Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) has announced that the company has acquired approximately 18,000 acres of high-quality timberlands in southwest Louisiana and northwest Oregon in two separate transactions from BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group. Both properties are located near existing Rayonier landholdings:

• The Louisiana property – known as the King parcel – consists of approximately 12,200 acres of high quality, well managed southern pine timberland located in strong timber markets. The property was purchased for $25.5 million. It contains merchantable inventory of approximately 560,000 tons, is comprised of approximately 86% plantable lands, and is expected to improve the company’s sustainable yield by approximately 45,000 tons per year. This acquisition expands Rayonier’s ownership in Louisiana to approximately 150,000 acres.
• The Oregon property – known as the Scappoose parcel – consists of approximately 5,600 acres of highly productive, well-stocked and highly-operable timberland tributary to strong domestic and export markets in the northwest corner of the state, near current company holdings in southwest Washington. The property was purchased for $34 million. It complements the age-class profile of the company’s Pacific Northwest timber holdings, contains merchantable inventory of approximately 102,000 tons (12.7 MMBF) of which an estimated 95% is high-value Douglas-fir, is comprised of approximately 88% operable lands, and is expected to improve the company’s sustainable yield by approximately 35,000 tons (4.4 MMBF) per year. This acquisition expands Rayonier’s footprint into the state of Oregon and grows Rayonier’s total Pacific Northwest ownership to approximately 374,000 acres.

The company also acquired approximately 4,600 acres located in Florida and Georgia in the second quarter of 2015 through a series of small transactions with non-industrial private landowners. Year-to-date, Rayonier has acquired 35,000 acres of high quality timberland in the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest for a total of approximately $88 million.

“We are pleased to close these two acquisitions with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group,” said David Nunes, Rayonier President and CEO. “The properties have been well-managed and are high-quality assets located in strong timber markets. These transactions reflect our disciplined growth strategy to focus on select acquisitions that upgrade our land portfolio, grow our sustainable harvest and generate accretion to our cash available for distribution per share.”

About Rayonier

Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. Rayonier owns, leases or manages approximately 2.7 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S. South, U.S. Pacific Northwest and New Zealand. More information is available at www.rayonier.com.

Source: Rayonier Inc.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has acquired Euroslot KDSS, headquartered in Scorbé Clairvaux, France, including its subsidiaries in China and India. The company, which will be renamed ANDRITZ Euroslot, designs and manufactures filtration and separation equipment for the pulp and paper industry, the water and waste water treatment segment, and other industrial applications.

ANDRITZ Euroslot will be integrated into the ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER business area, thus enabling the company to provide full support and service to its customers worldwide based on ANDRITZ’s strong technological expertise, financial background, and global presence

For further information, please contact:
Oliver Pokorny
Head of Corporate Communications
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors. The publicly listed technology Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of almost 25,000 employees. ANDRITZ operates over 250 sites worldwide.

ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER is a leading global supplier of equipment, systems, and services for the production and processing of all types of pulps, paper, tissue, and cardboard. The technologies cover the processing of logs, annual fibers, and waste paper; the production of chemical pulp, mechanical pulp, and recycled fibers; the recovery and reuse of chemicals; the preparation of paper machine furnish; the production of paper, tissue, and board; the calendering and coating of paper; as well as treatment of reject materials and sludge. The service range includes modernization, rebuilds, spare and wear parts, service and maintenance, as well as machine transfer and second-hand equipment. Biomass, steam, and recovery boilers, as well as gasification plants for power generation, flue gas cleaning plants, production equipment for biofuel (second generation), biomass torrefaction equipment, plants for the production of nonwovens, dissolving pulp, plastic films, and panelboards (MDF), and recycling plants are also allocated to the business area.

Valmet will supply an OptiConcept M fine paper production line for APRIL Group's Pangkalan Kerinci site in Riau Province in Indonesia. The new production line is planned to produce top quality digital-ready fine papers and it will increase the company's capability to produce value-added products from renewable resources. The start-up of the new machine is scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.

The order was included in Valmet's first quarter 2015 orders received. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

The first Valmet OptiConcept M line designed for fine paper production

OptiConcept M is Valmet's modular board and paper making concept, which enables significant savings in energy, water and raw material usage. The concept has been acknowledged in Finnish Design competition in 2014.

The new PM3 for APRIL is Valmet's first OptiConcept M delivery in Indonesia. This is also the first time when the latest OptiConcept M technology is utilized in fine paper production.

"This technology investment increases our ability to meet the growing global demand for premium PaperOneTM products, APRIL Group's flagship paper brand. The deployment will enable new product diversification in response to consumer demand for high-value digital paper products in particular," says Tony Wenas, Managing Director of APRIL Group Indonesia Operations.

