Tembec Executive Vice President and President, Paper and High-Yield Pulp Group, Chris Black announced the appointment of Ken Duffy to the role of Vice President of Sales for the High-Yield Pulp.

Reporting to Chris Black, Ken will be responsible for directing the sales activities for the High-Yield pulp mills in order to maximize contribution margins while ensuring the achievement of short and long range profit and growth objectives. Reporting to Mr. Duffy will be Jorg Bruschweiler, Director of Sales, Paper Pulp, Europe; Tiean Huang, Chief Representative and General Manager, Beijing Office, China and Lisa Guimont, Customer Service Coordinator. Various agents throughout the Tembec High-Yield Pulp network will also coordinate their sales activities through Mr. Duffy.

Ken has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience selling to the pulp and paper industry. His experience consists of specialty chemical solutions for pulp and paper mills, including managing corporate contracts for multi-national client organizations and over 10 years of sales management experience. Ken has a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto.

Due to severe fouling inside the DuoStabilizer rolls of the first dryer group of its KM 6 board machine, Weig Karton has until now had to clean the stabilizer rolls once a year. This cleaning process is extremely laborious, as the approx. 130 mm thick tender side covers have to be dismantled every time. As production time increased the dirt on the rolls caused considerable difficulties.

To make cleaning easier, manholes were drilled into the tender side covers of five rolls as part of an on-site service by FRS OnSite. In addition, openings and covers were provided in the disks separating threading zone and rolls. These measures allow Weig Karton to save about 38 hours of cleaning work a year for each of the five rolls – around 190 hours in total.

The difficult part of this process was to drill through the particularly thick cover. However, Voith’s specialists were able to master this challenge thanks to their extensive experience. FRS OnSite carries out maintenance and inspection on rolls and cylinders directly on customer machines. This saves a lot of time and money. After just 80 man-hours, FRS OnSite successfully completed its work on KM 6 – considerably earlier than envisaged in the ambitious 96-hour scheduled program. It was also possible to dynamically balance the DuoStabilizer rolls during this mechanical service at the customer’s premises. This helps the machine run at optimum performance.

At its plant in Mayen, Germany, Weig produces board on two machines, KM 3 and KM 6. The 5.30 m wide KM 6 machine produces around 340,000 metric tonnes of plasterboard for the corrugated and plasterboard industry.

Financing of Suominen Corporation’s (Suominen) acquisition of Ahlstrom Corporation’s Home and Personal business area requires a share issue. Relating to the share issue, the Board of Directors of Suominen has, in addition to the prior commitments totaling EUR 80,265,000, received written commitments to subscribe for new shares in Suominen’s forthcoming share issue from the following current shareholders and investors: Pharmacy Pension Fund; Mr Harald Relander; Foundation for Economic Education; Onninen-sijoitus Oy; Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund; Finnish Cultural Foundation; and AC Invest Two B.V. The new subscription commitments together with earlier published commitments total EUR 86,165,000, i.e. the minimum amount of the share issue that has been agreed on in connection with the acquisition, EUR 85,000,000 or 188,888,889 shares, has been exceeded.

Further information on the forthcoming share issue will be released around 3 October 2011.

Suominen has previously published a stock exchange release concerning the acquisition and the prior subscription commitments on 4 August 2011.

Stora Enso’s and Arauco’s Montes del Plata joint-venture pulp mill project is proceeding and the external financing for the project has been finalised. Montes del Plata has signed the loan agreements and as part of the financing arrangements, Stora Enso has signed an agreement to guarantee 50% of USD 1 354 million of loans raised by Montes del Plata. Stora Enso’s 50% share of the total guarantee will be a maximum of USD 677 million (EUR 498 million). The project is financed by USD 900 million of export credit financing with twelve years tenor, by an A loan of USD 200 million with twelve years tenor from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and by a B loan of USD 254 million with nine years tenor from commercial banks through IDB. 

“We welcome the support of Finnvera, Finnish Export Credit (FEC), Swedish Export Credit (SEK), IDB and other financing institutions for this exciting, strategically important project. We are also pleased with the long maturity of the credit facility,” says Stora Enso CFO Markus Rauramo. 

As announced on 18 January 2011, Montes del Plata will build a new state-of-the-art 1.3 million tonnes per year pulp mill at Punta Pereira, in the department of Colonia, Uruguay. The total investment is estimated to be approximately USD 1.9 billion (EUR 1.4 billion). Each of the joint-venture shareholders has a 50% stake in the mill’s equity and will be entitled to half of its output. The project will be financed through equity and loans raised by Montes del Plata. Stora Enso is consolidating its 50% share with the equity method.

The project comprises a pulp mill with Best Available Techniques, a deepwater port and a power generating unit based on renewable resources. The new mill is expected to be operational by the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Dear Tissue Industry Professional!

The tissue business in both North and South America is in a very interesting phase of expansion. We therefore want to give you an early ‘heads-up’ notice to start planning to attend the Tissue World Americas 2012 Trade Show and Conference which will take place in Miami Beach next year on March 20-23.

This extremely focused event usually attracts around 1,000 tissue makers, converters, and suppliers from North and South America as well as other regions of the world. With so many investments and projects taking place at this time, this unique gathering will be a great opportunity for you to meet colleagues, learn about the latest developments and improve your business in the dynamic tissue industry.

Please click here to view the updated list of exhibitors and floorplan.

And below you will find brief summary of the events and useful links:

1. Timetable of the events
2. Registration form for visitors to the trade show (free of charge)
3. Hotel reservations via online booking with preferred rates for TW attendees.

