Stora Enso plans to undertake a unique wooden construction project in Finland called Wood City in collaboration with the construction company SRV. A proposal that a site in the Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki be reserved for Stora Enso Oyj and SRV Yhtiöt Oyj was submitted today to the Real Estate Board of the City of Helsinki. The aim is to create a world-class project in which engineering skills can be taught in a practical way and to develop wood architecture. The extraordinary city to be built of wood includes office, hotel and commercial buildings. The first buildings are expected to be completed in 2013.

Special attention will be paid to solutions that improve energy efficiency in designing and constructing the buildings for the area. A high standard, internationally interesting and progressive plan for Wood City will be sought through an invitation-only design competition. Stora Enso is planning to supply supporting structures based on its new Urban MultiStorey™ concept for the buildings totalling 20 000 square metres of floor area in the site.

“Development of the new CLT-based Urban MultiStorey™ concept has been not only one of the most important Building Solutions actions in strengthening our strategy, but also the start of a totally new future for construction. The concept, which is especially suitable for energy-efficient construction, is a more competitive and flexible total solution for our customers than other construction solutions for multiple-storey buildings globally. In addition to rapid construction, the major advantage of the concept is cost-effective construction of impermeable, fire-resistant and long-lasting wooden buildings,” says Hannu Kasurinen, EVP, Stora Enso Wood Products.

“The Wood City project would offer us an excellent opportunity to develop our concept for the needs of office building construction too, jointly with the construction company SRV. Our solution based on massive CLT boards facilitates, for example, often popular vast glass surfaces, open, modifiable interiors and placing of piping and similar partly inside the elements,” Kasurinen continues.

The Urban MultiStorey™ concept will be offered throughout Europe. It features a variety of Stora Enso wood products. In addition to CLT boards the total solution utilises pillar beams and various external and interior cladding products, for example. To meet customers’ usage requirements, collaboration with the customer starts already in the design phase and continues all the way through to assembly.

“Wood City, the eight-storey high Bridport House in London, a shopping centre in Vienna and the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia are all real proof points of projects in which Stora Enso’s building solutions have a key role, heralding the dawning of a new era of wood construction. Thanks to new fire regulations that came into force in April, Finland now has an excellent opportunity to secure its place globally as one of the top countries for innovative and environmentally friendly multi-storey wooden construction and, above all, an opportunity to build office buildings up to eight storeys high from wood,” says Kasurinen.

Today 3rd October 2011, the new Södra Timber Värö facility has been inaugurated by Minister for Trade Ewa Björling. Through its subsidiary Södra Timber, the Södra forestry Group has invested SEK 1 billion in a new sawmill in Värö that has been relocated from Germany.

The new sawmill is one of the largest and most modern in Europe and represents an investment that will increase competitiveness in terms of both the market and raw material. The sawmill has created new job opportunities and will also generate employment in the forestry and transport sectors. The project involved replacing an existing sawmill in Värö, resulting in a threefold increase in production at Värö to 750,000 cubic metres.

Part of our future
Some 200 guests are invited to attend the inauguration ceremony, the theme of which is "A part of our future."  Ewa Björling will officiate at the inauguration. Together with Södra Timber's President Peter Nilsson, she will lay the final piece of a giant wooden puzzle depicting the sawmill. It symbolises the end of what was a complicated relocation project as well as an important piece of the puzzle moving forward. Following the ceremony, all guests will be invited to take part in a guided tour of the new sawmill.

Increased competitiveness
The aim of the project is to ensure that Södra's sawmill operations remain at the cutting edge, generating long-term profitability and the capacity to pay forest owners.

The investment reinforces Södra's clear ambition to become an international player in the sawmill industry. The market is also moving toward more standardised products, some of which require significant volumes to be competitive in the long term. Consequently, Södra needs a sawmill of this magnitude if it wants to vie for a place in the market of the future.

Short construction period
Project planning and construction took place over a relatively short period. The decision to construct the sawmill was taken in March 2010 and was realised through the acquisition of machinery and inventory from the German sawmill company Klausner Group's facility in Adelebsen, Germany. The sawmill had been in operation for just under a year at that point. It is a collaborative project in which Klausner is responsible for dismantling, relocating and constructing the facility as well as training personnel.

Most of the buildings are new and construction of the sawmill commenced in September of last year. On 19 May, the first log was put through the sorting line, with the first log being sawn on Midsummer Eve. Production at the old sawmill, which is now 40 years old, continued in parallel throughout the construction period. The plan is for the new sawmill to produce 750,000 cubic metres over three shifts. Production is focused on construction timber from pine and spruce.

