Tembec has resumed its excavation activities at its site in Temiscaming following the discovery of human skulls. Excavation work is proceeding according to an archeological research permit issued by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec and are being conducted under the supervision of Montreal-based firm Arkéos, whose anthropologists are renowned experts.

“Tembec has taken the time to undertake a detailed research of the excavation site in order to fully understand its history and to be in a position to deal with this environment with due consideration. It is very important for us to make sure that we are taking the appropriate steps and establishing the right protocol to respond adequately to this given set of circumstances,” stated Randy Fournier, Senior Vice President, Temiscaming Operations. “We are taking every precaution to ensure that we work respectfully; should we make other discoveries, archeologists who are with us, on the premises, will be able to collect the objects immediately, assess the situation knowledgeably and enable us to pursue our work accordingly,” he added.

While excavating on May 15 for construction work to be done on the new boiler #10 as part of the investment project announced last March, items of concern were discovered. Tembec immediately informed the Quebec Provincial Police who secured the excavation site and proceeded with its investigation. Following the conclusion of this process, the Police determined that the human remains were historical and non-criminal in nature. Historical documents indicate that a church and a cemetery were located within the Temiscaming site as far back as 1891. The original industrial complex was built in 1917.

Arkéos was founded in 1981 and specializes in the fields of heritage and archeology. Its expertise lies in evaluating the impact of construction projects on archeological resources and ensuring that proper mitigation solutions are put in place.

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On 30 May, the Board of Directors at Södra Cell made the decision to implement two energy investments at Södra Cell Värö. These will include a new lime kiln and a new pelleting plant.

"These investments will allow us to further improve energy efficiency at Värö, while at the same time creating profitable processing of our members' wood," said Gunilla Saltin, Acting CEO of the Södra Group and President of Södra Cell.

A new lime kiln will help reduce the consumption of oil and bark, using biofuel in the form of wood powder instead. The lime kiln will allow lime to be reused in pulp production. The existing lime kiln at Södra Cell Värö does not have sufficient capacity to manage sustainably the lime production needed at the mill.

This project also includes construction of a completely new pelleting plant which will supply biofuel to both external customers and the new lime kiln. The raw material for the pelleting plant will come from Södra Timber's sawmill in Värö. Raising production at the new sawmill will also increase volumes of sawdust and planer shavings. The investment will allow these byproducts to be turned into a biofuel with a high energy content which is suitable for sale, but can also be used as a fuel in the new lime kiln. The two investments decided upon form part of the efforts to take advantage of the benefits of scale available at Värö.

"At Värö, we have access to raw materials in the form of shavings and the energy to dry the shavings to form pellets. This means that everything is in place to provide cost-effective production of a highly processed biofuel," Saltin added.

It is estimated that the new lime kiln and pelleting plant will be commissioned in late 2013.

The Paiter Suruí -- an indigenous tribe in the Brazilian Amazon -- has become the first indigenous group to receive validation under two emerging global carbon market standards, designed to ensure ecological integrity while benefiting local communities. The Suruí Forest Carbon Project (SFCP) was validated by the Rainforest Alliance and partner Imaflora against the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Alliance Standard 2nd Edition, Gold Level standard as well as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).

By providing communities like the Suruí with an economic incentive to conserve their forests, climate validation programs serve the goals laid out in the first Rio Earth Summit. By conserving large areas of tropical forest -- that otherwise would be deforested -- the Suruí can access the market for carbon credits. Companies looking to offset their carbon emissions can buy credits from projects like SFCP, which reduce emissions. Forest carbon projects provide a successful platform for incentivizing both forest conservation and climate change mitigation -- urgent focal points of the upcoming Rio+20 Earth Summit in Brazil.

“The validation of the Suruí carbon project demonstrates that it is possible for indigenous groups to develop, under their own initiative, a carbon project that follows all national and international applicable safeguards, including what is most important for indigenous groups: the free, prior and informed consent,” said Mauricio Voivodic, executive director at Imaflora. “This project sets an example for other indigenous groups who are looking for opportunities with the carbon markets.” 

