Displaying items by tag: International Paper

International Paper has just announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with Holmen Paper to purchase Holmen’s newsprint mill in Madrid, Spain, and intends to convert the facility to produce recycled containerboard. Under the terms of the agreement, International Paper would purchase the Madrid newsprint Mill, as well as associated recycling operations and a 50-percent ownership interest in a cogeneration facility. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2016, subject to certain regulatory approvals.

International Paper plans to convert the newsprint facility during the second half 2017 to produce recycled containerboard with an expected capacity of 380,000 metric tonnes, safeguarding employment prospects at the facility. The Company’s aggregate investment in the project, including the purchase price and conversion costs is anticipated to be €150 million. Once completed, the converted mill will support the Company’s corrugated packaging business in EMEA. Holmen and International Paper intend to work closely on a smooth transition.

“We are constantly looking at ways to provide superior value for our customers. The Madrid facility represents a strategic opportunity to grow our corrugated packaging business in EMEA by further enhancing our value proposition and offering our customers even more choices in terms of innovative, tailored and high performing packaging solutions”, said Jean-Michel Ribieras, President of International Paper Europe, Middle East & Africa.

He continued: “This acquisition is a significant investment into the future of our corrugated packaging business in EMEA, our customers, our employees, and our communities, and we are excited to be making this strategic step.”

About International Paper

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 55,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2015 were $22 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and global citizenship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

In Europe, Middle East, Africa & Russia (EMEA), International Paper focuses on the production and marketing of office papers and paper-based packaging. The company is a leading supplier of highquality cutsize papers, coated and uncoated paperboard and corrugated containers for a wide range of applications. International Paper in EMEA had net sales of approximately $2.6 billion in 2015 and employs approximately 9,000 people.

International Paper (NYSE: IP) have just announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its corrugated packaging business in China and Southeast Asia to Xiamen Bridge Hexing Equity Investment Partnership Enterprise. International Paper's corrugated packaging business in Asia has 18 plants and a workforce of approximately 3,000 employees.

Under terms of the transaction, International Paper will receive a total of approximately RMB 1 billion (approximately US$150 million at current exchange rate), subject to post-closing adjustments and other payments, including the buyer's assumption of the liability for loans of approximately US$50 million to be paid to International Paper within six months of closing of the sale.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the next few months, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions, including obtaining required governmental approvals.

SOURCE International Paper

Hammermill paper, a brand of International Paper, announced today that it will once again partner with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital^® for the St. Jude Thanks and Giving^® campaign, an unprecedented union of celebrities, media and more than 70 of the nation's leading brands and companies that ask consumers to donate while they shop during the holiday season to help St. Jude advance research and treatment of childhood cancer.

This is the fifth year the Hammermill brand has participated in the campaign, which began as a holiday-focused fundraising effort and has grown into an annual tradition that has raised more than $587 million in 11 years thanks to tremendous public support. These funds are critical given that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

Beginning Thanksgiving week and running through the end of the year, customers will see original patient artwork gracing the front of select Hammermill reams. In addition, customers can read the St. Jude patient's story on the back of the ream.

"I am so grateful for International Paper's dedication to helping the children and families of St. Jude," said Marlo Thomas, national outreach director, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "During the holiday shopping season, their Hammermill brand's participation in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign makes it easy for its customers to help our doctors and scientists continue the research and treatment that leads to cures and gives these children the chance to enjoy many more holidays for years to come."

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened more than 50 years ago, and they won't stop until no child dies from cancer. The hospital freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, so every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

Created by Marlo, Terre and Tony Thomas – children of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas – the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign asks people to "Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not" in order to help St. Jude continue its mission of finding cures and saving children.

For more information on the Hammermill brand, visit www.Hammermill.com.To learn more about the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign or to make a donation, visit www.stjude.org or call 1-800-4STJUDE.

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital:
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.

About International Paper 
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

NG Advantage LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE), has announced that it has signed an eighteen month contract extension with International Paper. Under this extension, NG Advantage will continue delivering clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG) to International Paper’s Ticonderoga, NY paper mill using its virtual or mobile pipeline of tractor-trailers that deliver 24/7. This is the largest mobile pipeline project in the U.S. and showcases the scalability of NG Advantage’s service to deliver natural gas as an alternative fuel choice for even the largest industrial energy users.

