Displaying items by tag: domtar
Ashdown Mill A62 Paper Machine Resumes Full Operation
The A62 paper machine at our Ashdown Mill is once again fully operational thanks to excellent planning and foresight by our commercial paper team, along with outstanding dedication and agility from our manufacturing production team.
The strategic initiative to restart the previously idled machine, as well as a sheeter to convert the rolls into cartons of copy paper, is helping us maintain our leadership position in the North American uncoated freesheet paper market and deliver the service and quality our customers expect.
The A62 paper machine was idled in April 2020 — a difficult but necessary action taken to align our manufacturing network’s paper production capacity with reduced customer demand that was brought on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With offices, businesses and schools closed in a large part of our markets, we had to take the appropriate steps to optimize our operations and match our capacity to our reduced demand,” says Rob Melton, senior vice president, pulp and paper commercial.
Then, as the economy recovered from the pandemic, so did the demand for paper. Demand for uncoated freesheet paper increased four percent in 2021 compared to 2020, driven by increased retail activity, in-person store visits, reopened schools and employees returning to the office.
With the economy rebounding from the impacts of COVID-19, the decision was made to restart A62, adding back the paper production capacity necessary for us to meet increasing customer demand.
“Our customers’ business is steadily growing, and we’re fortunate to be able to support that growth by leveraging our asset base’s flexibility,” adds Melton.
But restarting a large uncoated freesheet paper machine isn’t as simple as plugging in your desktop printer or turning on a lamp. It’s a complex undertaking with, quite literally, a lot of moving parts. Restarting a machine such as A62 occurs over a period of months to gradually build the machine up to its current 24/7 run schedule.
“With customer demand for paper on the rise, we knew we had to act quickly to restart the machine to ensure we could continue to meet our customers’ needs,” says Bill Edwards, senior vice president, pulp and paper operations.
The mill team faced an aggressive timeline to restart and steadily increase production on a machine that hadn’t run in more than a year. Moreover, many members of the team were unfamiliar with the machine. They were recalled to the mill specifically for this project after having previously worked in other areas of the mill prior to the pandemic. The team pulled together and was able to restart the machine and sheeter on time and budget.
“I’m very proud of the way the entire team at the Ashdown Mill responded to this task with agility and enthusiasm,” says Mill Manager J.C. Allaire.
With demand for uncoated freesheet paper still on the rise, Edwards says his team continues to look for ways to implement continuous improvement projects to maximize production capacity at each of our mills.
“One of Domtar’s many competitive advantages is the strength and depth of our manufacturing asset base,” says Edwards. “We are able to act quickly and decisively to ensure we can support our customers.”
Paper Excellence Welcomes Domtar Into Its Group of Companies
The Paper Excellence Group, a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, has just announced the successful closing of its previously-announced acquisition of Domtar (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS), a leading provider of fiber-based products. The acquisition further establishes Paper Excellence Group as an industry leader, significantly broadening its global reach and expanding its product range to include airlaid nonwovens and containerboard, in addition to significantly increased pulp and paper production.
Domtar will operate as a stand-alone business entity within the Paper Excellence Group, with Domtar’s current CEO and management team remaining in place. There are no further changes to operating locations, business plans, or Domtar’s employee base at this time.
“Today marks a major milestone in the growth of the Paper Excellence Group,” said Joe Ragan, Global Chief Financial Officer of Paper Excellence. “We are excited to welcome Domtar and its impressive team to the Paper Excellence family. Under John Williams and Domtar’s capable management, we look forward to Domtar’s continued success across its manufacturing network in the US and Canada.”
“As part of the Paper Excellence Group, the future is bright for Domtar,” said John Williams, President and CEO of Domtar. “We will continue to earn the right to be the supplier of choice to our customers with sustainable paper, pulp and packaging products.”