"Valmet OptiConcept M focuses on low operating costs combined with energy-efficient and flexible production of high-quality paper grades. The technological innovations we have made, play a key role in achieving the overall efficiency of the production line," says Jari Vähäpesola, President of Paper Business Line, Valmet.

Valmet's delivery includes a complete fine papermaking line from stock preparation to reel with related automation systems. A new winder is also included in the delivery. The new 7.1 m-wide (wire) machine will produce woodfree uncoated paper grades in the basis weight range of 40-120 g/m2. The production capacity of the machine will be approximately 900 tonnes per day and the design speed 1,400 m/min.

Valmet OptiConcept M for fine paper production.

Information about the customer APRIL

APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International Limited) manufactures and supplies fiber, pulp, and paper. The company serves customers through a sales and marketing network in Indonesia, India, Japan, China, Europe, and internationally. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Singapore with manufacturing operations in Kerinci in Riau Province. APRIL Group currently exports its paper products to 75 countries.

For further information, please contact:

Jari Vähäpesola, President, Paper Business Line, Valmet, tel. +358 10 672 5260

Aki Niemi, Area President, China, Valmet, tel. +86 150 2669 2016

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Valmet's vision is to become the global champion in serving its customers.
 
Valmet's services cover everything from maintenance outsourcing to mill and plant improvements and spare parts. The strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bio-energy production. Valmet's advanced automation solutions range from single measurements to mill wide turnkey automation projects.
 
Valmet's net sales in 2014 were approximately EUR 2.5 billion. Our 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

Parenco B.V. has contracted with Voith to deliver the comprehensive rebuild of its stock preparation and PM 2, as well as the facility renovation at Renkum, Netherlands. The project has a completion date of August 2016. The contract followed a 10 month pre-engineering project.

Having been idle for several years, Renkum PM 2 will be transformed from a newsprint machine to a modern packaging production line. This will enable Parenco to enter the market with Voith as technical partner.

The complex, turn-key scope of work includes a new stock preparation with the rebuild and upgrade of existing equipment. The project will utilize the existing TMP and Deinking plant buildings.

Voith will provide a rebuild of the recycled fiber plant and the Wet End Process. The paper machine will be equipped with a new two-layer headbox, NipcoFlex shoe press, SpeedFlow sizing unit and after dryer section. The Process Line Package includes all auxiliaries, electrics, DCS, starch preparation, pumps and piping, automation control system and engineering. Besides civil works and all erection, training and start-up services will be carried out by Voith.

Once completed, the project will increase the mill's capacity by approximately 385,000 t/a, with production focused on testliner and medium grades. The conversion from newspaper to packaging grades will help to position Parenco as a highly competitive supplier in the packaging market, and broadens Parenco’s paper making activities.

Voith Paper is a division of the Voith Group and the leading partner to and pioneer in the paper industry. Through constant innovations, Voith Paper is optimizing the paper manufacturing process, focusing on developing resource-saving products to reduce the use of energy, water, and fibers. Furthermore, Voith Paper offers a broad service portfolio for all sections of the paper manufacturing process.

Voith sets standards in the markets of energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith today has more than 39,000 employees, sales of €5.3 billion and locations in more than 50 countries, making it one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe.

Xerium Technologies, Inc. a leading global provider of industrial consumable products and services, has announced that it has initiated closure proceedings with the representative union officials at its PMC facility in Warwick, Quebec Canada. Production will be transferred to Xerium’s lower-cost plants outside of North America.

“The Warwick plant has a great history of making high-quality products. Unfortunately, it also is a very high-cost plant that has a cost structure that is almost twice as high as Xerium’s low cost plants due to several key factors including: pension and benefit costs, machine uptime, productivity, and a declining local-market business. The machine clothing business is mostly build-to-forecast wherein customers order ahead of time, thereby allowing for servicing of the demand from low cost facilities. Several of Xerium’s competitors provide very high-quality products and have much more advantaged cost structures and plant locations. The only way to fight back against this structural setback is to be more productive – i.e. – to get more production out for the same amount of manhours/cost. Unfortunately, this was not the case at Warwick. Most of Warwick’s production will move to Europe. Xerium will continue to fix its global cost issue in the machine clothing business. We still have a few more plants that have serious issues,” said Harold Bevis, Xerium’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

“As with all plant closures,” continued Mr. Bevis, “these are difficult decisions which have a significant impact on our people, their families, and the communities where they live and work. Unfortunately, this is a straight-forward business decision given the economic realities involved. These actions will help increase the company’s competitiveness and enable it to be a better supplier to its customers."

