In Tissuemaker / converter Atlas Papers Ltd.,Hialeah, FL, is now owned by Palm Beach
Capital, Palm Beach, FL. Terms were not disclosed.Using a 100% recycled paper furnish,the two-machine mill produces about 36,000 tons/year and converts 3 million cases of tissue and towel for the commercial and retail markets. www.atlaspapermills.com.

Marcal Paper Mills filed for Chapter 11 protection on November 30, as it reorganizes. It says it has enough funds to continue normal business operations at its tissue and toweling in Elmwood Park, NJ, and converting operations in Chicago, IL. Marcal blames a 40% increase in energy bills over the last year plus
liquidity pressures from its lenders. www.marcalpaper.com.

Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. sold its Strathmore Artist Papers™ business to Pacon Corp., Appleton,WI. Artist Papers supplies fine art papers, textured and decorative sheets, greeting card papers and digital photo and inkjet papers marketed under the Strathmore Artist™ brand. Mohawk retains the Strathmore™ brand and the portfolio of premium, writing, text and cover papers for marketing communications and corporate identity. www.mohawkpaper.com.

NewPage Corp.’s Luke Paper Co., Luke, MD, will shut down its vintage-1904, 100,000-ton/year L7 paper machine for the loss of about 130 jobs. As well, NewPage’s Rumford Paper Co.,Rumford, ME, will shut No. 11 machine for three months. Both events are caused by the need to cut costs and to better align capacity with market demand, says NewPage.

Fraser Papers, Inc. is negotiating to buy Katahdin Paper Co. LLC from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The three companies are corporately related. Fraser currently manages the mills in East Millinocket and Millinocket, ME for Brookfield. Katahdin also operates Arbec’s mill in Port Cartier, Quebec. www.fraserpapers.com.

Voith Paper Finishing Inc. will move its activities from Springfield, MA, to Voith Paper’s North American headquarters in Appleton, WI. Completion is scheduled for March 31, 2007, after which all finishing business will be from Appleton. www.springfield.voithpaper.com.

Neucel Specialty Cellulose appointed former Rayonier area manager Thorsten Brost as general manager at its Port Alice, BC, mill. Brost was at Rayonier’s Jesup, GA, mill for seven years before assuming his new post. www.neucel.com.

Stora Enso Packaging Boards, Imatra, Finland, is developing electrical delamination technology for opening packages. With Controlled Delamination Materials (CDM), two attached packages or parts of packages can be easily separated using electricity. Stora says this enables easy opening of consumer packages and new distribution solutions, with CDM used to hold the items together and to release them smoothly. www.storaenso.com.

Caraustar Industries, Inc. closed its Reading Paperboard Mill in Sinking Spring, PA. The 16,000-ton recycled uncoated paperboard output will be consolidated at other company mills. There was a pre-tax charge of $1.9 million, $1.2 million being non-cash. The closure will save the company $1.6 million a year, pre-tax. www.caraustar.com.

A major site for the manufacture of Yankee cylinders, the Sandusky Walmsley plant in Astley Bridge, Lancashire, England, closed in October. The 126-year-old Walmsley Group merged with Beloit Corp. in 1960 and became Beloit Walmsley. Beloit’s owners, Harnischfeger Industries ran into trouble in 2000 and the plant went into receivership before being taken over by Sandusky International, Sandusky, OH.