At the beginning of October 2011, Voith Paper Automation was recognized by the federal state of Lower Austria and its Economic Chamber for its OnV FlocSpotter product. Annually about 200 projects are submitted, of which 50 are selected and recognized as the most innovative products. The awarding of the certificate took place during a ceremony for the Lower Austrian "Karl Ritter von Ghega" innovation prize.

With the OnV FlocSpotter sensor, measurement of formation is already possible in the wire section. Formation is crucial to quality in the paper manufacturing process. Until now, it could only be measured before the reel or with great effort in the laboratory. With multi-layer machines, formation of each individual layer now can be inspected separately on the wire fabric before they are couched together. The paper maker thus gets valuable information and, if there are deviations, can intervene in the process at the earliest possible point in time and adjust it.

Additionally, due to improved formation, the uniformity of the board web is increased, while printability, and thus the product quality, are improved. Hence the manufacturer profits from fewer complaints from the printing plants.

The innovation prize is awarded annually to companies whose research facilities are located in Lower Austria or which are members of the Economic Chamber of Lower Austria. Among the criteria for evaluation are the creativity and the technological level of the solution, the benefit for the user and the market opportunities of the product.

Domtar Corporation took home the Environmental Strategy of the Year Award and the Promotional Campaign of the Year - Environmental Message Award at the Pulp and Paper International (PPI) Awards 2011 ceremony held on November 15^th in Brussels, Belgium.

Domtar President and CEO John D. Williams attended the ceremony and noted, "The finalists in each of the categories make up a distinguished list from around the world, and we are proud to be among those recognized for their industry leadership.  The Environmental Strategy of the Year and Promotional Campaign of the Year awards are a great honor and a testament to our continued sustainability efforts on a number of fronts."

The Environmental Strategy of the Year award recognizes the company's efforts in the areas of sustainable forest management, greenhouse gas reduction and water management, as well as the 2011 development of the Domtar Paper Trail, an online tool that creates personalized customer reports of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of specific paper grade purchases.

The Promotional Campaign of the Year recognizes Domtar's PAPERbecause video, social media and print ad campaign telling the story of paper's utility and sustainability in a humorous and engaging way.  The campaign was originally launched in 2010 and recently renewed with the introduction of five new videos.

"For years we've been championing sustainable forest management and fiber procurement, and at the same time we've devoted considerable resources to pursuing emissions reduction and energy efficiency initiatives at our mills," added Lewis Fix, Domtar's Vice-President of Sustainable Business and Brand Management.  "Now with the Domtar Paper Trail and the PAPERbecause campaign, we are saying that stakeholder engagement and transparency are a big part of putting our commitment to sustainability into practice."

For more information, please visit www.paperbecause.com and www.domtarpapertrail.com.

The PPI Awards are organized by RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. They are the industry's only global awards that honor leadership, vision, innovation and strategic accomplishments. Winners were named on November 15^th at an event in Brussels that overlaps with RISI's European Paper Week.

Kruger Inc. has announced that its Place Turcot paperboard mill in Montréal has been awarded Chain of Custody (CoC) certification by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), License Code FSC®- C106738. The certificate, issued by the Rainforest Alliance, an FSC®-accredited organization, authorizes the Company to feature the FSC® Recycled logo on its products which include 100% recycled white top (GreenWhiteTM) and brown (Turkraft) linerboard for corrugated packaging, as well as roll wrapping and file folder stock.

“Achieving FSC® Chain of Custody certification is a source of pride for our employees who make every effort on a daily basis to provide our clients with the highest quality
recycled paperboard possible, while meeting the highest environmental standards”, said Rob Latter, Vice President, Kruger Packaging.

The FSC®’s standards are among the strictest and most recognized in the global forest industry. More specifically, CoC certification enables the clients of certified companies to track forest products through all stages of the production process, from the forest to the shelf, including the manufacturing, converting and distribution stages.

This latest FSC® certification is in addition to previous certifications awarded to Kruger Inc. and further reinforces Kruger Inc.’s long-standing commitment to
environmental protection and the responsible use of resources. It follows FSC® CoC certifications obtained by several Kruger sites (license codes FSC®-C103971 and
FSC®-C104904):

o the Trois-Rivières and Brompton newsprint mills;
o the Kruger Wayagamack coated paper mill;
o the Parent, Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac and Saint-Séverin-de-Proulxville sawmills;
and
o the five tissue paper mills of its Kruger Products LP subsidiary, in Québec, British Columbia, and the United States.