ABOUT XERIUM

Xerium Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:XRM) is a leading global provider of industrial consumable products and services. Xerium, 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 26 manufacturing facilities in 12 countries around the world, Xerium has approximately 3,100 employees.

Valmet has received two orders for automation technology from Kotkamills Oy in Finland to complement the major order for key technology for a paper machine conversion project announced in April. The first new order includes wet end automation solutions for Kotkamills' magazine paper production line PM 2 that will be rebuilt and converted to produce packaging board. The second order includes analyzers and advanced process controls for the pulp mill.

The startup of the rebuilt paper machine with new wet end automation is scheduled for the second quarter of 2016. The pulp mill quality improvement project, with new automation solutions is ongoing.

These orders are included in Valmet's second quarter 2015 orders received. The value of the orders is not disclosed. Typically, the order value of automation system deliveries ranges from below EUR 1 million to EUR 3 million.

"One automation platform, from quality, process and machine controls to sectional drive controls, helps us get a good start-up for the project and high availability after the project phase. Our existing know-how of the Valmet DNA system, common spare parts and our service contract with Valmet provide us with many benefits. Having one supplier for the automation system, application and field engineering of the board machine will streamline our work during the project," says Jari Mäkelä, Automation Project Manager, Kotkamills Oy.

"Today, automation solutions are very important tools for the operators and maintenance staff in ensuring maximum line availability and efficiency. Valmet's automation system and know-how enable fully integrated machine controls from headbox to reel. We have had many successful projects with Kotkamills in the past, and this delivery further strengthens our long cooperation," says Ari Pinjamaa, Vice President, Nordics, Valmet's Automation business line.

Technical information about the delivery

The automation delivery for the paper machine PM2 includes Valmet DNA machine and drive controls as well as a Valmet IQ Dilution Profiler. The latter is a profile control system for advanced positioning of the headbox valves to achieve the best possible weight profiles. All the solutions will be integrated within the Valmet DNAautomation system, which is included in the order earlier announced.

The automation delivery for the pulp mill includes Valmet Continuous Cooking Optimizers for both digesters, a Valmet Kappa Analyzer, Valmet Causticizing Optimizer and a Valmet Recovery Liquor Analyzer. All these solutions enable the mill to improve pulp quality and provide significant economic benefits.

Information about the customer Kotkamills

Kotkamills specializes in laminating paper, matt coated bulky paper and sawn products. It is 100% owned by Eagle Industries Oy, a company owned by MB Funds, Nordic Mezzanine, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Finnish Industry Investment and company management. MB Funds is the majority shareholder.

For further information, please contact:

Ari Pinjamaa, Vice President, Nordics, Automation, Valmet, Tel. +358 40 708 9666

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Valmet's vision is to become the global champion in serving its customers.

Valmet's services cover everything from maintenance outsourcing to mill and plant improvements and spare parts. The strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bio-energy production. Valmet's advanced automation solutions range from single measurements to mill wide turnkey automation projects.

Valmet's net sales in 2014 were approximately EUR 2.5 billion. Our 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

As part of ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2015 UPM showcased the Biofore Concept Car – a truly sustainable innovation. The Biofore Concept Car was on display from 30 June until 2 July 2015 at Messe Frankfurt.

“Forests are no longer just a source of timber, paper and pulp. When we look at the forest we see so much more. We see new biomaterials, biofuels and an endless source for truly sustainable innovations,” says Bernd Eikens, Executive Vice President, UPM Paper ENA.

Introducing an ecological dimension into car manufacturing

The Biofore Concept Car demonstrates the use of UPM’s innovative bio-based materials in the automotive industry. The majority of components in the Biofore Concept Car that are traditionally made of plastic are replaced by renewable UPM Formi biocomposite and thermoformable UPM Grada wood material. This leads to a significant improvement of the overall environmental performance of car manufacturing. The Biofore Concept Car was designed and manufactured by students from the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

If a component is manufactured from biocomposite instead of plastic, the carbon footprint can decrease by 60%. Thanks to the lightweight and durable materials, the car weighs 150 kg less than vehicles of a comparable size, which also means reduced fuel consumption.

The car is fuelled by wood-based renewable UPM BioVerno diesel, which significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels. UPM BioVerno is suitable for all diesel engines, including the 1.2 litre low-emission diesel engine featured in the Biofore Concept Car.

Continuous development – also in paper manufacturing

“ZELLCHEMING-Expo is an ideal platform to showcase UPM’s Biofore innovations – be it the Biofore Concept Car, modern biocomposites, biodiesel, biochemicals or just our innovative and sustainable paper portfolio,” explains Bernd Eikens.

