BASF Plant Science has concluded its Amflora cultivation plans for the 2011 season. Amflora, the genetically enhanced potato for use in the starch industry, will this year be cultivated on two hectares of land in Üplingen (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany).

" There are many good reasons for the use of Amflora in Germany, which after all is renowned for growing starch potatoes. Separating the starch components in conventional potatoes for industrial use is not cost-effective or environmentally sound. Amflora is an innovative new variety which produces pure amylopectin starch. It therefore helps to cut down on resources, energy and costs and offers farmers and the starch processing industry real added value," says Peter Eckes, Managing Director of BASF Plant Science.

In addition to Germany, BASF Plant Science will again be planting out Amflora in Sweden during the 2011 season. After receiving approval from the authorities for the majority of the Amflora seed stock, BASF Plant Science will this year be concentrating on propagating seed stock for cultivation in subsequent years. BASF is performing very strict internal quality checks for this purpose and is only using the best quality seed stock.

About Amflora

Amflora is a genetically modified potato variety which produces pure amylopectin starch. Conventional potatoes produce a mixture of amylopectin and amylose starch. In many potato starch applications, for example in the paper, adhesive and food industries, only amylopectin is needed, but separating the two starch components is uneconomical. Amflora produces pure amylopectin starch and thus helps to save resources, energy and costs. Moreover, paper manufactured with amylopectin starch has greater tear resistance, and the addition of amylopectin to concrete and adhesives gives them a longer pot life. In the case of Amflora, BASF Plant Science and its partners in the starch industry decided to focus on industrial applications.

Sappi Fine Paper North America announces the launch of the Flo Channel: Off Register^TM-- its online comedy video series developed with VSA Partners, aimed at the influential print community. The new video series features stories told by Second City Improv that demonstrate the trials and tribulations of what printers encounter daily, as they aim to please their demanding, edgy-black-glasses-wearing clients.

The first video of the Off Register series is "Luscious:"
http://www.youtube.com/user/OffRegister

"Luscious" is the kick-off to the video series and tells the story of designer, Kat, trying to get Sully, the printer, to understand and produce for her a color that is not just pink but "luscious." Each video ends with an invitation: "Share your own outrageous printing story for a future episode of Off Register." The series can be seen on Sappi Fine Paper North America's Web Site, YouTube, Vimeo, and FunnyorDie.com.

"Through our new Off Register video series, we are striving to illustrate to audiences how print can be integrated with digital to make a communications campaign have a more powerful impact," said Patti Groh, marketing director, Sappi Fine Paper North America. "True, the campaign lives online, but its heart and soul reside on the pressroom floor," said Jonathan Turitz, VSA Creative Director.

The videos are pushed out to the primary audience of printers and press operators as part of an ongoing dialogue with Sappi and the promotion of its top-selling economy paper, Flo. Most paper company promo efforts utilize only print collateral but Sappi believed it was necessary to break through the clutter with marketing that is multi-media based and engaging on many levels.

To demonstrate the potent digital/print relationship, Sappi Fine Paper North America's Off Register campaign also utilizes e-blasts to printers to link them to the videos and QR codes that appear on printed collateral for Flo paper, which take smartphone users directly to the videos--providing new ways for the target audience to interact with the series, as well as demonstrating how print is still a vital and dynamic medium when combined with digital media today.

The next video in the Off Register series, "Designer Disaster," will tell the story of a designer whose precious original art gets inadvertently destroyed. Both stories for the videos are based on submissions of actual events from printers and press operators.

Another campaign element of the Off Register marketing campaign is a commemorative Series "Press Kit" (to be released late March). The Press Kit will further showcase the qualities of Sappi Flo paper and invites printers to continue the conversation, by submitting stories of their own for future episodes of the Off Register series to be released throughout the year.

Xerium Technologies, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of industrial textiles and rolls used primarily in the paper production process, today announced full global availability of EnerStar, an exclusive energy-saving paper machine clothing (PMC) technology designed to both reduce energy consumption and extend the economic life of forming fabrics that are vital to the manufacturing of paper.

With EnerStar, Xerium continues to take the lead in advancing the technology of PMC, which is critical to the quality of paper as it is produced. PMC products are highly engineered synthetic textile belts that are used to transport raw paper along the length of the paper-making process, as it is formed, pressed, and dried, keeping in constant contact with the paper as it is formed.

"This latest technological advancement in PMC further supports our strategy of innovation in the marketplace," said Stephen R. Light, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. "We are especially pleased with the excellent results already reported by our launch customers applying EnerStar on their machines, who have documented with energy savings of up to 15%. We continue to partner with our customers to help enhance their operating efficiencies and quality, while significantly lowering their cost of operation and inventories."

Developed by Xerium and its research partners, EnerStar is an exclusive technology produced with the highest-grade, modified polymers and is available as an optional feature for selected fabric designs from Xerium's Huyck.Wangner and Weavexx PMC companies.

Contact Xerium's Huyck.Wangner or Weavexx for more information on EnerStar.

