Updated estimates show that the investment costs for BillerudKorsnäs' new board machine in Gruvön may increase by approximately 20 percent compared to previously announced investment cost of a total of SEK 5.7 billion.

Pöyry is ramping up its investment in digitalisation with the establishment of its #PoyryDigital transformation team. The international management consulting and engineering company earlier this year announced #PoyryDigital, the umbrella name for its digital solutions, which has already resulted in 17 new digital services, ranging from 'Smart Water' to 'Pöyry Innovation Link': www.poyry.com/digital.

Leading the team, Stephen Woodhouse, Director, Management Consulting Business Group and global energy markets expert and has been appointed as Chief Digital Officer. Stephen, together with the #PoyryDigital team, will help deliver added value to our clients by stimulating, incubating and connecting the many exciting digital developments taking place across Pöyry.

"Digitalisation is a hugely disruptive force and is transforming our clients' businesses across the energy, industry and infrastructure sectors," says Martin à Porta, President and CEO, Pöyry PLC. I want Pöyry to offer its clients the most digitally advanced solutions on the market and this is why we are putting digital at the heart of what we do. Stephen and the #PoyryDigital team will help accelerate the many innovative digital developments being pioneered by our team of 5500 talented intrapreneurs."

"Pöyry is transforming its business culture to become one of the most digitally-advanced consulting and engineering companies in the world," says Stephen Woodhouse. In my experience clients are increasingly looking for digital expertise integrated with deep insight and engineering know-how. Our experts are helping clients to transform their operations by taking advantage of IOT, Industry 4.0, big data and AI to increase efficiency, safety and performance. We are engaging our own intrapreneurs, our partners and clients in a digital dialogue to help solve our clients' needs."

Additional information:

Martin à Porta
President & CEO, Pöyry PLC
+41 44 355 5525

Stephen Woodhouse
Chief Digital Officer, Pöyry
+44 7970 572444

Did You Know? Pöyry announced 17 new #PoyryDigital services in 2017: www.poyry.com/digital.

About Pöyry

Pöyry is an international consulting and engineering company.  We deliver smart solutions across power generation, transmission & distribution, forest industry, chemicals & biorefining, mining & metals, transportation and water. Pöyry's net sales in 2016 were EUR 530 million. The company's shares are quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki (POY1V). Approximately 5500 experts. 40 countries. 130 offices.

www.poyry.com

Valmet will supply board machine key technology and machine control systems for three new containerboard machines in China. Two of the machines will be producing liner and one will be producing fluting. The start-ups of the machines are scheduled for 2019.

The orders are included in Valmet's fourth quarter of 2017 orders received. The value of the order will not be disclosed. Typically, a project of this type and scope is valued at EUR 30-40 million.

"In containerboard manufacturing, headbox and press section are one of the most important key technologies to secure high production quality. Our expertise and our smooth project execution capabilities convinced the customer to choose Valmet to supply these key technologies for its three new containerboard machines," comments Timo Saresvuo, Senior Sales Manager from Valmet.

Technical information about the delivery

Valmet's delivery for the new containerboard machines will include altogether six new headboxes and three press sections. For the liner board machines, OptiFlo Fourdrinier headboxes were selected for improved product quality and increased productivity and two OptiPress Linear double-nip press sections with linear web run for excellent end product properties, high dewatering capacity and good runnability. The delivery for the machine producing fluting includes an OptiFlo Fourdrinier headbox and a center roll based OptiPress Center press section with shoe press technology. All the delivered machinery will be equipped with Valmet DNA machine control system.

For further information, please contact:

Mika Ollikainen, Sales Director, Asia-Pacific and China, Valmet, tel. +358 45 271 1711

Fan Ze, Vice President, Capital Sales in China, Valmet, tel. +86 10 6566 6600 3108

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2016 were approximately EUR 2.9 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 Helsinki.

But potential cup tax threatens life-line for local economies 

• 75% of Britons spend in other local shops when they pop out for a coffee
• On average, they visit two shops and spend £15
• More than a third said a tax on take away cups would negatively affect how often they visit the high street

As the tills ring out for Christmas, new research indicates that coffee sales are cushioning local retailers from a tough festive season but this life-line is threatened by a potential latte levy.

With October’s retail sales falling at the quickest rate since 2009 – the height of the financial crisis – (according to the CBI Distributive Trades Survey) and online sales volumes expanding, high street retailers are feeling the pinch.  Data from Retail Futures shows, in the six years between 2012 and 2018 some 22 per cent of shops will have closed.