Under terms of the agreement, Domtar stockholders received USD$55.50 for each share of Domtar common stock. Domtar common stock will no longer be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange or the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Advisors
Barclays served as exclusive financial advisor to Paper Excellence and Latham & Watkins LLP, McMillan LLP, Miller Titerle + Co., and Mehigan LLP, served as legal advisors to the Paper Excellence Group.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, served as exclusive financial advisor to Domtar and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, served as legal advisors to Domtar.
About Paper Excellence Group
The Paper Excellence Group, headquartered in Southern California, is a privately-held diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing and writing, and packaging papers, producing over 7 million tons annually with a workforce of over 10,000 in its nearly 40 locations across the Americas and Europe. Through its individual business units, the Group leverages its operational excellence and sustainable high-quality, cost-effective products to deliver high quality pulp and paper to its customers around the world. For more information on Paper Excellence, please visit www.paperexcellence.com. To learn more about Domtar, visit www.domtar.com.
SECOND WORKER FOUND AT WINDSOR MILL
Domtar received confirmation from the Sûreté du Québec this morning of the tragic news regarding the second worker, Mr. Hugo Paré, who also lost his life following the collapse of a scaffolding on October 26 at approximately 1:35 a.m. at the company’s Windsor mill. This loss is in addition to Mr. Yan Baillargeon, who was found yesterday.
Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the families of Mr. Paré and Mr. Baillargeon and to the colleagues affected by this tragic accident.
This tragedy affects and saddens us all. We are focusing our efforts on supporting our colleagues and their families.
Domtar would like to thank all those who have worked tirelessly to assist.
Domtar will continue to cooperate and participate in the ongoing investigation by the Sûreté du Québec and the CNESST to determine the cause of the accident.
About Domtar
Domtar is a leading supplier of a wide range of fiber-based products, including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and air-laid nonwoven products. With nearly 6,400 employees serving customers in more than 50 countries, Domtar is driven by the desire to transform sustainable wood fiber into useful products that people can rely on every day. Domtar has annual sales of nearly $3.7 billion and its common stock is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Domtar's main administrative office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina. For more information, visit www.domtar.com.
EAM Is Poised to Become a Leading Airlaid Nonwoven Supplier
Walk into the absorbent hygiene section of your local pharmacy or grocery store and you’ll see our Engineered Absorbent Materials (EAM) airlaid products everywhere.
“We produce absorbent cores for many hygiene products including diapers, adult incontinence products, sanitary napkins and bed pads used in hospitals and nursing homes,” says EAM facility manager Kim Sumner.
EAM is poised for continued growth and success for many years to come thanks to an expansion project announced earlier this year that will add a large-scale airlaid nonwovens production line to the Jesup, Ga.–based facility. When complete in 2022, the expansion will make Domtar the second-largest airlaid supplier in the United States and third-largest in the world.
Airlaid is a nonwoven material that falls between paper and textiles, according to Lori Venn, vice president of airlaid sales and marketing. Airlaid nonwoven products are widely used in today’s absorbent hygiene products because of their superior absorption properties.
“The fibers are made from fluff pulp, but they’re laid on top of each other instead of woven together,” she says. “And they’re bonded together using air instead of water, like in traditional paper and pulp making.”
Since opening in 1998, EAM has grown into a 132,000 square-foot facility with five production lines.
“We started with a handful of suppliers,” says Sumner. “Today we’re a large global company with 50 percent of our products shipped outside the United States.”
Lewis Fix, Domtar vice president, commercial pulp and airlaid, says EAM’s expansion project is an integral part of our long-term strategy to become a leading nonwovens provider.
“We are growing our position as a leading global absorbent materials and technology business that offers our customers both fluff pulp and airlaid nonwoven materials,” he says. “Combining EAM’s expertise with our world-class fluff pulp business will allow us to deliver value to our customers, and Domtar, for many years to come.”
EAM is widely known throughout the industry for its high-quality and innovative products, which are designed and tested by team of scientists and engineers in the facility’s state-of-the-art research complex.
“Our innovation is known worldwide,” says Venn. “Others have tried to copy it, but haven’t figured out how to do it.”
