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News Mohawk Paper Mills, Inc., says it is the first US paper mill to join the Green Power Partnership created by the EPA to promote the use of green power for the generation of part of its electricity needs. It is also the first such mill to use wind energy (Paper Industry, October 2003, p. 5). “Green” power is electricity derived from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, water, geothermal, biomass and biogas. www.mohawkpaper.com. SCA North America Tissue division raised prices up to 9% for its away-from-home items March 11, citing “persistently high manufacturing costs” as the reason. Joseph F. Raccula the division’s president and CEO said the company had absorbed increases for natural gas, fiber and transportation for some time. Exports of waste paper to the Far East – especially China — are depleting North American stocks. By the end of this decade, according to a report given at the CEPI conference on EU Enlargement, the European Union will be the world’s largest pulp and paper market when its membership grows to 27 countries. Rainer Haggblom of Jaakko Poyry Consulting is also quoted in Paper Technology, Feb. 2004, as saying that Russia has the potential to change the pulp and paper world. Its mill asset quality is said to be low but it is cost competitive on both the domestic and export markets. Boise Cascade Corp.’s pulp and paper mill and the adjacent sawmill in Jackson, AL, are now certified under ISO 14001, the standard for environmental management systems (EMS). The Jackson mill was already ISO 9001-certified for quality. www.bc.com. Slocan Forest Products Ltd. shareholders voted to let Canfor Corp. to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Slocan. The BC firms expect that the legal aspects of the deal will be cleared for the deal to be completed in April. www.canfor.com, www.slocan.com. Sonoco received the Strongest Link Award from MeadWestvaco recently. The award recognizes cost reduction, improved performance and supply-chain integration optimization. Sonoco was selected from more than 50 maintenance, repair and operations suppliers based on mill surveys, team interviews and feedback from end use customers across MeadWestvaco. Metso Paper will modernize the 6.2-m-wire-width LWC PM 64 at Stora Enso North America's Whiting mill in Wisconsin. The order is worth about EUR13 million (just under $16 million). Start-up is scheduled for May 2005. Included are rebuilt press and dryer sections and a modified reel and re-reeler. Metso is also rebuilding machines at Stora's Kimberly and Biron, WI, mills. www.metso.com. Brattleboro, Vermont-based FiberMark, Inc. said March 30 it had filed voluntary petitions to reorganize its US operations under chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The filing, in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont, does not include the German or UK operations. FiberMark also obtained a commitment for $30 million of debtor-in-possession financing from GE Commercial Finance for use as needed to supplement its existing cash flow from operations. Normal operation will continue. Alex Kwader, chairman and CEO of FiberMark, said in a press release, "Since 2001, we have felt the effects of a weak economy and of a prolonged recession in most of our key markets, even as our operations in Germany and the UK have continued to perform well. These ... conditions have been further exacerbated ... by ... acquisition-related debt and a number of operational issues ...". At the filing, FiberMark listed combined assets of $329.6 million and combined liabilities of $405.7 million. www.fibermark.com. Georgia-Pacific will sell its non-integrated fluff and market pulp operations in Georgia and Mississippi to Koch Cellulose, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., for $610 million. The sale, consisting of assets and the stock of G-P's Brunswick Pulp & Paper subsidiary, includes mills at Brunswick, GA (826,000 tons/year fluff pulp), and New Augusta, MS (628,000 tons/year market and fluff pulp), a short-line railroad servicing the New Augusta mill and the assets of two international sales offices. G-P will also sell its indirect interest in Brazil's Aracruz Celulose SA to an unidentified buyer for about $75 million. www.gpc.com. PI |
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