Ian Melin-Jones
Wood fiber costs for the global pulp industry in the 3Q/10 were close to the highest level in two years
Wood fiber costs for the global pulp industry in the 3Q/10 were close to the highest level in two years, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly
The cost for wood fiber accounts for almost 60 percent of the total production costs when manufacturing pulp. Both softwood and hardwood wood fiber price indices, SFPI and HFPI, have increased about six percent over the past year, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.
The full article can be found in the attached PDF file.....
Sustainable light bulb packaging wins SCA Packaging Design Challenge
60 “fat free” packaging concepts from students and non-professional designers all over Europe participated in the second edition of SCA Packaging’s Design Challenge. Both of the winning concepts are light bulb packages.
The jury’s prize
Karin Hartman and Per Eldénius from Sweden were awarded with the jury’s prize for their concept Bright Light. The pack is appealing, optimises material usage, proposes a well thought secondary and pallet pack and allows customers to see and test the product they are buying.
“They took the time to research their case and look at it from different perspectives, and this clearly pays off”, commented jury member Sonia Raja (Head of Purchasing at Tesco).
The customer cup
Benjamin Gamillscheg and Hans Christian Schubell from Denmark managed to capture the customer cup with BrightPack. With BrighPack there is no more hurting yourself with a dull knife in the dark, since it only takes one simple move to open the BrightPack by hand. The packaging can easily be closed again, so you can test the bulb before purchasing it - or return it to the store in an intact packaging if it doesn’t fit.
Throw BrightPack in a pot, add water, and watch as nature creeps into your home. Flip BrightPack anyway you like. It still stacks, stands or hangs.
“It is a coincidence”, continues Wim Wouters European Design Director at SCA Packaging, “that both of the winning concepts are light bulb packages. Our brief was rather open; we challenged students to come up with a fat free, slick, lean packaging concept for any product sold in store. The fact that there were many more concepts for this type of product must be a clear sign for the light bulb industry that there is room for improvement.”
Walki expands in China and invests in a new glue laminator
The demand for polymer coated cutsize wrapping material is growing at a fast pace in China and the Asia-Pacific area, because of the rapidly growing demand for office paper. To meet the increasing demand Walki Group has started an ambitious investment program in the company’s plant in Changshu, the first major part of the investment being a 1.6m wide high-tech glue laminator.
The new machine produces mainly BOPP (bi-axially oriented polypropylene) laminates for A3/A4 size wrappings, but it can also be used in other sorts of wrapping materials, such as barrier board and aluminium laminates, and for other lamination combinations.
– One of the main advantages with the technology we have chosen is that the printing is actually made on the backside of the BOPP-film, which is then glued on the wrapping paper with the new laminator. As the film is very smooth and dense, and has an excellent printability and transparency, the result is a very glossy and good looking wrapping, where both the packaging and the printing is protected by the polymer film, says Timo Saahko, managing director of Walki Packaging Paper (Changshu), China.
The laminator is part of an ongoing investment program in the factory that serves not just China, where Walki is one of the most renowned producers of protective packaging materials, but the whole of the fast growing Asia Pacific region.
– At the moment, we sell roughly 70 percent of our products in China and export the rest to nearby countries. Since the inauguration of the plant in 2006 our sales have been growing significantly every year. We have most of the big international paper manufacturers as our customers and we are now aiming at the growing amount of smaller paper manufacturers in Asia Pacific, states Mr. Saahko.
He emphasizes that the new machine is not just very efficient, but also environment friendly thanks to its advanced dry lamination technology. – It allows us to increase our production without affecting the environment, which is of great importance to Walki, says Mr. Saahko.
The Changshu factory was built in 2006, logistically well located by the Yangtze River, about 100 kilometres from Shanghai, and close to several paper mills. It primarily focused on reel and ream wrappers for the Chinese paper industry and barrier board for the Chinese and Asian packaging markets.