In 2010, Kruger Inc. was granted FSC® certification (License Code SW-FM/COC- 004672) for its forest management practices in Mauricie.

Stora Enso has signed an extension of its existing EUR 700 million committed credit facility agreement with a syndicate of 16 banks announced on 14 December 2010. The extended facility matures in January 2015 and will be used as a backup for general corporate purposes. The terms of the facility, including pricing, remain unchanged and the facility has no financial covenants.

Bookrunners and Mandated Lead Arrangers for the transaction are BNP Paribas, Citi, Goldman Sachs International, Nordea and The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC.

Mandated Lead Arrangers are Banc of America Securities Limited, Barclays Capital, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank AG London Branch, DnB NOR Bank ASA, Handelsbanken, HSBC Bank plc, JP Morgan plc, Pohjola Bank plc, SEB and UBS Investment Bank.

“Stora Enso has a strong balance sheet and very good liquidity, and that enables us to continue implementing our growth strategy. Extending our current revolving credit facility further strengthens our financial flexibility,” says Stora Enso CFO Markus Rauramo.

Metso’s Capital Markets Day 2011 and assessment of the development for 2012

Metso is hosting a Capital Markets Day today, November 22, in London, UK. The event will feature management presentations covering areas such as Metso Group’s strategy, financial update including pro forma financials according to the new segment structure, and strategy updates of the Mining and Construction, Automation, and Pulp, Paper and Power segments.

The main message of the Capital Markets Day is that Metso is fit for the future and aims to leverage its strong global position to drive profitable growth and shareholder value.

Assessment of the development for 2012

Today Metso’s management is publishing an assessment of Metso Group’s development for 2012 as follows:
Based on the assumption that our current relatively healthy demand from our customer industries will not be materially weakened by the financial turmoil in Europe or by any other similar development, we estimate that:
• Our net sales for 2012 will increase compared to 2011
• Our result (EBITA before non-recurring items) for 2012 will increase compared to 2011

Metso’s Capital Markets Day will begin at 9:00 a.m. GMT. Presentation materials will be published at www.metso.com/investors. The website will also feature an on-demand webcast of the event later today.

Ashland Inc. has announced its board of directors has elected Eric Boni as vice president and treasurer of the company, effective December 1, 2011. In addition, John Goswell has been named vice president, internal audit.

Boni succeeds J. Kevin Willis, who in September was named vice president of finance for Ashland Inc. and controller for Ashland Specialty Ingredients. Goswell succeeds John Guldig, who is retiring.

As treasurer, Boni will have responsibility for global treasury operations, long-term finance, trust investments, and risk and insurance.  In addition to this role, he will retain responsibility for business analysis until a replacement is named.  Boni will continue to report to Lamar Chambers, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

A native of McMurray, Pa., Boni joined Ashland in 1994 and has held several positions of increasing responsibility in corporate and commercial roles.  He served as director of investor relations from 2007 to 2010, prior to being named director of business analysis.  Boni earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an M.B.A. in finance and information systems from Indiana University.

Goswell joined Ashland in August via the acquisition of International Specialty Products (ISP).  In his role as vice president, internal audit, he will be responsible for Ashland's global internal audit function, including oversight of financial, operational, information technology and environmental, health and safety audits.  He will report to Ashland's Audit Committee and administratively to Chambers.

A native of Sydney, Australia, Goswell previously held various senior management roles in audit, information technology, and finance at American Standard Companies, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb and Price Waterhouse. He is a certified Chartered Accountant and Information Systems Auditor and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and computing from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.

Praxair Uruguay, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX), has signed a 15-year contract to supply oxygen to a new pulp mill complex being built in Punta Pereira, in the department of Colonia, Uruguay. The new facility will be operated by Montes del Plata, a 50-50 joint venture between Arauco of Chile and StoraEnso of Finland and Sweden.

Praxair will build, own and operate a non-cryogenic vacuum-pressure-swing-adsorption (VPSA) plant with a capacity of 126 tons per day of gaseous oxygen. The plant is scheduled to start up in early 2013.

Used in the pulp bleaching process, oxygen delignification reduces active chlorine requirements, providing significant operating cost advantages and environmental benefits.