Watch this video to learn more about EAM.
The Paper Freezer Pack: A Novel Use for Wood Fiber
Accelerated by recent events, e-commerce sales continue to boom as today’s consumers purchase more of the products they use every day online — from the clothes they wear to the meals they eat. Unfortunately, this has increased concerns about unnecessary packaging waste and ever-greater levels of plastic pollution. Enter the paper freezer pack, which may one day replace plastic freezer packs for use in shipping refrigerated products.
A Better Way To Chill
While great strides have been made to reduce the environmental burden of e-commerce packaging over the years, the traditional freezer pack remains both a pain point for meal kit customers and an area ripe for innovation.
Domtar’s Catapult team, which includes individuals from market development and new technology innovation process, focuses on uncovering, tracking and evaluating the attractiveness of emerging market opportunities. The team recently revealed its paper freezer pack, an internally-developed potential solution to the issues posed by conventional cold chain offerings. Not only does the pack reduce plastic use, but it also capitalizes on mounting public interest in products made from sustainable wood fiber.
The majority of this revolutionary paper freezer pack is made of forest-derived fiber, including paper, tissue and fluff pulp. It also includes a small amount of superabsorbent polymer, which absorbs and retain water that, once frozen, provides cooling properties.
Innovative Paper Freezer Pack Captures Attention
“Paper freezer pack technology is but one example of several promising projects that the Catapult team is involved in related to innovative fiber-based processes and products,” says Brian Ranson, Domtar’s director of technology innovation.
In fact, this technology is so unique that it was recently named a finalist for the prestigious Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) Innovator Awards. When announcing the finalists, the packaging collaborative said it was impressed by the paper freezer pack’s innovative use of fiber in a growing category while also challenging preconceived notions of what’s possible with paper packaging.
Our preliminary in-house testing has shown that our paper freezer pack technology:
- Can hold its temperature similar to conventional options at a lighter weight
- Demonstrates no leakage
- Exhibits minimal condensation versus conventional packs
Rather than manufacture and convert the paper freezer packs internally, we are in active conversations with leading e-commerce solutions providers that are seeking to capture the value of this patent-pending technology while sourcing more of their packaging from a renewable resource.
“By utilizing market research to develop insights and deepen end-user understanding, Domtar realizes that it can better satisfy current customers while at the same time ‘testing the waters’ with innovative new ones,” says Katie Zorn, director of strategic planning and market development.
Learn more about our paper freezer pack and its innovative use of responsibly sourced wood fiber:
Domtar Completes Successful FSC® Certification of the Wabigoon Forest in Ontario, Canada
Domtar has successfully completed a surveillance audit on the Wabigoon Forest for the new Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) National Standard for Canada. The audit took place the week of July 13th ending with the auditor’s recommendation for certification to be maintained under the new Canadian standard. This new standard replaced the previous FSC® Boreal standard and has set the bar high for demonstrating sustainable forest management. The Wabigoon Forest was first certified to the FSC® standard in 2008.
“Our on-the-ground management practices, coupled with a rigorous provincially mandated forest management planning process, helps to hit the mark with FSC®,” said Marie Cyr, general manager of the Dryden pulp mill. “We are proud of our record of sustainable forest management. The fact that the Dryden mill has been operating in this forest area for over 100 years demonstrates that we are managing our forests sustainably.”
The new FSC® National Standard for Canada requires a comprehensive audit of legal compliance, protection of high conservation values, environmental impacts, management planning and community relations including free prior and informed consent. The audit process, which is designed to identify opportunities for improvement, found 4 minor non-conformance issues, all of which have been addressed with action plans and approved by the auditing body.
“The success of this audit demonstrates progress towards our sustainability goals,” said Paige Goff, vice president of sustainability. “Independent third party forest certification like FSC® is important to our customers and reflects our commitment to sustainability.”
Domtar is also licensed to manage the Trout Lake forest in Ontario which is on target to undergo an FSC® pre-assessment audit later this year.