Located in the Brazilian Amazon, the SFCP covers an area of 79,059 acres (31,994 hectares) of land in the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory (TISS) -- an area under intense deforestation pressure as a result of agricultural conversion. In the region, more than 5.9 million acres (2.4 million hectares) were deforested between 2000 and 2009. Over the next 30 years, the SFCP aims to prevent 33,544 acres (13,575 hectares) of tropical forests from being cleared and avoid the emission of 7,423,806 tCO2e into the atmosphere, while helping to preserve the lifestyle and traditions of the Paiter Suruí.

“The Suruí truly led the process and decision-making for their own carbon project to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and doing it to the highest standards,” said Jeff Hayward, director of the climate program at the Rainforest Alliance. “This marks a real milestone and serves as a noteworthy example that forest communities, especially indigenous peoples, can chart their own destiny to design and manage successful, effective REDD+ projects.”

The VCS is the leading standard in the international voluntary carbon market for the quantification of climate change benefits, while the CCB project standards ensure that carbon projects also produce benefits for local communities and biodiversity.

The Rainforest Alliance and Imaflora played a significant role in the validation of this project, ensuring that adequate safeguards within the REDD+ project design were met, and that the project met the most rigorous standards available for REDD+ assessments. As the Rainforest Alliance continues its mission to help developing countries and local communities implement long-term solutions to address the effects of climate change, this project serves as a benchmark and demonstrates how to implement effective REDD+ projects in indigenous communities. 

Kemira Oyj and Rockwood Holdings Inc. titanium dioxide joint venture Sachtleben Gmbh completed the financing of a new facility agreement in the aggregate amount of EUR 430 million. The proceeds of the facility will be used to repay the outstanding balance of the existing facility agreement, pay a dividend to the joint venture partners and other corporate purposes. The facility has a maturity of five years.

The joint venture Sachtleben, which was formed in August 2008 by combining Kemira Oyj's (Kemira ownership 39% in the joint venture) and Rockwood's TiO2 businesses, is a leading producer of specialty TiO2 pigments for the synthetic fiber, packaging inks, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food industries.

Kemira is a global over two billion euro water chemistry company that is focused on serving customers in water-intensive industries. The company offers water quality and quantity management that improves customers' energy, water, and raw material efficiency. Kemira's vision is to be a leading water chemistry company.

The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) announced Donna Harman as its new President. Harman, president and CEO of the American Forest & Paper Association, will serve in this capacity for the next two years.

ICFPA is a global network of forest and paper industry associations that promote cooperation and dialogue in areas of common interest to its members and serves as the industry’s advocate in international organizations. ICFPA takes positions on a variety of policy issues, such as climate change and illegal logging. The ICFPA membership consists of 41 forest and paper associations from North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania, representing more than 90 percent of the world’s paper production and more than 50 percent of its wood production.

“The forest and paper industry manufactures products that serve the everyday needs of people around the world, and I look forward to representing the global forest and paper industry in the coming years,” said Harman.

Together with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, ICFPA is organizing a forestry side event at the Rio+20 global conference on sustainable development, which will be held next month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As ICFPA president, Harman will co-chair the event entitled “Forests: The Heart of a Green Economy” on June 18.

Harman succeeds Teresa Presas, director general of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), as ICFPA president.

“On behalf of all ICFPA members, I would like to thank Teresa for her outstanding leadership over the past six years,” said Harman. “Her commitment and guidance have made ICFPA a strong voice for the global forest products industry.”

Mondi, the global paper and packaging manufacturer, was one of 1,850 exhibitors at drupa 2012. Despite the decrease in attendance from drupa 2008 (drupa reported 315,500 visitors – a decrease of 75,000), Johannes Klumpp, Marketing and Sales Director for Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, contends that drupa 2012 lacked none of the innovation and dynamism that is now synonymous with the printing and paper trade fair. “There were a lot of exciting new developments at this year’s drupa and a sense that the industry is gaining momentum in terms of new digital and hybrid printing technologies,” said Klumpp.