– The paper markets in China are growing at an incredible pace that we have to keep up with. Thanks to our local staff, which we have recruited for duties all the way to management, we have succeeded to deliver 98 percent of our sales according to schedule, which is an outstanding figure in the business, states Mr. Saahko. /ins
For further information, please contact:
Timo Saahko
Managing Director
Tel. +86 512 52655858
Mobile +86 13906236115
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or
Mikael Nováky,
Vice President and General Manager Paper Packaging,
Tel. +358 20 536 3007,
Mobile +358 40 582 8413,
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BASF gears paper chemicals business toward growth markets
With a view to future growth markets for paper chemicals and dyestuffs in China, Indonesia and India, BASF's Paper Chemicals division will reorganize its global business structures. The business in optical brighteners for paper is to be exited in Europe, and it is planned to close the corresponding production operations at the site in Grenzach, Germany.
In addition, BASF intends to relocate paper dye production from Grenzach to Ankleshwar , India . In the course of the relocation, the paper dye product range is to be reduced. Dr. Fred Baumgartner, head of BASF's Paper Chemicals division, commented: "Currently, paper chemicals are a difficult business to be in. Paper manufacturing is increasingly concentrated in Asia’s emerging markets, which is where future growth in the paper industry will originate. Our measures are a further important step toward adjusting production structures to changing market conditions and thus toward ensuring the profitability of our paper chemicals business in the long term."
BASF plans to focus the Grenzach site squarely on the production of ingredients for the cosmetics and personal care industry in the future. Pigments for the electronics and coatings industries will continue to be produced in Grenzach as well. "We want to keep the production of UV filters and antiseptic products in Grenzach unchanged,” said Gabriel Tanbourgi, head of the Care Chemicals division. Alongside production activities, Grenzach is also the global development and technical services hub for these two Care Chemicals product groups.
The planned restructuring is expected to affect about 300 full-time jobs in Grenzach and would be implemented in the period from 2011 to 2013. About 180 jobs are to remain at the site in the future. “This will mean profound changes for many employees and for the site overall in the coming years,” said BASF’s, President Human Resources Hans-Carsten Hansen. “We are well aware of our special responsibility in this regard. We see good chances to offer alternative employment to many employees affected by the restructuring at other sites in the BASF Group, especially in Ludwigshafen, Kaisten, Schweizerhalle, Hüningen and other BASF Group companies.”
BASF Grenzach has been in deliberations with the responsible labor representatives regarding the planned structural changes and potential alternatives as well as the respective consequences for employees and for the site. Once these deliberations are concluded, the employers and works councils will enter any discussions required to agree on a reconciliation of interests and a social plan.
About BASF’s Paper Chemicals
BASF’s Paper Chemicals division offers process chemicals to optimize costs and increase machine efficiency, functional chemicals to lend specific properties to paper, and finishing chemicals to improve the appearance and performance characteristics of printed paper and board. With this comprehensive portfolio, BASF is the leading supplier of paper chemicals worldwide. BASF established Paper Chemicals as a separate division when it acquired Ciba in April 2009. The ISO 9001-certified Paper Chemicals division operates sites in Europe, Asia and the Americas. For more information, go to www.paper-chemicals.basf.com.
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota Announces Recommendations for Minnesota’s Forestry Industry
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota announces the release of Minnesota’s Forest Biomass Value Chain: A System Dynamics Analysis. The paper is the result of a yearlong project involving over 100 experts in the forestry community to develop a strategy to capitalize on future opportunities in Minnesota’s forestry industry.
“We have seen significant structural change in Minnesota’s forest products industry, creating both short-term and long-term challenges and opportunities for the state,” said Mark Lindquist, Biofuels Program Manager, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “A thoughtful approach to forest biomass utilization is needed to ensure healthy forests, sustain existing forest related jobs, and grow new industry.”
In July 2009, The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota partnered with Scott T Johnson, a System Dynamics consultant, and an array of statewide organizations, which included the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Forest Resource Council, to identify issues and opportunities in the growth of biomass-based industries, particularly those relating to forest products.
To guide the discussion, The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota used a method known as System Dynamics modeling. “System Dynamics modeling creates a data-driven framework in which experts from multiple perspectives can interact to solve complex problems,” said Dennis Becker, Assistant Professor with the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources. “Too often, important and costly initiatives and policies are undertaken without the data that such analyses can provide.”