Surprising Paper Trends During the Coronavirus Pandemic
As people grow weary of online entertainment and digital communication in the age of COVID-19, industry analysts have noticed some interesting paper trends, particularly when it comes to books, education, entertainment and communication.
There’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic has changed many things about our daily lives, from the way we work and learn to the way we shop and play. The buying and consuming habits that have emerged over the past several months will keep sociologists and scientists busy for years as they study the effect of isolation on modern human behavior.
But as the novelty of working and learning from home wears off, only to be replaced by digital overload and Zoom fatigue, people have started turning off their electronics and embracing analog alternatives, if only for a few hours at a time. The resulting paper trends have created some bright spots for our industry.
Printed Book Sales Surge
Printed books have enjoyed a sharp increase in popularity since March. Rakuten Intelligence, a market research firm, recently tracked online sales for major companies, excluding Amazon. It reported that books saw a 777 percent increase in sales in the first half of April, compared to the same period in March.
The type of books people bought also reflected a shift in consumer focus. Publisher’s Weekly, which tracks category sales, reported in April that demand increased for books about outdoor skills (up 74 percent from a year ago) and medical history (up 71 percent). Other popular categories include cooking, DIY and gardening.
Many independent book stores have been able to stay afloat by transitioning to online and curbside sales of printed books during the shutdown. Kris Kleindienst, owner of popular St. Louis bookstore Left Bank Books, reported that sales in April and May exceeded sales for the same period in 2019, despite the store being closed to walk-in traffic.
“I feel cautiously optimistic,” Kleindienst told a local news outlet. “We’ve managed to survive the unthinkable now for a couple of months, and I see the resiliency in the community at large, and the creativity of all of the small businesses, and that people are responsive to that.
Activity Books Appeal to All Ages
Faced with supporting their kids’ distance learning while also trying to work from home, parents turned to activity books and other printed educational materials to supplement online classes and occupy their kids during nonschool hours.
Early in the pandemic, the top-selling printed book on Amazon was an activity book for preschoolers, and approximately half of Amazon’s top 100 print bestseller list featured educational and activity books for kids, establishing the category as one of the year’s hottest paper trends.
Dan Reynolds, CEO of Workman Publishing, which produces these types of books, told The New York Times, “This demand is at a level that we’ve never seen before.” The company has ordered millions of reprints of its activity books to fill orders from Amazon, major retailers and independent bookstores.
Other suppliers reported that sales of juvenile educational nonfiction rose nearly 40 percent in a single week in March, while sales of Scholastic educational workbooks increased nearly 70 percent in mid-March, compared to the same period in 2019.
That’s not to say activity books are just for kids. Current paper trends include sales of puzzle, coloring and workbook titles for all ages, which increased as much as 200 percent in the early months of the pandemic. Adult coloring books, one of the biggest paper trends a few years ago, have also enjoyed a comeback as people look for creative ways to entertain themselves when they’ve “finished Netflix.” Other activity books for adults, such as crossword, word search and sudoku puzzle books, are selling so fast publishers are scrambling to keep up.
Greeting Cards Say It Better
In one of the more poignant paper trends of 2020, sympathy and encouragement greeting cards are selling faster than manufacturers can restock them. With social distancing guidelines still in effect for much of the country, people who are unable to attend funerals are sending their condolences via greeting cards.
Kelly Ricker, chief creative officer of American Greetings, told ABC News, “During this time of social distancing, the ability to communicate in writing with friends and loved ones is more important than ever, to many consumers. Our ability to keep cards in stock has been limited at times by the various shelter-in-place orders that state and local governments have implemented.”
Sympathy card shortages don’t mean people have turned to digital alternatives, like electronic greeting cards or text messages. “Sending a sympathy message needs to be done in a heartfelt way, and a text or Facebook timeline posting is probably not adequate,” said Alan Friedman, a business owner who serves on the board of the Greeting Card Association.
