr. Brown served as senior vice president of human resources for FedEx Ground.
 
Mr. Brown earned his undergraduate degree from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois and holds a Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation from the University of Denver. He is active in numerous national civic and professional organizations, having served on The University of Denver’s Board of Directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute; the Board of Trustees of National Louis University; and on the March of Dimes Board of Trustees. He was the 2010 General Campaign Chairman for United Way of the Mid-South and currently is the Chair Elect of the United Way of the MidSouth.
 
Buckeye Chairman John B. Crowe stated, “We are pleased that Mr. Brown has agreed to join the Buckeye Board of Directors. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we feel he will be a valuable contributor to our Company’s future success.”
 
Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.
Published in North American News

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that it will restructure its executive management team in support of its previously announced decisions to close or sell several underperforming or non-core assets and in conjunction with the departure of its chief operating officer, which was announced separately.

The Company’s Board of Directors has approved the following promotions effective July 24, 2012. Mr. Steven G. Dean, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Douglas L. Dowdell, Senior Vice President, Specialty Fibers has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Specialty Fibers. Mr. Terrence M. Reed, Vice President, Human Resources has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Human Resources.

Mr. Dean joined Buckeye in 1999, and since that time he has held positions of increasing responsibility in the area of finance and accounting. He has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since 2006. In connection with his promotion, Mr. Dean will assume increased responsibilities in the area of information technology.

Mr. Dowdell joined Buckeye in 1988 and has played leadership roles in the Company’s Nonwovens division and in the Specialty Fibers division. He has led the Specialty Fibers division since 2006 and will assume increased operational responsibilities.

Mr. Reed joined Buckeye in 1995 and has held key leadership positions in Manufacturing and Human Resources. He has served as Vice President, Human Resources since 2006 and will assume increased responsibilities in the area of human resource development.

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting the Company's operations, financing, markets, products, services and prices, and other factors. For further information on factors which could impact the Company and the statements contained herein, please refer to public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Published in North American News
Monday, 30 July 2012 11:15

Buckeye Announces Resignation

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has reported that President and Chief Operating Officer Kristopher J. Matula has announced his intent to resign from the Company effective August 31, 2012 to focus on other interests. Mr. Matula stated that he will resign from the Company’s Board of Directors on August 7, 2012.
 
John B. Crowe, Chairman and CEO, commented, “Kris has made many significant contributions to the progress and development of Buckeye in his eighteen years of dedicated service. He has been a key member of the leadership teams that moved the Company forward from the initial IPO in 1995 to our current record level performance. He has been a top contributor and has served Buckeye with distinction. We wish Kris and his family the very best in their future endeavors.”
 
Kristopher J. Matula, President and COO commented, “It has been an honor to be part of the Buckeye team for the past eighteen years. With our business well positioned for the future and a strong leadership team in place, the timing is right for me to retire from Buckeye and focus on other personal interests.”
 
Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.
 
Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting the Company's operations, financing, markets, products, services and prices, and other factors. For further information on factors which could impact the Company and the statements contained herein, please refer to public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.
Published in North American News
Friday, 06 July 2012 08:23

Buckeye Florida Mill Back in Full Operation

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that its Florida wood cellulose manufacturing facility has returned to full operation. Both of the plant’s paper machines were damaged when a steam drum failure occurred on June 17. The specialty pulp line returned to production on June 23; the fluff pulp line began its start-up on July 4, as previously targeted and communicated in the Company’s June 25 press release.
 
Production on the fluff pulp line was operating within normal ranges and we are producing fluff pulp per our ISO 9001:2008 quality standards. Returning the fluff pulp line to operation will allow the Company to fully optimize the product mix on the specialty line. The root cause of the drum failure was identified by the failure analysis team and preventive actions have been taken on both lines to prevent reoccurrence.
 
Buckeye Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Crowe stated, “Having this event behind us in less than three weeks is an amazing demonstration of the flexibility and teamwork of the Buckeye organization. It is in times like this when you see the strength and character of your organization and appreciate the valuable partnerships that we have with our contractors and suppliers who have put forth the extraordinary effort to return the plant to full operation.”
 
Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.
Published in North American News

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced it is targeting the restart of its fluff pulp line for July 4. The specialty pulp line has been up and safely running at target rates since early Saturday morning, June 23. The specialty pulp line mix will not be fully optimized until the fluff line is back in operation. Among other things, the July 4 timeline depends on procurement of materials and the amount of work required to repair and replace drums and other damaged equipment. Both production lines were idled on Sunday evening, June 17, due to a significant failure of a steam drum on the fluff pulp line. There were no injuries associated with this incident.

