Displaying items by tag: Mreal

Standard & Poor's has today upgraded M-real Corporation's CCC+ rating to B-. The outlook of the rating is stable.                                                
                                                                                
Upgrade has a positive impact of approximately EUR 1 million on M-real's current annual financing costs.                                                         
                                                                                
M-REAL CORPORATION                                                              
                                                                                
Further information:                                                            
Matti Mörsky, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4321                                        
Juha Laine, Vice President, IR and Communications, tel. +358 10 465 4335

M-real Corporation, part of Metsäliitto Group, will start statutory negotiations at the Äänekoski paper mill on 9 August 2010. The statutory negotiations notice, released today, covers the Äänekoski paper mill personnel in total of about 250 people. The maximum personnel reduction need is estimated to be 50 people. Effects on the personnel are estimated to be realized during the year 2011 at the latest.

The statutory negotiations are based on efficiency improvement measures at the Äänekoski Paper mill to improve its profitability. M-real announced on 29 March 2010 its plan to invest approximately EUR 6 million in sheeting operations at the Äänekoski paper mill. The investment will increase sheeting capacity, streamline the conversion process and improve package quality and the mill's profitability.

M-REAL CORPORATION

For further information, please contact:
Matti Mörsky, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Juha Laine, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications, tel. +358 10
465 4335

Invitation to conference call and webcast presentation of M-real's financial results for January-June 2010 on 5 August 2010

M-real's financial results for January-June 2010 will be published on Thursday, 5 August 2010 at around 12:00 EET. We are pleased to invite you to join M-real's international conference call and webcast presentation at 3:00 p.m. EET.

Conference call participants are requested to call in and register a few minutes prior to the start of the conference call on the following numbers:

Europe: +44 (0)20 7162 0025

US: +1 334 323 6201

The conference ID is 871207.

The financial results will be presented by Mikko Helander, CEO and Matti Mörsky, CFO.

The conference call and the webcast can be followed live on M-real's website.
The presentation material will be available under IR section at www.m-real.com/investors and at M-real's web centre http://qsb.webcast.fi/mreal/ before the start of the conference call. The webcast will also be archived on the website.

M-real Corporation, part of Metsäliitto Group, will exercise its right to early redemption of its senior floating rate notes maturing on 15 December 2010 (ISIN XS0276828042). The remaining outstanding nominal amount before the redemption is approximately EUR 90.05 million, which will be redeemed in full. The early redemption will take place on 30 July 2010 and the redemption price will be 100 per cent plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the redemption date according to the terms of the notes.

In June 2010, M-real has drawn pension loans worth EUR 135 million with ten years maturity.

These measures extend M-real's debt maturity profile and strengthen liquidity position.

M-REAL CORPORATION
Further information:
Sanna Väisänen, IR and Communications manager, tel. +358 50 355 7990

Metso will supply a web inspection system to M-real Kyro Board Mill located in Kyröskoski, Finland. The board machine 1 produces coated folded boxboard with an annual capacity of 160,000 tons. The new system will be put into use in late August.

The web inspection system detects defects in the board web with machine vision. A two LED light  beams and one camera  beam  located in front of the reeler measur ing the body and surface defects and second camera and LED light beam  in the coating with low angle reflection measuring coating defects.

Thanks to the new web inspection system, M-real Kyro will be able to monitor its quality better than before. A similar system is already being used on the winder.

“An order for a second web inspection system is proof of the system’s technological excellence as well as of the customer’s trust in Metso’s support during its entire life cycle,” says Sales Manager Juha Mykkänen of Metso.

Metso acquired the Viconsys machine vision business in April 2010 to complement its product and service offering. The delivery to M-real Kyro is the first web inspection system supplied by Metso.

M-real, Europe’s leading board supplier and a major paper producer, provides its customers with high-quality board and paper for consumer packaging and to meet the needs of communications and advertising. The company’s global sales network serves brand owners, carton printers, publishers, printing houses, merchants, and office suppliers. The company’s sales in 2009 were EUR 2.4 billion and it has some 4,900 employees.

Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have about 27,000 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com

For further information, please contact: Sales Manager Juha Mykkänen, Metso, Automation business line, tel. +358 40 543 4704, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

M-real Corporation, part of Metsäliitto Group, has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding a partial divestment of the Reflex mill to Metsä Tissue Corporation, also a part of Metsäliitto Group, for approximately EUR 10 million. The planned divestment includes the paper machine 5 and related real estate as well as certain infrastructure assets. Metsä Tissue is planning to convert the paper machine to grades that are not competing with M-real's grades.

Based on preliminary plans, Metsä Tissue would employ about 50 employees, reducing the corresponding amount of redundancies agreed earlier at Reflex site.