The same could be said about other card categories. Paper Source’s sales of greeting cards increased 1,200 percent between March and May of this year. The increase is due not just to sympathy card sales but also to sales of friendship, thank you and Mother’s Day cards.
The company’s CEO, Winnie Park, said in a recent interview that the slower pace of pandemic life is inspiring this and other paper trends. “One of the great silver linings out of this is the time for people to slow down and go back to the basics,” she said. “We’ve seen explosive growth during this period.”
Will These Paper Trends Continue?
These and other paper trends will likely continue as long as the pandemic has its grip on our lives. Whether they’ll become permanent is anyone’s guess. But we think a return to paper is a nice alternative to video games, Netflix binges, chat groups, Zoom meetings and other online methods to pass the time. If you’re looking for creative ways to combat boredom while stay-at-home orders remain in effect, then consider these paper-based activities.
Pulp Technical Services Team Helps Customers Improve Production
When it comes to making and selling pulp, our relationship with our customers doesn’t end when our products leave our shipping docks. Our Pulp Technical Services team ensures we help our customers before, after and between shipments.
Being a successful pulp producer means developing and maintaining long-term relationships with customers across the globe. We want to serve as partners invested in their success by understanding their needs and responding with products and services that help them succeed.
Our Pulp Technical Services team oversees customer relationships and serves as one of their main points of contact. We’re always there to answer questions, provide recommendations and identify opportunities for improvement.
Meet Our Pulp Technical Services Team
“We represent our customers’ interests from a product’s introduction to its qualification and beyond,” says David Lloyd, a pulp technical director who works on the team. “We are one of their main contacts and the main interface between them, our sales teams and our mill staff.”
The three members of our Pulp Technical Services team serve customers based on location and pulp grade.
- Pulp Technical Director Rick Hardee leads the group and provides technical support for fluff pulp customers who order from the Ashdown and Plymouth mills for Europe, North America, Central/South America, the Middle East and Africa.
- Lloyd is based in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. He serves specialty pulp, tissue/towel and reinforced fiber customers in North American and Asia.
- Jack Hsieh (pronounced “Shay”) is pulp technical director for China and Southeast Asia. He works with hygiene producers in the region. His background in hygiene production uniquely qualifies him to help customers set up their equipment to best process our pulp.
Our Goal Is Better Customer Outcomes
One of the team’s most important roles is helping to develop and market key pulp grades, like fiber cement.
“Twenty years ago, there wasn’t really a market for fiber cement products,” says Lloyd. “Today, it’s a substantial part of the Kamloops Mill’s business.”
Our fiber cement customers receive pulp from the Kamloops Mill in bales. They process and refine the pulp fibers to ensure they bond together when converted into the liquid solution used to form the fiber cement boards.
During a recent visit, one customer noted opportunities to improve the way the pulp fiber is refined to enhance board quality. Lloyd and the team took samples back to the mill, where they worked with engineers to replicate the procedure in our labs and make a recommendation on how the customer could modify their process.
Hardee says that example is representative of the value the Pulp Technical Services team adds not just for our customers, but also for our mill employees. “We try to be the voice of the mill with our customers and the voice of the customer with our mills,” he says. “We connect the mill and customer.”
The Pulp Technical Services team is always available to help customers run trials, fine-tune their machines and maximize production efficiency. We work hard to provide customers peace of mind and to let them know they’re not on their own after they take delivery of our pulp.
“The Pulp Technical Services team is an asset to Domtar,” says Lewis Fix, vice president of pulp sales and marketing. “It is allowing customers to see us as a proactive market leader that can provide real value as a long-term partner and strategic advisor.”
Domtar Joins Forces With the Student Conservation Association to Revitalize the Community Kitchen of Bennettsville, SC
Employee volunteers from Domtar’s Bennettsville paper mill and Tatum converting facility helped transform the Community Kitchen of Bennettsville with construction and installation of new picnic tables, benches, shade sails and storage bins.