Combined facility offers unique opportunities
A key part of the project is the location of the new sawmill adjacent to Södra's pulp mill; the combination effect with the pulp mill offers unique coordination opportunities between Södra Cell and Södra Timber. The combined facility generates cost advantages in terms of energy, wood chip transports and overheads.
The sawmill will receive its energy supply from the pulp mill and account for 30 per cent of the mill's wood chip requirements. Another benefit is the proximity to rail lines, the E6 European Highway and the harbour in Varberg. The sawmill will use about 1.5 million cubic metres of timber at full capacity, thus requiring a large harvesting area, from Skaraborg and Dalsland in the north of Sweden to Oskarström in the south. Due to the long distances involved, rail transportation of logs will be used where possible.

"The investment in Värö and the combined facility strengthens our competitiveness and capacity to pay for the raw material" comments Peter Nilsson, President Södra Timber.

Some 400 exhibiting companies and 6,663 visitors took part in this year’s China Paper/China Forest, held in Beijing on September 19-21. This international pulp and paper show proved to be a success to all involved.

- We have had a lot of positive feedback from both visitors and exhibitors, says Patrik Löwstedt, Exhibition Manager and Vice President of Adforum, organiser of China Paper/China Forest. – The show was well attended and according to exhibitors a lot of valuable relationships were formed, Löwstedt continues.

The China Paper Technical Conference, co-organised with CTAPI (the China Technical Association for Paper Industry), attracted 230 delegates, amongst others high level government and embassy officials, association managers, as well as senior executives from leading pulp and paper corporations.

China Paper is an annual event alternating between Beijing and Shanghai. Next year’s China Paper, which will be the 20th edition, will be held on September 10-12, 2012, at INTEX, Shanghai.

China Paper is organised by Adforum AB and E.J. Krause & Associates, Inc.

For further information, please visit www.chinapaperexpo.cn or contact Mr Patrik Löwstedt, Vice President, Adforum AB on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clearwater Paper Corporation has announced that it will host its third quarter 2011 financial results conference call on Thursday, October 27, 2011, at 8 a.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. Eastern Time). The company will issue its financial results before the market opens the same day.

Investors may access the conference call by dialing 877-303-9241 (for US/Canada investors) or 760-666-3575 (for international investors). The audio webcast may be accessed on the company's website at http://ir.clearwaterpaper.com/events.cfm.

An accompanying presentation will be available for downloading from http://ir.clearwaterpaper.com/events.cfm before the market opens. The webcast will be audio only. Investors are recommended to download the accompanying presentation prior to the call.

For those unable to participate in the call, an archived recording will be available through Clearwater Paper's Web site at www.clearwaterpaper.com under "Investor Relations" following the conference call.

For additional information on Clearwater Paper, please visit our website at www.clearwaterpaper.com.

Akzo Nobel NV (AkzoNobel) signed a new, €1.8 billion five year multi-currency syndicated revolving credit facility to refinance its existing €1.5 billion facility.

The transaction – which has two, one-year extension options – was very well supported by the company's relationship banks during syndication, causing the facility to close oversubscribed.

The facility underpins the company's strong credit and liquidity profile, and is intended for general corporate purposes. AkzoNobel is rated Baa1 by Moody's and BBB+ by Standard & Poor's.

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In the packaging of fish products, flexible packaging has a great deal to offer. As with all foods, the consumer is increasingly looking for convenience coupled with dependable quality and complete hygiene.

Added to this, the case for flexible packaging materials is compelling. Reduced weight, which saves transportation costs, lower energy consumption in production, and more adaptable shapes and branding solutions have all contributed to the massive rise in flexible packaging adoption by leading seafood brands in recent times.Nampak Flexible, Africa’s largest flexible packaging supplier is moving with the tide to bring seafood brands the very best this dynamic substrate has to offer.

Nampak Flexible supplies a number of leading brands in the seafood industry, including the like of Sea Harvest and Pescanova. The company’s products and services are backed by continuous investment in leading equipment the likes of state-of-the-art flexographic and gravure printing machines that provide the highest quality finishes, translating into stronger branding for seafood products.

The flexible specialist has a full contingent of laminating equipment to compliment their own printing capabilities and finishes on customers’ packaging – a major plus in the retail environment. Nampak Flexible is also the only packaging company in South Africa with no fewer than three Totani pouch-making machines. Totani is recognised world wide as the leader in pouch conversion equipment, making Nampak Flexible the leaders in pouch conversion for the seafood markets and customers they serve.

As an example, leading seafood brand Pescanova has benefitted greatly from Nampak Flexible’s award-winning range in the form of the Pescanova frozen fish pouches - an FTASA (Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa) award winner. The laminated pouches for packing IQF fish portions are Flexographically printed in eight colours and are supplied to the customer in pre-made pouch form. The laminate provides excellent puncture resistance and the ability to withstand the sub zero temperatures of freezers in the cold supply chain.