During the one year analysis, The Biobusiness Alliance of Minnesota consulted over 100 experts from around the state. Input was received from loggers, existing and emerging industry players, environmental groups, consumers, government and non-government organizations, and academic researchers.
The analysis and input from the community has culminated in BBAM making four recommendations and related actionable tactics that are detailed in the white paper.
“The recommendations focus on sustaining our forest resources while ensuring the long-term availability of forest biomass to supply existing industries, and fostering development of new markets that expand wealth creation opportunities within Minnesota,” said Dale Wahlstrom, CEO of The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota. “This strategy and vision for a diversified forest-based economy focuses on the issues facing the existing forest products supply chain infrastructure while overlaying them with the needs of emerging industries.”
Utilizing the model, it is predicted that implementation of these strategic recommendations would result in a net gain of 1,400 jobs in the state of Minnesota, including direct and indirect jobs. Furthermore, assurance of a long term stable supply of wood could spur additional investments in the forest products industry. In a ‘best case scenario’ that includes expansions in lumber, OSB, and paper production, in addition to pellet manufacturing, heat and electricity production, and aggressive investment in biofuels and biochemicals shows an estimated 3,300 jobs across the state would be created.
For more information on the strategic process and the statewide recommendations, please go to http://biobusinessalliance.org/publications.asp to read Minnesota’s Forest Biomass Value Chain: A Systems Thinking Analysis.
About The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota
The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota (BBAM) is an industry-led, action-based 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of bioscience-related industries to create jobs for the citizens of Minnesota. The charter of BBAM is to bring together all related areas of the biosciences in a coordinated effort to help ensure the long-term health and success of Minnesota’s bioscience industry. BBAM relies on contributions from businesses, foundations, academia, individuals, and government to support its work in ensuring the long-term prosperity of biobusiness in Minnesota. To learn more and to donate go to www.biobusinessalliance.org.
St. Marys Renewable Energy Corporation Announces Power-Purchase Agreement
St. Marys Renewable Energy Corporation has announced that a [ten-year] power-purchase agreement has been reached with the Ontario Power Authority. Under this agreement, the OPA will purchase the electricity produced by a bio-mass-fueled co-generation plant to be built by SMREC adjacent to Sault Ste. Marie's St. Marys Paper Corp.
"We are excited by this agreement, which has taken several years of hard work by the shareholders and employees of St. Marys, and by the dedicated staff at the OPA," said St. Marys Paper Corp. chairman and CEO Dennis Bunnell.
On Friday Bunnell announced that St. Marys Paper Corporation is in the process of re-starting paper-manufacturing operations. With today's announcement, SMPC is a step closer to accomplishing a primary cornerstone of its business plan by expanding into green, renewable, forestry-based businesses. The co-generation plant will replace SMPC’s aging boilers and allow wood waste to be used as fuel in state of the art boilers- the first of their type in Ontario - which together with a bag house and /or electrostatic precipitators will improve air emissions and meet or exceed Ontario’s new air emission standards to be in force in 2013.
"The construction project alone will create more than 400 jobs provincially and generate $4.5 million in provincial taxes in the region, Once complete the facility will employ 30 people plus provide employment for 125 persons in providing biomass fuel and logistics, while ensuring that St. Marys will have a sustainable, long-term future for our employees, shareholders, and customers," said Bunnell. “Conversion of raw wood fibre to usable high value products requires energy, and this new plant is an essential step the transition of SMPC’s business into the bio economy”
"We want to thank everyone who has worked so hard on the project design, the application process, and the approval process. The direction given by the Ministry of Energy to procure renewable biomass energy, the support for SMPC’s vision by our local MPP David Orazietti, and the efforts expended by SMP and Provincial government staff to this point have been enormous. St. Marys is now in a position to step into the twenty-first century while looking confidently toward the future. We plan to finalize the funding and begin construction in 2011. The co generation plant capital budget is $135 million plus additional capital for integration and soft costs of an additional $40 million. We expect to be producing electricity by early 2014."