“It’s a pleasure to work with the very innovative people at International Paper and help them meet their environmental and financial goals in a rapidly changing world”

“It’s a pleasure to work with the very innovative people at International Paper and help them meet their environmental and financial goals in a rapidly changing world,” said NG Advantage CEO Tom Evslin. “The service to the IP mill demonstrates that our trucked CNG platform has successfully been scaled to meet demand which would have formerly required a special pipeline extension.”

International Paper had long been planning a switch to natural gas to displace much of the #6 fuel oil used at the Ticonderoga mill in order to substantially reduce its environmental footprint and enjoy the price stability of the domestic fuel. The mill had originally planned to pay much of the cost of a traditional pipeline extension from Vermont to Ticonderoga, NY, and sought bids for trucked CNG only for interim service until the pipeline arrived. NG Advantage, which was the first company to provide virtual pipeline service in the U.S., received the contact for that interim service in 2014.

A mill as large as Ticonderoga requires a customized end-to-end energy supply chain. NG Advantage designed new hardware, developed new procedures, and built extensions to its cloud-based SCADA (control software). The result was deliveries beginning on schedule in May of 2015 with NG Advantage providing the mill with approximately eighteen trailer loads of clean, inexpensive natural gas daily.

International Paper canceled plans for the pipeline because of escalating delays and costs and issued an RFP for long-term virtual pipeline service to keep natural gas in their fuel mix. After evaluating bids, International Paper chose to extend its existing contract with NG Advantage.

International Paper is the seventh paper mill and the twenty-sixth location to contract with NG Advantage. Natural gas delivered 24/7 by truck gives plants an experience much like being on a traditional pipeline without the long term capital commitment of a pipeline extension. Burning natural gas instead of oil products reduces CO₂ emissions by 26%; substituting natural gas for coal reduces CO₂ by about 50%. Natural gas use also eliminates almost all Sulphur and particulate emissions and enables a substantial reduction in nitrous oxides.

About NG Advantage LLC:

NG Advantage is a U.S.-based mid/downstream provider and the leader in the new “virtual pipeline” industry of trucking compressed natural gas (CNG) in the U.S. NG Advantage’s virtual pipeline service brings the economic and environmental benefits of North American natural gas to large institutions and industrial customers without access to a pipeline. The Company’s current customers include large regional hospitals, paper mills, asphalt facilities, food processors, industrial dry cleaners, LDCs, and manufacturing facilities. Facilitated by the purchase of a controlling interest in the company by Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE), NG Advantage is expanding its service area nationwide. For more information on NG Advantage, see www.ngadvantage.com.

About Clean Energy:

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) is the leading provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America. We build and operate compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling stations; manufacture CNG and LNG equipment and technologies for ourselves and other companies; develop renewable natural gas (RNG) production facilities; and deliver more CNG, LNG and Redeem RNG fuel than any other company in the U.S. For more information, visit www.cleanenergyfuels.com. See more at: https://www.cleanenergyfuels.com/.

About International Paper:

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), and International Paper, India signed a Memorandum of Understanding today to further their mutual interest in the field of forest sustainability. This wide-ranging partnership will entail action research, capacity building and academic exchange involving experts and researchers from both International Paper and Indian Institute of Forest Management.

Left to Right - Mr  Girdhar Kinhal - Director IIFM Mr  Rampraveen Swaminathan - Chairman  MD International Papers AAPM Ltd  and Mr  Ashok Lavasa

The MoU was signed by Dr. Giridhar Kinhal (IFS), Director - IIFM and Mr. Rampraveen Swaminathan, President – International Paper India in the presence of Mr. Ashok Lavasa – IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. In addition, senior dignitaries from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, other relevant functions of  Government of India,  and the state government, senior members from the environment and forestry related organizations like WWF, TERI, Forest plus and IUCN etc in India, were present at the signing ceremony of the MoU at Indira Paryavaran Bhavan, New Delhi.

The highlight of this MoU is the setting up of the “IIFM – IP Paul Brown Center of Excellence” (CoE) at IIFM, Bhopal. This CoE will be established to facilitate and anchor several activities under this partnership – both organizations will collectively carry forward applied research in the field of forestry, fiber sustainability and in forestry management with sharing of best practices, case studies and knowledge sharing. The collaboration between both the organizations also covers training and capacity building for students, researchers and professionals of IIFM.