Against this backdrop of doom and gloom, new evidence, commissioned by the UK’s market-leading paper cup manufacturers, suggests that our habit of popping out for a coffee on-the-go is fuelling wider consumer spending on the high-street.

Three quarters (75%) of Britons said they were likely to pop into other shops on their high street when they went to get a coffee or hot drink. On average, they visit two other shops spending around £15 but 7% visited many more (an average of five).

However, indications are that introducing a tax on coffee cups will significantly deter shoppers. Over two in five Britons polled said a tax on cups would affect how often they stop for a coffee and over a third said that this would negatively affect how often they visited their local high street.

Men were more likely than women (36% / 32%) to say the proposed tax would negatively affect how often they visit their local high street. 

Neil Whittall of Huhtamaki and a member of the Paper Cup Alliance, said:

“Paper cups are the most sustainable and safe solution for drinks on-the-go. Consumers want to do the right thing and we’re taking steps to support that through new infrastructure and country-wide initiatives. Taxing the morning coffee run will not address the lack of infrastructure but it will hurt consumers and impact already struggling high streets.

“We are committed to increasing recycling rates. Over 3,000 new recycling points were created this year and a new country-wide initiative is launching in January increasing options for consumers to recycle.”

Commenting on the findings Chris Stemman, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association said: 

“These figures are no surprise. Independent cafes and coffee chains are playing an important part in regenerating local high streets and shopping centres, providing focal points for communities. In tough and uncertain times a cup of coffee is an affordable treat. A cup tax is a real threat to local economies and doesn’t solve this as a long term sustainability issue that needs to be dealt with through innovation, recyclable packaging, and recycling processes.”

People in the North East are hitting the shops hardest with 88% of those polled visiting other shops when out for a coffee whilst people in the West Midlands spend the most (over £20 per visit).

On average consumers are visiting their local high street twice a week with over half (55%) saying they normally grab a coffee while they are there.  Younger people (25-35) spent the most, averaging almost £20.

About the research

The research was commissioned by the Paper Cup Alliance conducted by Censuswide, with 2,003 Britons aged 16+ in GB between 27.11.2017 - 01.12.2017.  The survey included UK adults, nationally representative based on gender, age, and region.  Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles. 

About the Paper Cup Alliance 

The Paper Cup Alliance (PCA) is made up of the eight market-leading paper cup manufacturers in the UK today, employing over 1,700 people across the country. The group was formed in 2017 to coordinate industry efforts to address the issue of paper cup recycling. PCA members are working hard to increase recycling in the UK through a variety of initiatives and through supporting the right behaviours. It aims to better communicate the industry’s efforts on paper cup recycling to reassure stakeholders that the industry takes its environmental responsibilities seriously.

PCA members are part of Pack2Go, the European Association for convenience food packaging, but are specifically focused on the issue of paper cups in the UK.

Metso's President and CEO Nico Delvaux has decided to resign and assume the position of President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY AB. He will leave his duties in Metso on June 18, 2018, at the latest.

"The Board of Directors is obviously disappointed that Nico has decided to leave Metso. However, the business plans and organizational changes that have been decided during the fall have the Board's full support and everybody in Metso will focus on executing these plans going forward. The Board will initiate a search for a new President and CEO," says Mikael Lilius, Chairman of Metso's Board of Directors.

"I was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I could not turn down," says Nico Delvaux. "I have enjoyed my time at Metso and I'm grateful for the Board and all the Metso people for the opportunity to work with them over the past months. Based on my experience, I'm confident that Metso has significant potential to drive profitable growth in line with its strategy."

Metso is a world leading industrial company serving the mining, aggregates, recycling, oil, gas, pulp, paper and process industries. We help our customers improve their operational efficiency, reduce risks and increase profitability by using our unique knowledge, experienced people and innovative solutions to build new, sustainable ways of growing together.

Our products range from mining and aggregates processing equipment and systems to industrial valves and controls. Our customers are supported by a broad scope of services and a global network of over 80 service centers and about 6,000 services professionals. Metso has an uncompromising attitude towards safety.

Metso is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki in Finland, and had sales of about EUR 2.6 billion in 2016. Metso employs over 11,000 people in more than 50 countries. Expect results.

