On April 14, the Aditya Birla Group purchased fromTembec Inc. 20% of the 25%equity interest it held in the issue and outstanding shares in the capital stock of bothAVNackawic andAV Cell. The loan toAV Cellwas also reimbursed; as a result, Tembec received proceeds of $C16 million and will record a gain of $1 million for the quarter ending June 2008. Nalco Co. will hike North American paper industry chemical prices effective July 1. Other parts of the world will also be affected. Pricing for most programs will increase up to 20%. Select programs, including the use of defoamers, glutaraldehyde, phosphate and polyphosphate chemistries, pulp mill surfactants, anti-scalants and pitch control surfactants will increase 30%. Blamed for the increases are higher energy and rawmaterial costs, tighter availability of some raw materials and rising freight costs. www.nalco.com

A report in Victoria, British Columbia's Times Colonist says that the workers at Nanaimo's idled Harmac pulp mill are trying to put together a business plan to buy the mill. It could cost them about $C20, 000 each to become shareholders. A financial analyst is quoted as saying that could attract other new investors. "Inefficient processes have become endemic in the collective bargaining agreements in the pulp and paper industry that are the result of concessions won in the industry's heyday," said Equity Research Associates' Kevin Mason. If the Harmac workers invest their own money in the mill they will see operations through a different set of eyes and "get rid of some of the more ridiculous work practices." A bid to buy themill by Indonesia-based Asia Pulp and Paper recently fell through. Also at the end ofMay, APP's bid to buy the Fort St. James sawmill fell through because it was judged not to have signed a purchase agreement before Pope & Talbot went into receivership on May 10. www.poptal.com

IP will repair the recovery boiler at Vicksburg, MI, containerboard mill that was disabled in an explosion May 3 following routine maintenance. One person was killed in the accident. No cause has yet been identified. Repairs will take about six months. www.internationalpaper.com.

Metso sold its spreader roll manufacturing business in Nokia, Finland, to a group of Finnish investors. The new company, Finbow Oy, will supply Metso with spreader rolls as part of the deal for which no price was disclosed. Metso also said it had bought Kemotron A/S, a Danish manufacturer of measuring systems. It will be integrated into Metso Automation's process automation business line and strengthen its position as a major supplier of measurement-based control systems especially in the chemical pulping sector. www.metso.com.

Chilean forestry and paper company CMPC SA is to invest around $340 million in 2008, and will scale back investment in coming years due to energy shortages. The company has averaged over $500 million a year recently because of a period of high investment. Chile is among the world's five largest wood pulp exporters and CMPC is the nation's No. 2 pulp exporter after Copec. CMPC also produces paper. Chile, like other South and Central American countries, has been squeezed by an energy shortage that has forced industry to turn to expensive-to-run diesel generators. CMPC had 1Q08 profit of 55.570 billion pesos ($127 million) versus 45.061 billion pesos in 1Q07.

Katahdin Paper Co. LLC may indefinitely close its Katahdin mill in Millinocket, ME, because of record high oil prices. The announcement at the end ofMay, said it might have to lay off all 208 workers in 60 days. It said also it may have to curtail work at its East Millinocket mill. Fraser Papers, Inc. operates the mills under contract from its owner, Brookfield Asset Management. www.fraserpapers.com.