M-real has concluded the statutory negotiations at the Simpele mill
M-real Corporation, part of Metsäliitto Group, has concluded the statutory negotiations at the Simpele mill. To improve the profitability of the mill M-real started on 24 September 2010 the statutory negotiations concerning the potential transfer of the Simpele speciality paper production and the consequent closure of the Simpele paper machine.
As a result of the negotiations the Simpele paper machine is expected to be closed by the end of the year. The related personnel reduction is to be maximum 70 people. M-real continues offering one side coated label papers and flexible packaging papers from the Gohrsmühle mill in Germany.
The planned actions are expected to improve M-real's operating result by approximately EUR 4 million per annum. As a result of the Simpele paper machine closure, Consumer Packaging's 4Q 2010 result will as non-recurring item include EUR 12 million impairment of fixed assets and a EUR 3 million provision for cash cost. The closure of the Simpele paper machine reduces European annual speciality paper overcapacity by approximately 50,000 tonnes.
In close co-operation with local authorities, M-real will assist redundant employees to find new employment. In addition, M-real will also facilitate redeployment, if possible, by offering employment opportunities internally within the company or other Metsäliitto Group's businesses.
M-real has earlier announced investments of EUR 26 million to expand the folding boxboard capacity of the Simpele mill. The investment, expected to be finalised in the summer of 2011 will increase the annual folding boxboard capacity of the mill by approximately 80,000 tonnes.
Source: M-REAL CORPORATION
For further information, please contact:
Mika Joukio, SVP, Head of M-real´Consumer Packaging, tel. +358 10 463 3041
Metso relocates a containerboard machine for Indonesian Pelita Cengkareng Paper
Metso will relocate a containerboard machine for the Indonesian PT. Pelita Cengkareng Paper & Co. to their Subang mill in Indonesia. The start-up of the relocated machine is scheduled for the last quarter of 2011. The value of the order will not be disclosed. The typical market value of this type of a relocation project ranges from EUR 5 to 10 million depending on the scope of services. The most part of the order is included in Paper and Fiber Technology’s Q4 orders received and the automation upgrade package in Energy and Environmental Technology’s Q4 orders received.
A Tampella-manufactured (currently Metso technology) kraftliner machine will be reconditioned and modified to manufacture testliner and corrugating medium grades. Metso’s delivery will comprise a broad scope of services including dismantling and packing supervision, engineering, installation supervision and start-up support of the machine.
Metso will also modernize the dryer section with a newhood and dryer fabric cleaners. A complete automation upgrade package with machine and process controls, quality measurements and drive controls for the entire production line is also included in the delivery.
Relocation services are part of Metso’s full-scope offering, combining expert services, machine rebuilding, project management and automation solutions, and reflecting the wide Metso installed-base know-how.
Established in 1974, PT. Pelita Cengkareng Paper produces kraftliner, corrugating medium, duplex board, chipboard and wrapping paper. The current annual production capacity is 190,000 tonnes. Through expansion in a new site at Subang the annual capacity will increase to 540,000 tonnes.
Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have about 27,000 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com
For further information for the press, please contact:
Mikko Osara, Vice President, Sales, Paper business line, Metso, tel. +358 40 841 8804
Mika Ollikainen, Country Manager, Paper business line, Metso, tel. +62 811 1871461
Energy, fresh water, carbon dioxide and chemical savings are driving forces for new investments
Wetend Technologies has reached the milestone of 300 TrumpJet mixing stations and over 1000 TrumpJet mixers supplied with the new fresh deliveries.
USA
Funding support from US Department of Energy (DOE) for TrumpJet Flash Mixing Technology for paper mills in USA at 2010: Wetend Technologies Ltd will supply a set of TrumpJet® Flash Mixing systems for four (4) paper making lines on US East Coast. Objective is to radically reduce environmental load including energy, fresh water, carbon dioxide release and chemical consumption.
China
Two brand new fine paper machines at Guangxi Yongkai in China have installed TrumpJet® Flash Mixing Technology for quality and environmental improvements as well. Also Sun Paper at Yanzhou mill will run six different wet end chemicals through TrumpJet mixing systems. Also Zhumadian Baiyun Paper will install the TrumpJets for seven wet end additives. In addition more than 10 new mixing stations will be installed shortly in China for four paper and board machine lines.