Further information, please contact:

Mikael Lilius, Chairman of the Board of Directors, tel. +358 20 484 3001

Billions of consumer packages are consumed globally every day, and the amount is growing. The Better with Less – Design Challenge is challenging packaging designers to create ever more environmentally-friendly, functional packaging solutions for everyday goods. The international competition jury includes renowned packaging design experts.

Better with Less – Design Challenge started on the 6th November, 2017. The international packaging design competition, organized by Metsä Board, aims to find new packaging solutions for some of the world’s most frequently used and fastest growing types of consumer packages. 

Billions of consumer packages are consumed globally every day, and as the population continues to grow, so will the number of packages. The high amount of plastic used in packaging is an international concern, in part because globally the plastic waste inputs into the oceans amount annually to almost nine million tonnes.

Packages will continue to have an important role in protecting and promoting products in the future, but as consumption grows, it’s becoming ever more important to develop packaging solutions that enable the use of renewable, non-fossil based materials and a wiser use of resources. Metsä Board recognises that packaging designers play a decisive role in this and that environmental impacts can be reduced, for example, by making packaging lighter, using renewable materials and making recycling easier.

“Packaging design can have a big impact on the environment. We need  to come up with new solutions and consider future generations – and think of ways we can create better consumer experiences that create less impact on the environment. With this competition, we aim to help advance innovative and sustainable packaging design in the world“, states the competition jury chairman and member of the competition jury Cyril Drouet, Design & Innovation Director, Metsä Board.   

The competition will be judged by an international jury, including a number of renowned packaging design experts: Terri Goldstein, branding and packaging design professional. Peter Désilets, strategist and specialist in packaging sustainability aspects. Marianne Rosner Klimchuk, packaging design expert and Chair at Communication Design Pathways Department of Fashion Institute of Technology. Lars G. Wallentin, packaging designer who’s worked with worldwide known brands and John B. Mahaffie, futurist with primary expertise in future packaging solutions.  

Registration is opened from 6 November, 2017 to the 31 March 2018, at: ww.betterwithless.org. New packaging solutions can be designed for consumer packages, for example, takeaway meals, e-commerce, wellness, cosmetics and dry food packages.

The main prize for the Better with Less – Design Challenge is EUR 10,000. The competition is also open to students, and Metsä Board will offer as an additional prize the opportunity of an internship for one student with its packaging services team in Shanghai. The finalists and the winners will be announced during Spring 2018.

The competition can be followed on social media with the hashtag #betterwithless

Metsä Board
www.metsaboard.com

Metsä Board is a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards including folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. Our lightweight paperboards are developed to provide better, safer and more sustainable solutions for consumer goods as well as retail-ready and food service applications. We work together with our customers on a global scale to innovate solutions for better consumer experiences with less environmental impact. The pure fresh fibres Metsä Board uses are a renewable resource, traceable to origin in sustainably managed northern forests.

The global sales network of Metsä Board supports customers worldwide, including brand owners, retailers, converters and merchants. In 2016, the company’s sales totalled EUR 1.7 billion, and it has approximately 2,500 employees. Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.  

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a forerunner in bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and cooking papers.

Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 4.7 billion in 2016, and it employs approximately 9,300 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and owned by approximately 104,000 Finnish forest owners.

Stefan Kirschke was named the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Körber AG, effective December 14, 2017.

Stefan Kirschke succeeds Harald Vogelsang as Group CFO. Vogelsang left the Group on December 14, 2017, by mutual agreement. The Supervisory Board of Körber AG formally adopted this change at its meeting on December 14, 2017.

The Supervisory Board of Körber AG thus fulfilled Vogelsang’s request for a premature release from his current contract, due to personal reasons.

Stefan KirschkeRichard Bauer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Körber AG: “We are pleased that with Stefan Kirschke we were able to appoint an experienced internal finance expert to quickly fill this extremely important role within the Group. Mr. Kirschke was substantially involved in the realignment and the strong growth of the Business Area Körber Tissue in recent years. Thanks to his extensive expertise and his detailed knowledge and many years of reliable collaboration with all Business Areas, in his new role he will successfully continue the growth course of the Group together with the other members of the Group Executive Board. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Mr. Vogelsang for the work he has done.”

Over the last few years, Stefan Kirschke has held various leadership positions within the Körber Group. Most recently he served as CFO in the Business Area Körber Tissue. Prior to joining Körber, Kirschke worked at the auditing firm Ernst & Young and held various management positions in the field of strategic brand consulting. Stefan Kirschke has a degree in Business Management from the University of Münster.