The functioning of this CoE will be undertaken jointly by IIFM and International Paper which will share its global best practices & learning and will invest towards implementation of the objectives of the MoU.

This collaboration will also provide a common and synergic platform for both IP and IIFM to develop training modules and knowledge for the future sectoral workforce.

“International Paper has decades of knowledge on creating world class products through sustainable practices – methods that help not only conserve the natural resources but actually contribute significantly to  maintain and grow the ecosystem. This partnership, as with several others that we have forged globally in the past, will allow us to share our learning’s with the industry and academia to make sustainability a part of life. We are immensely pleased to be partnering with a leading academic institution like IIFM to create this platform as it gives an opportunity to share our experience and expertise with the Paper and Pulp Industry and contribute to the country’s sustainability efforts in the future,” added Mr. Rampraveen Swaminathan, President, International Paper - India and Chairman & Managing Director – IP-APPM.

Broadly the MoU will focus on the following, facilitated and anchored by the Center of Excellence:

• Collaborative Research Initiatives: Includes work on common areas such as forestry, fiber sustainability, supply chain management, safety in forestry & paper industry, dependence of vulnerable communities on natural ecosystems for livelihood and subsistence, economic valuation of services provided by natural ecosystems, gender issues amongst other issues
• Partnership and capacity building of sectoral workforce: Both organizations will share intellectual inputs in developing training modules and  products on the subjects of mutual interests for local and national level including current and future sectoral workforce
• Hosting visiting delegations: Together the organizations will facilitate exchange and hosting of distinguished academicians, civil servants and thinkers who will deliver public lectures and conduct seminars and related activities to the issues related to forestry and other related topics. These will be held to promote greater interaction and forge stronger links between academia and other related specialists and professionals
• Exchange of relevant publications: Sharing of research publications undertaken by respective organizations.

After signing the MoU with International Paper, Dr. Giridhar Kinhal (IFS), Director - IIFM said, “We are honored to be chosen as International Paper’s academic partners in their quest for achieving environmental sustainability. We are certain that these initiatives undertaken under the Centre of Excellence (CoE) will enhance the intellectual interaction between both IP and IIFM. We look forward to learn from International Paper’s global experience and knowledge in India in the Forestry Initiatives that will help augment our processes, and promote excellence in our studies.”

About International Paper

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

About IIFM

Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) Bhopal is a sectoral management institute which constantly strives to create knowledge useful for the managers in the areas of Development, Environment, Natural Resource Management and allied sectors. It also disseminates such knowledge to its students and clients in ways that promote its application by individuals and organizations.

IDG's Computerworld announced today that International Paper has ranked 35th on its 2015 Best Places to Work in IT list. International Paper was recognized as one of 100 top organizations that challenge their IT staffs while providing great benefits and compensation. "It's rewarding to see our team recognized for helping International Paper become one of the most respected and successful companies in the world in the eyes of our employees, customers and our shareowners," said Bob Wenker, Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "Every one of our teammates insists on excellence and being the best at what they do; they play to win and this recognition honors their efforts."

"The 100 organizations on Computerworld's 2015 Best Places to Work in IT list realize that attracting and retaining a highly-skilled technology workforce leads to competitive advantage," says Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. "In a tight market for tech talent, these outstanding employers attract the best and brightest IT pros with generous salaries and top-drawer benefits, then deepen their teams' engagement with challenging, business-critical projects built around cutting-edge technologies. As a result, these winning organizations are best positioned to take advantage of the digital transformation sweeping through every industry."

International Paper's IT organization employs more than 1,400 IT professionals delivering solutions for business advantage and support services to International Paper's 58,000 team members using information resources across 1,100 locations, speaking 13 languages and doing business in 44 currencies. 

Organizations will be included in coverage in Computerworld along with results from the 22nd annual Best Places to Work in IT survey.

About the Best Places to Work in IT list
The Best Places to Work in Information Technology (IT) list is an annual ranking of the top 100 work environments for technology professionals by IDG's Computerworld. The list is compiled based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, career development, training and retention. In addition, Computerworld conducts extensive surveys of IT workers, and their responses factor heavily in determining the rankings.