Germany
A German top modern newsprint line with record speed has installed TrumpJet® Flash Mixing system to also reduce fresh water and energy and to optimize use of chemicals.
Japan
Numerous sets of individual TrumpJet® mixing installations will be built for two liner board lines. The machines are running four and three ply sheet.
New technology – A, B and C of Mixing
The new starch and filler dosing system is supported with the retention aid mixing concepts developed by Wetend Technologies Ltd with excellent manner and it makes the complete wet end process more efficient, simple, and easier to manage.
The first TrumpJet® Flash Mixing station for the starch & filler concept has been installed on a papermaking line in China. It is now in continuous production with the following excellent results and savings:
· Reduced starch consumption 20%
· Reduced CPAM consumption >30-40%
· Reduced APAM consumption >30-40%
· Total and filler retention unchanged
· Improved operation of centrifugal cleaners with less
· good filler in rejects of cleaners
· Consumption of optical brightener slightly reduced
· ASA consumption or sizing unchanged
· Quality unchanged
· Formation unchanged
· Tensile MD/CD slightly better or the same
· Bonding strength the same
· CD/MD profiles unchanged
· Dewatering unchanged
· Total net efficiency increased
The mixing system has been istalled on fine paper production line producing 350.000 tn/a with a world speed record paper machine running speed 1700m/min.
The Trumpjet systems supplied worldwide save 42 million square meters of fresh water, 1,6 MWh of energy and reduce 1 million tons of CO2 emission annually.
For more info contact:
WETEND TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
Kaartilantie 7
FIN-57230 Savonlinna
Finland
Tel. +358 10 836 0100
www.wetend.com
NewPage Corporation Releases on Paper Episode Featuring REI
NewPage Corporation announced the upload of a new episode in the popular On Paper sustainability podcast series, featuring REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), a national outdoor retailer that provides quality outdoor gear and clothing.
In this episode of On Paper, available for download at www.OnPaperSeries.com, Kirk Myers, REI's corporate social responsibility manager, explains how the company is transforming their environmental key performance indicators from backward-looking metrics into forward-looking business tools, in order to further integrate sustainability into standard business operations and strategy.
Entitled "Next Generation Environmental CSR," REI's program to create synergy between profit and planet is the result of a journey the company hopes others may learn from. "We're living in an increasingly resource constrained world and things are changing very, very quickly," Myers shares. "The path forward looks different than the path behind. So where we've had successes, is not necessarily where we'll have success in the future."
Accountability is important to the program's success and Myers explains to On Paper listeners how new ideas and solutions from REI's people helps drive innovation. "We make more work for our employees, we make it more challenging. But I'd argue we make our work lives more engaging also."
To hear REI's journey to and implementation of the "Next Generation Environmental CSR" program, download Myer's On Paper podcast at www.OnPaperSeries.com then visit www.rei.com/stewardship to read the company's stewardship report. The report details the REI's progress to address its operational environmental impact, efforts to introduce people to nature and protect outdoor spaces, and performance in providing an inclusive and rewarding workplace.
About On Paper Podcast Series
Now in its third season, the On Paper podcast series, presented by NewPage Corporation, is an ongoing solutions-based dialogue that provides a platform for professionals to share how their organizations implement sustainable practices. With more than thirty episodes featuring representatives from the most innovative of corporate America, across a variety of industries, On Paper has garnered more than one million downloads. Visit www.OnPaperSeries.com to listen to individual episodes and subscribe to receive notices of new episode releases.
About NewPage Corporation
Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, NewPage Corporation is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, based on production capacity, with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009. The company's product portfolio is the broadest in North America and includes coated freesheet, coated groundwood, supercalendered, newsprint and specialty papers. These papers are used for corporate collateral, commercial printing, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts, newspapers, packaging applications and direct mail advertising. NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia, Canada. These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 4.4 million tons of paper, including approximately 3.2 million tons of coated paper, approximately 1.0 million tons of uncoated paper and approximately 200,000 tons of specialty paper. For more information, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.
SOURCE NewPage Corporation