Successor to Stefan Kirschke in the role of CEO of the Business Area Körber Tissue will be Oswaldo Cruz. Cruz joined Fabio Perini Brazil in 1994 as a Sales Manager, and was appointed as Managing Director there in 2007.

Dineo Silverio, currently Head of Sales and Customer Service with Fabio Perini Brazil, was already appointed as the successor to Oswaldo Cruz as Managing Director of the company with effect on January 1, 2018.

Together with Oswaldo Cruz, Markus Fröhlich (CFO) and Dr. Luca Frasnetti (CTO and COO as dual responsibility) will form the new management team for the Business Area Körber Tissue.

Oswaldo CruzMarkus Fröhlich currently serves as Director of Administration & Controlling at Fabio Perini. After earning his Master of Engineering Management degree, he began his career at Kugler-Womako, a company in the group’s former paper division. In 2011, Fröhlich became an investment controller at the former Körber Process Solutions. During this time, he also took part in the Körber Finance Program. As part of this program, he worked on projects at Fabio Perini Brazil before moving to Fabio Perini in Lucca in 2015.

Dr. Luca Frasnetti currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Fabio Perini in Lucca. He holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering and has been with the Körber Group since 2014. Earlier in his career, he served as a Global Electronic Technology Leader at Whirlpool Italy and most recently as Head of Technology and R&D at the Italian subsidiary of the Candy Hoover Group.

“I’m really pleased that our long-term succession and development planning has enabled us to appoint internal experts to fill these critical positions in the Business Area Körber Tissue. With their know-how and deep understanding of this special market, we are in the best possible position for additional growth in this business division. I wish the new management team every conceivable success!” said Stefan Kirschke.

About Körber Tissue

The Business Area Körber Tissue, which includes the brands Fabio Perini, Casmatic and MTC, is synonymous with innovation, state-of-the-art technologies, end-to-end solutions for processing and packaging machinery for toilet paper, folded tissue and paper towels. Cutting-edge offerings and a systematic customer orientation make the Business Area the technology and market leader in the sector.

About Körber

Körber AG is the holding company for an international technology group with approx. 11,500 employees around the world. The Group comprises leading-edge technology companies and more than 130 production, service, and sales entities.

At locations around the globe, Körber combines the benefits of a globally-present organization with the strengths of highly-specialized, flexible, medium-sized enterprises that offer their customers solutions, products, and services in the Business Areas of Automation, Logistics Systems, Machine Tools,

Pharma Systems, Tissue, Tobacco, Corporate Ventures and in the near future Digital Solutions.

The winder will significantly increase production capacities, helping to improve delivery times for its customers.  

Manipulados Emreser S.L., one of Pasaban’s committed customers, has once again trusted Pasaban for the supply of a BM-2600 board and paper winder. This converter, located in Murcia (Spain), offers solutions aimed at satisfying the carton requirements for the manufacture of all types of casing, display stands and packaged products, amongst others.  

For over 20 years, Pasaban has provided them with the necessary machinery, such as several folio sheeters, in order to offer a high added value product.  

Due to having recently expanded their facilities, they have entrusted us with the design and manufacturing of a winder which will reliably cut their high-quality cartons: folding FBB, craft, recycled, cardboard, coated and liner.  

The winder has a width of 2600 mm and it is designed for cartons from 250 to 500 g/m2. It is prepared to handle both input and output reels of large diameters (2100 mm/1800 mm) at speeds of up to 1500 m/min. And It incorporates an automatic blade positioning system together with the last control improvements developed with the IK4-Tekniker technology centre.  

With this project, we have contributed to Emreser reaching their objective of increasing the factory’s production and, consequentially, improving their delivery times.

Sappi Limited, the South African based leading global supplier of dissolving wood pulp (DWP), speciality and packaging papers, printing (graphic) papers and biomaterials has confirmed plans and ongoing projects to significantly increase DWP capacity by 2020.  In particular, Sappi has started preparatory work for the potential expansion of its Saiccor DWP Mill to ensure that the company would be in a position to increase the mill’s capacity by up to 250,000tpa to meet strong projected demand growth.

Building on the previously announced debottlenecking investments which will increase the Saiccor Mill capacity by 10,000tpa by the end of 2018, work has also started at increasing the chipping capacity and modernising the Saiccor Mill wood yard. The new equipment for the wood yard is scheduled to be delivered and installed at the end of 2018, with start-up planned for January 2019. The wood yard investments will result in cost, quality, environmental and efficiency benefits to the Saiccor Mill and is also a major step towards preparing the Saiccor Mill to expand by a further 250,000tpa.