About Computerworld
Computerworld is the leading IT media brand helping Sr. IT, business decision-makers and key influencers navigate change with effective business strategy. As the voice of business technology, Computerworld enables the IT value chain with unique editorial coverage from setting strategies to deriving value. Computerworld's award-winning website (www.computerworld.com), focused conference series, strategic marketing solutions and research forms the hub of the world's largest (40+ edition) global IT media network and provides opportunities for IT vendors to engage this audience. Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 7.5 million monthly page views (Omniture, November 2014 - January 2015 average) and was recognized in BtoB's 2013 Media Power 50 list; recognition Computerworld has received for more than 5 consecutive years. Computerworld is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, events and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com. 

About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit www.internationalpaper.com 

International Paper has released its 2014 Sustainability Report sharing progress against its voluntary sustainability goals, a new sustainability strategy and highlighting collaborations that advance sustainability throughout the life cycle of its products. The 2014 report features stories from around the world that collectively capture some of International Paper's key sustainability efforts and impacts.

As a global manufacturer operating in more than 24 countries, natural resources are crucial to International Paper's supply chain. This is why the company is continuously working to improve all aspects of their value chain, especially sourcing of wood fiber, water use, and energy efficiency.

"International Paper uses renewable natural resources to make products that people depend on every day," said Mark Sutton, chairman and CEO, International Paper. "Our commitment to active stewardship of these resources is in our nature, and has been for more than 117 years. We have made significant progress on our sustainability goals and believe that a sharp focus will help us accelerate our results to benefit our customers, our company and the communities where we operate."

Here is a high-level summary of 2014 accomplishments included in the report:

• Safety: Eliminating fatalities and injuries in the workplace is International Paper's highest priority. The company's Life-Changing Injury and Fatality Elimination (LIFE) safety program has reduced life-impacting injuries by 68 percent since its inception.
• Water Use: Recognizing the growing importance of global water usage, International Paper has mapped all mills based on water-related risk to initiate water conservation opportunities.
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions: Since 2010, International Paper has reduced GHGs by 8.3 percent and improved energy efficiency by 6.1 percent by improving processes, equipment, and procedures.
• Forest Stewardship: International Paper is a global leader in responsible forest stewardship and committed to continuous improvement. The company has surpassed the original goal of 15 percent third-party-certified fiber volume, with a 27.8 percent increase in certified fiber volume since 2010.
• Ethics and Compliance:  In 2014, International Paper expanded the number of suppliers trained in their Supplier Code of Conduct and obtained commitments of compliance from the vast majority of suppliers globally.

To view the complete report online or to order a hard copy, please visit www.ipsustainability.com

About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

International Paper (NYSE: IP) today announced it has finalized the previously announced sale of the Carolina® coated bristols brand to MeadWestvaco. As part of the sale agreement and to ensure a smooth transition for customers, International Paper will manufacture Carolina branded products for MWV until the end of year. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

International Paper's coated paperboard and printing papers businesses are strategic to the company's global portfolio. The company will continue to manufacture coated paperboard products to support customer demand in the food service and packaging markets. The company's commercial print portfolio, which includes the Hammermill®, Accent® Opaque, Williamsburg Offset and the Springhill® brands, will continue to be a valued part of International Paper's merchant product portfolio.

About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit internationalpaper.com.

NG Advantage LLC – a Clean Energy company (NASDAQ: CLNE) - announced that it has signed a contract to work with International Paper (NYSE: IP) to deliver compressed natural gas (CNG) to International Paper’s Ticonderoga, N.Y. mill.

NG Advantage will deliver CNG to the mill using its Virtual Pipeline which consists of compressor stations located on natural gas pipelines, a fleet of specially designed carbon fiber CNG trailers, and off-loading and monitoring equipment which NG Advantage is installing at the mill. Deliveries will begin in May of 2015.

International Paper initially awarded this contract to NG Advantage in order to begin using natural gas prior to the completion of a planned natural gas pipeline. However, as previously announced, International Paper decided to cancel the pipeline project for cost reasons.

Despite the cancellation of the project to deliver natural gas to the mill by constructing a pipeline under Lake Champlain, contributing to a cleaner environment and reducing fuel costs remain very important to International Paper. The company has issued a new RFP for a long term trucked-CNG contract, starting when the current contract with NG Advantage ends. NG Advantage is a bidder for the long term contract as well.