A Mondi highlight at drupa was the official signing of the HP Indigo Preferred Media Partner Cooperation Agreement for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). “We are very pleased that Mondi has become part of HP Indigo’s Preferred Partner programme and we look forward to working more closely together to meet our mutual customer’s growing demand for high quality media needs.” said Edna Mannheim, Director Worldwide Supplies and Media.

She added, “Marketing collaborations, training activities for customers, and a focus on growth in the digital printing industry are key initiatives our companies will be driving forward.  Additionally, Mondi’s participation in Dscoop exhibits the type of leadership and participation we look for in media partners, and will enable their continued influence and support for HP Indigo customers.”

In addition to HP, Mondi sponsored 16 other OEMs and machine manufacturers with professional printing paper amounting to 100 tonnes. “Print technology is evolving quickly and we feel such collaborations are integral in fostering new market developments,” said Klumpp. “Landa’s Nanographic Printing™ presses were a major focus at drupa and we were very pleased that Landa used our NAUTILUS^® SuperWhite on the B2 sheetfed Landa S7 Nanographic Printing Press.”

While providing an excellent opportunity to build upon existing relationships with leading OEMs, according to Johannes Klumpp, the lower attendance rates for drupa 2012 did not diminish sales opportunities. In fact, drupa’s recently published post-fair statistics suggest an increase in top management and decision makers at this year’s drupa. “We gained a high number of leads from across the globe and met a number of new contacts from India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America,” said Klumpp.

In a “Raceink” themed area at the Mondi booth, the company held hourly high-speed inkjet printing demonstrations on an Océ ColorStream 3500 high-speed inkjet system with a cutting line provided by Hunkeler. Particularly interesting for visitors looking for brand new high-speed inkjet printing papers, Mondi also previewed its 100% recycled NAUTILUS^® high-speed inkjet and Totally Chlorine Free bleached (TCF) BIO TOP 3^® high-speed inkjet – both papers scheduled for market launch early this summer.

Mondi’s professional printing portfolio foregrounds paper classifications (haptics, optics and environmental accreditations) and printing technology to facilitate easy navigation between brand characteristics and application suitability. The company’s steady product growth last year brought the launch of 3-star HP certified Color Copy indigo and DNS^® indigo as well as DNS^® high-speed inkjet and the hybrid printing papers DNS^® performance and BIO TOP 3^® next.

These latest innovations are part of Mondi’s ongoing developments to provide sustainably produced papers that meet the demands of the growing digital printing market. Moreover, as of 2012 all Mondi branded papers meet eco-conscious Green Range criteria and are FSC^® or PEFC™ certified or 100% recycled or Totally Chlorine Free bleached (TCF). 

Billerud Finland Oy's acquisition of UPM's packaging paper operations at Pietarsaari and Tervasaari is now completed. Billerud Finland Oy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Billerud AB. The purchase price is around EUR 130 million.

The acquired operations will be consolidated as of 1 June 2012, and will be included in the Packaging & Speciality Paper business area.

In the January–June 2012 interim report, sales of the Billerud Group's market pulp will continue to be reported as a separate business area, that is Market Pulp. As of 1 July 2012, market pulp sales will not be reported separately but will be included in the Packaging and Speciality Paper business area.

Financial pro forma information will be published in the January–June 2012 interim report.

In 2011, the acquired operations' sales amounted to approximately EUR 220 million, and EBITDA was approximately EUR 18 million (pro forma). Annual depreciation is estimated to be approximately MEUR 6.5.

The transaction is financed through half cash and cash equivalents, half through raising loans within existing credit frameworks. The impact of the acquisition on Billerud's net debt/equity ratio will be +24 percentage points.

The acquisition has been described previously in a press release dated 1 February 2012 and 22 May 2012.