Domtar Corporation has just announced that it joined forces with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) in a conservation project to revitalize the Community Kitchen of Bennettsville. More than 80 employees from our Bennettsville, S.C. paper mill and Tatum, S.C. converting facility transformed the Community Kitchen’s courtyard through construction and installation of new picnic tables, porch swings, benches, shade sails and storage bins. The volunteers also created planters with native flowers and bushes, installed solar lighting, as well as sleeping benches and mats for the homeless. Domtar makes a wide variety of everyday products from sustainable wood fiber, and it is one of the world’s largest producers of uncoated freesheet paper, as well as an innovator in absorbent technology. The company’s Bennettsville paper mill employs 348 people and the Tatum converting facility employs 33 people in the community.
“Caring is one of Domtar’s core values—caring for our employees, customers, and the communities we serve,” said Domtar corporate responsibility manager, Heather Alverson Stowe. “Sustainability is one of Domtar’s community investment focus areas, which is why we lead community conservation projects with non-profit partners like the Student Conservation Association that engage employees, benefit our neighbors, and enrich our environment.”
“This was the most fantastic event we have ever had,” said Roger Griggs, founder and owner of the Community Kitchen. “We are so grateful to Domtar and all of the volunteers who came together for this project. The work that was done will make a huge difference in this community.” The Community Kitchen of Bennettsville offers food, clothing and housing for less fortunate citizens of the community. It serves over 150 lunches, Monday through Friday, to people in need in the local community.
About Domtar
Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and absorbent hygiene products. With approximately 10,000 employees serving more than 50 countries around the world, Domtar is driven by a commitment to turn sustainable wood fiber into useful products that people rely on every day. Domtar’s annual sales are approximately $5.5 billion, and its common stock is traded on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges. Domtar’s principal executive office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.
About Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is America’s largest and most effective youth conservation service organization. SCA conserves lands and transforms lives by empowering young people of all backgrounds to plan, act, and lead, while they protect and restore our natural and cultural resources. Founded in 1957, SCA’s mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders, and 70% of its alumni worldwide are employed or studying in conservation-related fields. For more, visit www.thesca.org.
Domtar to Reduce Papermaking Capacity at Two Mills
Domtar Corporation has just announced that it will permanently shut down two of its paper machines.
The closures will take place at the Ashdown, Arkansas pulp and paper mill, and the Port Huron, Michigan paper mill. These measures will reduce the Company’s annual uncoated freesheet paper capacity by approximately 204,000 short tons, and will result in a workforce reduction of approximately 100 employees. The closure of the Ashdown paper machine will be effective immediately and the closure of the Port Huron machine by mid-November.
“I wish to sincerely thank colleagues impacted by the closures and recognize their hard work and contribution to Domtar over many years. As difficult as these actions are, we believe they are necessary in light of the declining market for uncoated freesheet paper. We will be working closely with our customers to assure they continue to receive the high quality products and exceptional service they have come to expect from us,” said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Domtar.
The Ashdown mill will continue to operate one paper machine with an annual uncoated freesheet paper production capacity of 200,000 short tons and employ approximately 725 people. In addition, the mill operates one of the world’s largest fluff pulp machines, with the flexibility to produce softwood pulp depending on market conditions. As a result of the closure of the paper machine, the mill will produce an incremental 70,000 ADMT of softwood and fluff pulp, which will ramp up over the next 12 months.
The Port Huron mill will continue to produce a wide variety of technical and specialty papers for a broad range of customers, utilizing three machines with a total annual production capacity of 95,000 short tons. Following the closure, the mill will employ approximately 212 people.
“The closure of the two paper machines will enable us to right-size our paper production capacity with our customer demand. This proactive measure is necessary due to increased imports and declining paper demand,” added Williams.
About Domtar
Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and absorbent hygiene products. With approximately 10,000 employees serving more than 50 countries around the world, Domtar is driven by a commitment to turn sustainable wood fiber into useful products that people rely on every day. Domtar’s annual sales are approximately $5.5 billion, and its common stock is traded on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges. Domtar’s principal executive office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.