By introducing UPM Valor, UPM Impresse and UPM ReCat to the market, UPM created new, high quality printing papers specialised on the needs of magazine publishers and advertisers. All performance papers reduce mailing and delivery costs while being more sustainable which increases the competitiveness of our customers.
The papers are ideal for publications and print products that demand premium quality. Thanks to the efficient use of raw materials these innovative papers have lower impact on the environment making UPM one of the leading manufacturers regarding sustainability.

The extensive paper selection of UPM includes publication and office papers as well as speciality papers for all kinds of end uses. UPM is committed to paper and believes in the coexistence of digital and print media. Paper is a true Biofore product, manufactured from renewable and recyclable materials in sustainably managed mills.

For more information, please contact:
Elisa Nilsson, Vice President, Brand & Communications, UPM, tel. +358 40 500 3150
Klaus Kohler, Communications Manager, UPM Paper ENA, tel. +49 821 3109 225

UPM leads the reformation of the bio and forest industries. We are building a sustainable future in six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Paper Asia, UPM Paper Europe and North America and UPM Plywood. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. We serve a global base of customers. We employ approximately 20,000 people and our annual sales are approximately EUR 10 billion. UPM's shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upm.com

Resolute Forest Products Inc. has announced the selection of a state-of-the-art tissue machine for the project at its Calhoun mill, in Tennessee. Supplied by Valmet, the Advantage New Tissue Technology (NTT) machine will produce premium quality tissue products for the consumer market.

This machine is part of the previously announced $270 million project to build a facility to manufacture at-home, premium private label tissue paper, including bath and towel. Preparation work has begun at Calhoun, and the machine is expected to start making tissue in the first quarter of 2017.

"This is the first time we will produce products directly for the consumer market," stated Richard Garneau, president and chief executive officer. "The selection of the Advantage NTT tissue machine is in line with our promise to retailers to install equipment that will offer the highest quality and the differentiation they seek for their store brands."

The move into the tissue market represents an important step forward in Resolute's corporate growth strategy, and the company will continue to evaluate opportunities to expand its presence in this growing market segment.

SOURCE Resolute Forest Products Inc.

For further information: Investors : Rémi G. Lalonde, Vice President and Treasurer , 514 394-2345, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

GL&V's dryer foundry in Hudson Falls, NY has been manufacturing paper machine steam dryers and high quality iron castings for 157 years. 

Since 2005 we have been developing dryers suitable for higher pressures than the typical 125 or 150 PSI (8.6 to 10.3 Bar) ratings found on most North American paper machine dryers from the 1960's and later. 

Higher pressures are enabled by stronger alloys in both gray and ductile iron grades with the incorporation of stress relieving.  Since our initial development of high pressure dryers began in 2005, nearly 300 dryers with ratings above 160 PSI have been built, with 175 PSI (12 Bar) being typical and some as high as 200 (13.7 Bar). 

Higher pressure dryers enable customers, particularly those making packaging grades, to utilize increased temperatures for higher production speeds without increasing the number of dryers in the section.

Contact GL&V for further information:

Craig Cook, Business Manager - Dryers

Tel: +1 518 747 1370

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

www.glvpulppaper.com

Swedish pulp manufacturer Rottneros newly developed High Yield Pulp for carton board, Bulk Booster, has been well received at several major board manufacturers. The product is already used in the commercial manufacturing of board qualities for packaging, and in a number of specialty applications.

Carton board is a generic name for thick paper qualities used for the production of carton board for packaging of food or other products and in graphic contexts. Carton board is made from either recycled fiber or virgin fiber pulp.

Bulk Booster has been developed by Rottneros Bruk during the last year, and has been tested at full commercial scale at several carton board manufacturers. The product is a High Yield Pulp, which is produced in Rottneros Bruk's unique production lines.

Bulk Booster’s special feature is the increases of the bulk or thickness of the carton, in this aspect it is superior to other available products. This means that you get a thicker board for the same weight of raw material in the manufacturing process. This has significant advantages when it comes to optimizing production economy in carton board production. A moderate mixing with Bulk Booster can increase the bending stiffness in carton board with up to 30 percent, says Olle Dahlin, CEO at Rottneros Bruk who has visited many customers during the development period.

Development of Bulk Booster from idea to commercial success has been a team effort within Rottneros Bruk and has involved a large part of the staff. Fredrik Danielsson, technical sales manager and Nils Hauri, production manager, who has led the development believes that the interest that carton board manufacturers demonstrated during the project, shows there is a great need for Bulk booster on the market.

Rottneros CEO Per Lundeen says that the two mills in Rottneros Group, Vallviks Bruk and Rottneros Bruk, with their specialized pulp has been successful in its market positioning towards more and more specialized products used in paper production for non-graphic products.

For further information please contact:

Olle Dahlin, VD Rottneros Bruk AB +46703667300