Timetable of the events
Trade-Show of Vendors opening hours:
Wednesday, March 21, 2012     10:00AM – 5:00PM
Thursday, March 22, 2012       10:00AM – 5:00PM
Friday, March 23, 2012           10:00AM – 3:00PM

Conference Meeting Sessions opening hours:
Wednesday, March 21, 2012     08:30AM – 5:00PM
Thursday, March 22, 2012        08:30AM – 5:00PM
Friday, March 23, 2012            08:30AM – 12:00NOON

Yankee Dryer Sessions
In addition, for the first time in Miami, we will be dedicating a day, Tuesday, to the Yankee Dryer featuring the
Yankee Dryer Reliability workshopand the TAPPI Yankee Dryer Committee open meetings  on
Tuesday, March 20, 2012         08:30AM – 5:00PM
(Morning: Yankee workshop, Afternoon: Committee meetings)

If you wish to register as a Trade Show Visitor, you can do so now by Clicking here.

We will keep you informed with regular updates on the show, as well as the program of speakers for the conference meeting sessions as it is developed. Registration for the Conference Meeting Sessions, which normally draw about 300 participants, will be opening towards late October.

We look forward to seeing you in sunny Miami Beach in March!

Yours sincerely,

Agnes Gehot

Conference and Operations Manager

Tissue World Events

UBM Asia Trade Fairs Pte Ltd

Commercial Property Insurer’s Favorable Underwriting Performance and Loss Prevention Engineering Expertise is Recognized

JOHNSTON, R.I., USA—Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'AA' (Very Strong) financial strength rating of FM Global and stable rating outlook.

“The ratings continue to reflect FM Global's strong capital and long-term underwriting profitability, competitive advantages derived from the company's engineering expertise and benefits drawn from the company's mutual company status,” Fitch reported.

Fitch noted the strength of FM Global’s long-term operating performance and capital position and how the company’s surplus has been able to withstand large catastrophe losses that have occurred this year.

“FM Global's favorable underwriting performance is due in large part to the company's ability to incorporate its engineering expertise into its risk selection and underwriting processes,” Fitch added. “The company's engineering capabilities and loss prevention services (are) key advantages that are difficult for competitors to replicate. This expertise will result in underwriting results that are consistently better than (its) peers.”

Ahlstrom Corporation will publish its financial information in 2012 as follows:  

Report                                             Publication date              
Financial statements bulletin 2011      Wednesday, February 1   
Interim report January - March            Friday, April 27                  
Interim report January - June              Thursday, August 9           
Interim report January - September     Monday, October 22       

Silent period
Ahlstrom observes a silent period from the end of the each reporting period until the publication of the financial statements bulletin or the interim report. During the silent period, Ahlstrom will not be in contact with capital market representatives.

The annual report for 2011 will be available in a PDF format on Ahlstrom's web site on the week starting March 5, 2012.  

Ahlstrom's Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 1 p.m. at the Finlandia Hall (Mannerheimintie 13 e, Helsinki).

PMT Italia has been selected by Jiangsu Longheng Paper Co., Ltd. as a key partner for its new duplex board machine project. The new board machine will be installed in the Jiangsu province, close to the town of Xiangshui in the People Republic of China. The Start-up is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012.
 
PMT Italia has been commissioned to supply technological paper machine sections like an M4 Headbox with dilution control, a Shoe Press and a Winder. The new PM1 board machine will be designed to produce Duplex Board in the range of 230 to 450 gsm at a speed of 650 mpm, the trim width at the reel being 4.550 mm.
 
The scope of supply includes the control and automation systems of the related paper machine sections to be integrated into the main MCS and the sectional drive for the Winder together with all erection supervision, commissioning and start-up services.
 
PMT is proud of being awarded by Jiangsu Longheng Paper Co. ltd this important project, focused on premium paper quality. It represents for PMT the acknowledgement of the highest level in board paper making technology reached through several successful projects. Moreover it is an opportunity to strengthen and consolidate once more its presence as well as to show its capabilities in the Chinese market.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - News) will release third quarter 2011 earnings on Thursday, October 27, before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange. The company will host a webcast to discuss earnings and current market conditions at 9 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. CDT) that day.

All interested parties are invited to listen to the webcast via the company's Internet site at http://www.internationalpaper.com by clicking on the Investors tab and going to the Webcasts and Presentations page. A replay of the webcast will also be on the Web site beginning approximately two hours after the call.

Parties who wish to participate in the webcast via teleconference may dial +1 (706) 679-8242 or, within the U.S. only, (877) 316-2541, and ask to be connected to the International Paper Third Quarter Earnings Call. The conference ID number is 12353760. Participants should call in no later than 8:45 a.m. EDT (7:45 a.m. CDT). An audio-only replay will be available for four weeks following the call. To access the replay, dial +1 404-537-3406 or, within the U.S. only, (855) 859-2056, and when prompted for the conference ID, enter "12353760."

International Paper (NYSE:IP - News) is a global paper and packaging company with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include uncoated papers and industrial and consumer packaging, complemented by xpedx, the company's North American distribution company. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee the company employs about 59,500 people in more than 24 countries and serves customers worldwide. 2010 net sales were more than $25 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

Xerium Technologies, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of industrial textiles and rolls used primarily in the paper production process, today announced its participation in the following upcoming event with the financial community:

About Xerium Technologies

Xerium Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: XRM) is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of two types of consumable products used primarily in the production of paper-clothing and roll covers. The Company, which operates around the world under a variety of brand names, utilizes a broad portfolio of patented and proprietary technologies to provide customers with tailored solutions and products integral to production, all designed to optimize performance and reduce operational costs. With 31 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries around the world, Xerium has approximately 3,400 employees.

SOURCE: Xerium Technologies, Inc.

SBG Investor Relations
Geoffrey Buscher, 919-526-1444
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