Effective February 1, 2010, or as contracts allow, BASF will increase prices in Europe, Africa and Western Asia for polymer dispersions as well as additives by 130 Euro per metric ton and acrylic resins and redispersible powders by 200 Euro per metric ton. The price adjustments are necessary due to significantly increased raw material costs.

The products affected by the price increase are used as polymers for adhesives, fiberbonding , architectural coatings and construction chemicals.

The SMARNIP® Shoe Press supplied by PMT Italia S.p.A. to Favini Rossano Veneto machine # 3, Italy, has been started up with success on January 4th 2011.

Few hours after the start up of the machine with the SMARNIP® in operation, the Favini managers have confirmed their satisfaction for the results. The production has been immediately increased by 8 ÷12% maintaining the fine paper high quality standards.

The press rebuild has been managed in a relatively short time thanks to the great cooperation between the Favini and the PMT teams, allowing to meet the programmed shut down and start-up timing.

Also in this case the modularity and the compactness of the SMARNIP® Shoe Press resulted to be the key factor to apply the shoe press technology in a machine with limited space.

For PMT this is the reference number 14, where the SMARNIP® Shoe Press has been applied, in addition to the (53) references where PMT supplied the standard PMT-Shoe Press. The PMT experience in the pressing technology, in four different continents, has been confirmed once more finding the right solution for the specific case.

Noss received an order for two 4-stage RADICLONE cleaner systems from Dongguan Jianhui Paper for their PM3 and PM4 in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The system start-up is scheduled for early 2012.

Both paper machines will produce linerboard with a capacity of 250,000 ADMTPY on each machine.

HIGHEST PULP AND PAPER CLEANLINESS
As the quality demands on linerboard are continuously increasing, an efficient hydrocycloning system is important. For such applications with highest demands for pulp and paper cleanliness, the well established Noss RADICLONE AM80 systems are particularly suitable.

The Ministry of the Environment and UPM have agreed upon compensation for the Natura 2000 sites and areas designated for protection under national conservation programmes in UPM's forests in Kainuu, Finland. The State will purchase approximately 380 hectares from UPM for nature protection purposes. The protected areas are situated in Losonvaara in Sotkamo and in Humalalampi in Paltamo. Moreover, UPM has agreed to privately protect approximately 330 hectares of its own land in Kainuu in accordance with the Nature Conservation Act. The total value of the agreement is €3.4 million. Part of the purchase price will be covered by a land exchange procedure.

The largest of the privately owned protected areas is Kokkamo–Kylmäjärvi in Kuhmo, covering about 220 hectares. This scenically valuable esker ridge site is home to esker lakes which range from dark-water marshy ponds to clear pools of groundwater. Many of the pools in the almost undisturbed area are surrounded by swamps.

With its woody swamps and undisturbed hill-top forests, the most environmentally significant and valuable area is Losonvaara in Sotkamo. A major part of the area lies at an altitude of over 300 metres and it includes many different types of natural woody swamps.

Paula Lehtomäki, Minister of the Environment, is pleased that the agreement was reached: "We have now managed to protect areas with nationally important nature values. The undisturbed sites and the esker ridge areas are a valuable addition to the protection of biodiversity in Finland. I am also pleased that the lengthy negotiations with UPM have led to such a positive end result.

"The negotiations took a long time. We are satisfied that we have now reached an agreement on the protected areas in our Kainuu forests," says Jorma Saarimaa, UPM's Director of Land Use and Real Estate. "Negotiations on the compensation for other Natura 2000 sites in UPM's forests can now be continued based on this agreement."

M-real will increase the paper price across its uncoated fine paper portfolio by 6-8% as of March 2011.

The industry is experiencing further cost increases due to which the paper prices must be increased.

M-real’s customer magazine M-real Magazine has won gold in the ‘Best Overall Design, B-to-B’ category in Folio Magazine’s Eddies and Ozzies Awards. The international Folio Awards are the magazine industry’s largest competition, celebrating the best in both editorial quality and design and visual standards. The 2010 category winners were announced in New York on 25 January 2011.

“The team in M-real and publishing house Otavamedia Kynämies has done excellent job. M-real Magazine is a publication that stands out and is highly appreciated by our customers,” says Juha Laine, Editor-in-chief, VP Investor Relations and Communications of M-real Corporation. “The winning issue’s theme was design. A lot of thought went into making it, but even so, winning gold was a very positive surprise.”

“This issue is a great example of what can be achieved with our products, here in particular with speciality papers from M-real Zanders. The cover’s CHROMOLUX, the luxurious cast-coated paper, and the text pages’ coated paper Medley plus and transparent paper Spectral demonstrate how our papers can add impact and provide inspiration for many creative design areas,” explains Laine.

The 2010 awards drew more than 2,000 entries, which were judged by an international panel of 100 experts. Both printed magazines and web publications are represented in the competition, organised by Folio Magazine.

The gold-winning issue of M-real Magazine can be found here.