Sappi is also busy with the preparatory work to enable it to initiate the pre-requisite EIA (environmental impact assessment) process to study potential impacts, gather community input and model new technology benefits of the proposed 250,000tpa expansion, which would increase the Saiccor Mill’s total capacity to over 1 million tpa.

The project has the potential to bring additional investments and jobs into the KwaZulu Natal region of South Africa, increase foreign revenues for the country and further entrench South Africa as a global leader in forest products.

Sappi is also, as previously announced, in the process of expanding its dissolving wood pulp capacity at its Ngodwana Mill by 50,000tpa through debottlenecking projects. This work is scheduled for completion by August 2018.

At our Cloquet Mill, we are completing a study regarding the expansion of pulping capacity within our existing permit limits, maintaining our ability to make either DWP or Kraft pulp. It is envisaged that such an expansion would have the capacity to increase DWP production by around 30,000tpa and could be brought on line by mid-2019. 

Collectively these current and planned investments demonstrate Sappi’s commitment to respond to strong customer demand for additional dissolving wood pulp volumes. 

Further updates on Sappi’s expansion plans will follow during 2018.

About Sappi Limited

A global leader in dissolving wood pulp and paper-based solutions, Sappi Limited (listed and in the Top 40 on the JSE - SAP), is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa; has over 12,000 employees; manufacturing facilities on three continents, in seven countries (eight operations in Europe, three operations in America and five operations in South Africa) and customers in over 150 countries worldwide

Sappi works closely with customers to provide relevant and sustainable dissolving wood pulp, paper (speciality, packaging and graphic), paper pulp, and biomaterial products and related services and innovations. Our market-leading range of paper products includes: flexible packaging, label, release liner, containerboard and fluting, coated fine papers, casting release papers and in our Southern African region newsprint, uncoated graphic and business papers. These products serve the fashion, FMCG and industrial sectors. Our dissolving wood pulp products are used worldwide by converters to produce viscose fibre, pharmaceutical products as well as a wide range of household and consumer products.

We continue to grow into a profitable and cash-generative diversified business with an exciting future in woodfibre, a renewable resource.

New contract runs until the end of 2022

At its meeting on December 13, the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG decided to reappoint Stefan Doboczky as Chief Executive Officer of the Management Board. Stefan Doboczky’s new contract will begin on June 1, 2018 and runs until the end of 2022.

“In recent years, Stefan Doboczky and his colleagues on the Management Board have been able to make excellent use of the favourable market conditions on the basis of the previous restructuring in order to transform an Austrian company with foreign investments into a truly global player with strong Austrian roots. This has created the basis for consistently pursuing the growth strategy we have embarked on with the entire team, even under difficult conditions, and thus securing the long-term future of the Lenzing Group. We are very pleased that Stefan Doboczky will continue to dedicate himself to these tasks over the next five years”, said Hanno Bästlein, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG on the occasion of Doboczky’s reappointment.

In addition to Stefan Doboczky, the Management Board of Lenzing AG consists of Chief Commercial Officer Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Obendrauf and Chief Technology Officer Heiko Arnold.

The Lenzing Group

The Lenzing Group is a world market leader headquartered in Austria, which operates production sites in all major markets as well as a worldwide network of sales and marketing offices. Lenzing supplies the global textile and nonwovens industry with high-quality, botanic cellulose fibers. Its portfolio ranges from dissolving wood pulp to standard and specialty cellulose fibers.

Lenzing’s quality and innovative strength set global standards for cellulose fibers. With 79 years of experience in fiber production, the Lenzing Group is the only company in the world which is able to produce significant volumes of all three cellulose fiber generations – from the classic Lenzing Viscose® branded fibers to the Lenzing Modal® branded fibers and the TENCEL® branded lyocell fibers. In 2016

Lenzing introduced the RefibraTM branded lyocell fibers, a product innovation based on recycled cotton scraps.

The Lenzing Group’s success is based on consistent customer orientation combined with innovation, technology and quality leadership. Lenzing is committed to the principles of sustainable management with very high environmental standards and can underscore this commitment with numerous international sustainability certifications for its business processes as the most sustainable compa ny in the sector. In addition to fibers, which form the core business, the Lenzing Group is also active to a lesser ext ent in the fields of engineering and plant construction.