Other convenient options from Nampak Flexible include zippered pouches for seafood mixes, supplied for IQF fish portions and a range of seafood mixes, including prawns, crabsticks and mussels. The pre-made pouch format of this packaging type makes it convenient for packers and equally convenient for consumers, as its zipper allows it to be resealed. Again, the laminate provides excellent puncture resistance and the ability to withstand the sub zero temperatures typically encountered by frozen seafood products.

Nampak Flexible also supplies the plain and printed flat silver and gold backed vacuum pouches which have come to dominate the fresh fish industry. These pouches are constructed in two parts, with the front transparent PET/PE (flexible front film), and the back either silver or gold PET/PE (flexible backing) and can be zippered so as to reseal. In addition to the high standards for food safety and protection, the silver and gold backing provides excellent presentation for the vacuum pouch, resulting infish products that appear more elegant on shelf.

Nampak Flexible believes that the market for pouches in the seafood industry can only grow, which is one reason why the company is making further capital investment in the pouch category. This investment includes two new pouch machines and a spout inserter, which have already been ordered and will arrive in the new calendar year. The new equipment will enable Nampak Flexible to deliver a host of options, including a few that are currently not available on the South African market. Overall, the investment will greatly increase Nampak Flexible’s footprint and capacity for pouches in the dynamic seafood sector.

With two of its plants located near major harbours - in Ndabeni, Western Cape and Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal - Nampak Flexible is perfectly positioned in close proximity to seafood customers. Amongst a host of the most important food safety, hygiene and packaging accreditations, both the Nampak Flexible Pinetown and Ndabeni plants are also BRC (British Retail Consortium) accredited – a critically important endorsement for customers who export seafood products. The BRC accreditation’s role in the export markets is a crucial one where, according to Robin Moore, Nampak Flexible Managing Director, the accreditation is vital for potential and existing customers who export to the United Kingdom and Europe. This is because BRC accreditation is the entry ticket to supplying all the major supermarket chains there.

Avilon Ltd, part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, has today signed a letter of intent with Finnish SilverPhasE, concerning the product development, marketing and manufacture of antimicrobial and antiviral viscose fiber. This concerns a new technology, more cost-effective and efficient technology than existing ones, enabling a vast new product family.

Carbatec Ltd, also part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business, and SilverPhasE are planning to start a joint venture, to which the relevant patent rights will be given.

Antimicrobial fibers are used in the manufacture of textiles, wipes, filters and other fiber product that are bacteria, fungus, alga and virus resistant.  They are used in, for example, sports and military clothing and various healthcare applications. The best and user-friendliest way of making fiber antimicrobial is adding silver that kills microbes.

The use of silver in antimicrobial fibers has long traditions. What makes the silver polymer technology, developed by SilverPhasE, revolutionary, is the extremely cost-effective use of silver. In turn, viscose fiber is an ideal fiber for applying this technology to different uses.
- Avilon's antimicrobial viscose fiber will be significantly more cost-effective and of higher performance than any antimicrobial fiber on the market. The cost benefit extends from us all the way to the end-user of the textile, says Avilon's Managing Director Heikki Hassi.

Antimicrobial fiber is currently manufactured by an estimated 100,000 tonnes per year, and its market grows by some 15 percent per annum. There is demand for antimicrobial viscose fiber within Avilon's clientele, where antimicrobial textiles are already being manufactured.
- Our customers welcome cost-effectiveness adding innovations with great interest. Also, new applications and customers will surely start emerging once we revolutionize the cost-structure of the market, adds Hassi.

The need for bacteria and virus resistant textiles is greatest in the medical and healthcare industry. The largest demand growing factor is the prevention of MRSA. Tests run by external research institutes have shown, that Avilon's new product is capable of destroying, for example, the MRSA bacteria by 99.99 percent.
- In the fight against MRSA, it is important to transform a maximum amount of surfaces into pathogenic inhibiting. A hospital cannot, for example, use sheets starched with antibiotics or dress patients and staff in antibiotic clothing, characterizes Jyri Nieminen, Development Director of SilverPhasE.

The technology developed together by SilverPhasE and Avilonin, has been laboratory tested and samples have already been delivered to customers. Avilon's Valkeakoski factory is capable of manufacturing antimicrobial viscose fiber as soon as it is restarted after the current shutdown.
- Despite Avilon's current difficulties that derive from the basic viscose fiber markets, significant ventures are underway in the company's technology
sales and product development, reminds Neo Industrial plc's Managing Director Markku E. Rentto.

Avilon's technology and specialty product portfolio is managed and developed by the technology company Carbated Ltd, a part of Neo Industrial's Viscose Fibers business.