The mill is currently International Paper’s largest US plant without access to natural gas. In order to meet this huge demand safely and reliably, NG Advantage has invented the “Private Virtual Pipeline”, a high volume variant of the Virtual Pipeline service, which the company introduced to the US market in March of 2013. Tractors and drivers will be based in Ticonderoga, NY – where the mill is - and gas can be provided from any of several compressor stations used by NG Advantage.

Clean-burning North American natural gas is expected to displace at least 32,000 gallons of fuel oil a day during this contract. The gas will be used to run the mill’s kiln and power boiler.

NG Advantage’s CEO Tom Evslin said “Because International Paper is staunchly committed to their environmental goals, they have done years of design work to extend a pipeline under Lake Champlain to replace fuel oil with natural gas. They will now be able to convert to burning natural gas even though the pipeline extension proved uneconomical. We are proud to use our equipment, technology, and experience to deliver the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas using our “Private Virtual Pipeline” to the Ticonderoga mill and to contribute to the economy of that region.”

NG Advantage was the first company to deliver compressed natural gas to industrial customers in the United States and is the US industry leader in volumes delivered. It is a US based mid/downstream company which currently trucks CNG to 22 large industrial and institutional customer sites in New England and New York State. With its majority investor, Clean Energy Fuels, NG Advantage is expanding its coverage area nationwide in 2015.

About NG Advantage LLC: NG Advantage is a US based mid/downstream provider and the leader in the new “Virtual Pipeline” industry of trucking compressed natural gas (CNG) in the U.S. – bringing the economic and environmental benefits of North American natural gas to large institutions and industrial customers without access to a pipeline or on a pipeline without sufficient capacity. The Company’s current customers include large regional hospitals, paper mills, asphalt facilities, food processors, industrial dry cleaners, LDCs, and manufacturing facilities. As a result of the purchase of a controlling interest in the company by Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE), NG Advantage is expanding its service area nationwide beginning in 2015.

NGadvantage.com

About International Paper: International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit www.internationalpaper.com

Company to Convert N.C. Mill, Streamline Coated Paperboard Business

International Paper (NYSE: IP) has announced plans to invest $135 million to expand fluff pulp production at its Riegelwood N.C. Mill. The investment will convert the mill to 100 percent fluff and softwood pulp production, adding an incremental 400,000 tons of capacity, with ongoing flexibility to shift between the two products. When the conversion is complete, the company will have the capability to produce up to 1.4 million tons annually of high-quality fluff. The new fluff pulp capacity is expected to ramp up mid-year 2016.

"The investment at Riegelwood proactively repositions assets to serve our customers in the growing global fluff pulp market and best positions International Paper to increase shareholder value," said Mark Sutton, chairman and CEO, International Paper.

Fluff pulp, which is projected to grow globally at an annual rate of 3 to 4 percent, is used in a variety of applications including baby diapers, feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products. "This new capacity will support the growth of IP customers across the globe," said Mike Amick, senior vice president, North American Papers & Pulp and Consumer Packaging. "Riegelwood is ideally located with access to fiber and proximity to shipping ports critical for supplying a global customer base." With the current expertise at Riegelwood, combined with world-class pulp operations in Franklin, Va., Georgetown, S.C. and Pensacola, Fl., International Paper is set to build on its proven track record of success in the fluff pulp market.

As a result of the Riegelwood Mill conversion to 100 percent fluff and softwood pulp, the company will reduce its coated paperboard capacity by 350,000 tons, sell the Carolina® brand to MeadWestvaco (MWV), and focus the business on supplying customer demand in the food service and packaging markets. The sale of the Carolina business, which represents the majority of the coated paperboard volume reduction, is expected to close April 30, 2015. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Carolina is a premier coated bristols brand used in a variety of applications including greeting cards, book covers and marketing collateral. The sale captures the brand's value, supports International Paper's plans to expand fluff pulp production at Riegelwood and streamlines and strengthens its coated paperboard business.

"International Paper's printing papers and coated paperboard businesses remain strategic to the company and these moves capture value while allowing for strategic repositioning and growth," Amick said. International Paper is well positioned to support current and future coated paperboard customer demand from its two world-class mills in Texarkana, Texas, and Augusta, Ga.

About International Paper

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its businesses include industrial and consumer packaging along with uncoated papers and pulp. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., the company employs approximately 58,000 people and is strategically located in more than 24 countries serving customers worldwide. International Paper net sales for 2014 were $24 billion. For more information about International Paper, its products and stewardship efforts, visit www.internationalpaper.com