We expect our property damage and business interruption insurance will cover most of the losses in excess of our $2 million deductible. Net of insurance recovery, we estimate the total net earnings impact of this event to be in the range of 5 to 10 cents per share. We expect Q4 FY 2012 (April-June 2012) earnings to be reduced by 8 to 11 cents per share as a result of this event. The net impact on first half FY 2013 earnings (July-December 2012) should be small as we expect to recognize the bulk of the insurance benefits during this period. We also anticipate the lost production volume due to the outage will reduce sales revenue by about $20 million primarily in the July to December 2012 period.

Buckeye Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Crowe stated, “I am proud of our organization’s tireless efforts, teamwork and creativity to minimize the amount of production downtime associated with this significant event. While there is still much work required to get the fluff pulp line safely up and running by July 4 and this date could change, great progress has been made which will help minimize the impact of this production outage on our customers and all of our stakeholders.”

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Published in North American News

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that it has made the repairs on the #1 specialty pulp machine that was damaged on June 17, due to the significant failure of a steam drum on the #2 fluff pulp machine. Structural damage to the paper machine building has been addressed and the specialty machine will begin start up today. Both paper machines have been idled since Sunday evening June 17, when the incident occurred.

There were no injuries to any personnel and there wasn’t a fire. A team at the plant, including contractor resources and structural engineers, continue the investigation to determine the root cause of the drum failure. All drums are being inspected prior to the startup based on the early findings of the comprehensive failure analysis.

With the paper machine building secure, workers have begun the plans and repairs for the #2 paper machine where Buckeye produces all of their fluff pulp. Because the drum failure was on this machine, most of the damage was limited to one area of the paper machine. While it is too early in the repairs and planning to provide a firm timeline, we will provide an estimate early next week. The timeline depends on procurement of materials and the amount of work to repair and replace drums, pedestals and sole plates.

Insurance company representatives have been on site helping assess the damage. We expect our property damage and business interruption insurance will cover most of the property damage and business interruption losses in excess of our $2 million deductible. Our 4th quarter earnings will be impacted by more than this amount as we will not be able to recognize the business interruption insurance benefit until the insurance claim is settled, which will result in a benefit to income in fiscal year 2013.

Buckeye Chief Executive Officer John Crowe stated, “A successful restart of the specialty machine has been a high priority after personnel safety. We are using preliminary findings from the comprehensive failure analysis and plan to inspect all drums prior to returning them to service. That has been completed for the specialty machine that we are returning to operations today. Getting back to normal operations on the specialty machine is important to our specialty customers. We will work around the clock to return the #2 paper machine to operations and are making arrangements with all customers to minimize the impact of the outage on their business.”

Mr. Crowe went on to say, “I am extremely proud and impressed with the teamwork I have observed from Buckeye’s employees, our onsite contractor, venders, and customers. We also, are using the downtime opportunity to complete scheduled maintenance items that will come off our downtime planning list and this will help us avoid downtime in the future.”

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Published in North American News

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that on Sunday, June 17, Buckeye’s Florida wood cellulose fibers facility near Perry, Florida, experienced a significant failure of a steam drum on the number 2 paper machine causing damage to multiple drums and structural damage to the paper machine building and structure. Fortunately, there were no injuries to any personnel working in the area. Following the incident, which occurred about 5:20 p.m. EDT, the plant was shut down in an orderly manner. A team at the plant, including contractor resources and structural engineers, immediately began an investigation to determine the root cause of the drum failure. While it is too early to know the extent or timing to return the plant to normal operations, Buckeye management will have more details on the incident later in the week and will provide updates on plans for resuming production.

Buckeye resources are working with all stakeholders including customers, suppliers and employees to manage and minimize the impact of this outage to the supply chain and to operations.

Buckeye Chief Executive Officer John Crowe stated, “Buckeye can and will repair the damage to the number 2 machine and the building. The safety of people is our highest priority, and we are thankful there were no injuries in this significant incident.”

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Published in North American News
Monday, 21 May 2012 11:30

Buckeye earns forestry certifications

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that Buckeye Florida has achieved forestry certifications from three internationally recognized organizations that promote responsibly managed forests: the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

The purpose of these certifications is to ensure that companies which use forest resources meet society’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Buckeye received the certifications after a rigorous year-long process of developing documents, manuals, and procedures to guide fiber procurement and track fiber chain of custody.

The certification to the FSC standard is for Chain of Custody. The SFI certifications are for the SFI Standard 2010-2014 and for SFI Chain of Custody. The certification to the PEFC standard is for Chain of Custody.

Howard Drew, Buckeye’s Vice President, Wood Cellulose Manufacturing, said the certifications are an extension of the company’s long-standing policy of practicing sustainable forestry. “Buckeye is committed to monitoring and reviewing its sustainable forestry programs and to continually improving and broadening the practice of sustainable forestry. These independent, third party certifications reflect our commitment to meeting customer demand for products that are derived from forest fiber that is legally harvested and well-managed.”

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany, and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Published in North American News
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