“We are pleased to support this strategically important project with Praxair´s second plant in Uruguay, strengthening our presence in the region with a strong partnership with Arauco and StoraEnso,” said Gilney Bastos, business executive director of Praxair’s Brazil-based subsidiary, White Martins Industriais Ltda.

“We have reached a good agreement with Praxair, which will benefit both parties. A state-of-the-art pulp mill needs state-of-the-art suppliers, so we are happy having Praxair as one of our partners in line with our main objective, which is to build the best pulp mill in the world,” said Erwin Kaufmann, general manager of Montes del Plata.

The pulp mill will be the largest-ever privately executed investment in Uruguay. The joint venture is investing $1.9 billion in the construction of a state-of-the-art pulp mill, a power generation unit based on renewable sources and deepwater port facilities. The complex is expected to produce 1.3 million tons of cellulose pulp annually beginning in early 2013. More information is available at www.montesdelplata.com.uy.

The European pulp and paper industry today concluded its thirteenth European Paper Week reporting on achievements of the last two years with their 5^th Sustainability Report and looking at what the future holds in their 2050 roadmap for a low-carbon bio-economy.

The three-day event brought together over 330 people from the pulp and paper industry, related organisations as well as different European institutions and provided a high-level platform for discussion.

At a moment when the European Commission is working on a Communication about the upcoming bio-economy, CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries) organised a densely packed Annual Meeting, presenting the newly launched “2050 Roadmap for a low-carbon bio-economy” to Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner of Climate action and her cabinet. ”You are the first energy-intensive industry to follow up on the Commission’s call to produce sector-specific, bottom-up roadmaps to complement the vision we presented in March in our Roadmap to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050. […] Most importantly, your roadmap presents a vision of a thriving European bio-economic sector that reaps the opportunities that the low carbon economy will bring, while at the same time addressing its challenges. In short it presents a vision that your industry will be part of the solution“, commented Connie Hedegaard.

A panel involving CEOs of the European paper industry, exchanged views about their 2050 visions and debated the transformation to a low-carbon economy. ”The forest fibre industry, drawing as it does largely on EU raw materials, will have a central role to play in the bio-economy, where the focus will be on sustainable, renewable and recyclable raw materials creating the highest possible added value”, stated Berry Wiersum, CEPI Chairman and CEO of Sappi Fine Paper Europe.

The key plenary event also saw contributions from Pavel Misiga, Head of Unit at the European Commission, DG Environment; replacing Karl Falkenberg, Director at DG Enterprise.

“The European paper industry continues to excel in sustainability matters and we have achieved relative decoupling of our environmental impacts from production. Recycling has increased and certification of wood used in our mills has risen to a new level. We have further reduced CO₂ emissions, and the percentage of companies with environmental management systems is at an all time high of 90%”, said Teresa Presas, CEPI Director General in her presentation addressing the freshly published 2011 Sustainability Report.

A youth panel concluded the annual event of the European paper industry; the panel discussed the results of a recent survey analysing paper use of digital natives (16-26 year old) in Europe. CEPI found that young people live in a digital world, where paper is key. Young Europeans are digitally connected and prefer to use digital technology for photos and bank statements, but they see paper as more emotional and trusted choice when it comes to love notes, birthday cards, contracts and diplomas.

European Paper Week - the networking event of the year within the pulp and paper industry - took place in Brussels from 15-17 November. This year the event also included several interactive seminars on a wide range of topics such as forest certification, recycling, packaging, research and sustainability.

Praxair China has signed a contract to supply oxygen for pulp bleaching in the processing of paper products to Jiangsu Oji Paper Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Oji Paper Co., the leading paper manufacturer in Japan and one of the largest paper products manufacturers worldwide.

Under the contract, Praxair China will build an on-site vacuum-pressure-swing-adsorption system to supply oxygen to the Jiangsu Oji Paper Project located in Nantong, Jiangsu province. This on-site gas facility is expected to start up at the end of 2012. The Jiangsu Oji Paper Project is the largest industrial project that Japan has invested in China so far, and also the largest overseas investment project of Oji Paper Group.

“Praxair China is pleased to establish the partnership with Oji Paper,” said Minda Ho, president of Praxair China. “We will continue to demonstrate our world-class gas supply service to support this prominent project in the global paper industry.”