If the transaction is consummated as planned M-real books a positive EUR 15 million non-recurring item in Speciality Papers business area's operating result related to the transaction proceeds and the partial reversal of earlier announced personnel cost provisions. Cash impact would be approximately EUR 10 million positive taking into account certain investments needed in the Premium Papers production at the site.

The transaction is expected to be closed during 4Q 2010. M-real will continue to further develop the paper park concept at Reflex site.

M-real announced on 21 May 2010 that Reflex mill will be developed based on a paper park concept and that the target is to find industrial partnerships and thus create new jobs at the mill site. At the same time, it was announced that negotiations to reduce M-real Zanders mills' headcount by 220 were finalized and Speciality Papers business area's 2Q 2010 operating result would include an approximately EUR 16 million non-recurring cost provisions.

For further information, please contact:
Matti Mörsky, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Juha Laine, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications, tel. +358 10 465 4335

New research, conducted for M-real Consumer Packaging, has found that within the same grade (brand), the carbon footprint of a cartonboard reduces at least in proportion to its basis weight.  A 15% reduction in board weight equates to a 18% reduction in carbon footprint, which is important to users concerned about sustainability.  If they can specify a lighter weight board, provided all criteria regarding stiffness and performance are met, their own carbon footprint will diminish accordingly.

For example, M-real has calculated that if you make 100,000 biscuit cartons using a 25 g/m² lighter board, the CO₂ saving per annum equals driving 1,000 km by car.

The research, commissioned from an external research institute, aimed to produce Life Cycle Assessments for three different weights of board.  Carbon footprints were calculated for 10,000 biscuit cartons produced in 250, 270 and 295 g/m² weights, to discover if the footprint would reduce proportionately when a lighter weight board was used.

Calculations assessed energy used in forestry, transport and manufacturing at all stages from harvesting the wood to making the cartons, including, for example, transporting the board to the customer.

Riikka Joukio, Vice President Marketing of M-real Consumer Packaging, says: “By making packaging more effective and less wasteful, sustainability goes hand in hand with cost savings, which can be achieved both by the choice of lightweighted materials and by a design that has the right impact.

“Packaging has a relatively small global warming potential in food products, when compared to other activities taking place in the production of a food product, most notably fertiliser and cultivation.   At the same time, packaging’s importance in reducing food waste, which might otherwise rot down in landfill producing methane – a harmful greenhouse gas – is also well established.  Up to 50% of food is wasted in developing countries, where food packaging is less common, compared to western countries where waste averages 2% and is mostly attributable to over-purchasing.”

For further information please contact M-real Consumer Packaging:

Ritva Mönkäre, Marketing Manager

Mobile  +358 (0)50 598 7012

E-mail: ritva.monkare(at)m-real.com

M-real Corporation, a part of Metsäliitto Group, organises a Capital Markets Day on June 10, 2010 in Parma region, Italy. The event is organised on invitational basis for analysts. The theme of the day is ‘M-real's turn-around and future direction'. The focus will be on the outlook of the high quality virgin fiber based cartonboard.

As a part of the Capital Markets Day, there will be a visit at M-real's customer, an Italian food manufacturer Barilla. Participants will familiarize themselves with Barilla's operations and importance of packaging in the company's business.

Additionally, a guest speaker Mr Berry Wiersum, CEO of Sappi Fine Paper Europe, will give an overview and update of European coated paper markets.

Presentation materials will be available on M-real's website www.m-real.com on
10.6.2010 by 9 a.m. EET.

M-REAL CORPORATION

Further information:
Matti Mörsky, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Juha Laine, VP, IR and Communications, tel. +358 10 465 4335

M-real Consumer Packaging has carried out box compression tests that uniquely study the performance of cartonboard packaging in real life situations such as stacking and palletising.

The tests have confirmed that lighter weight boards can be used without compromising the quality or performance of finished cartons, resulting in both cost savings and sustainability benefits as less raw material is required in their manufacture.

The studies, undertaken by an external research institute, performed box compression tests on dummy cartons.  Results showed that the bending stiffness of a board shows the best correlation with the box compression strength.  Higher bending stiffness improves the board’s resistance to bulging and cracking creating cartons with higher rigidity.

Good rigidity and high stacking strength are particularly needed when cartons are loaded onto pallets on top of each other, and secondary packaging, such as a corrugated case, is not being used.  In such end uses it is vital to choose the right raw material for cartons.

M-real’s grades with high bulk and optimisedlayer structures demonstrate very good stiffness for a given grammage.  In a market where substance equals weight, and heavier weight equals higher cost, it becomes apparent that desirable carton rigidity can be achieved in tandem with cost savings.  A better quality carton can decrease the amount of wasted products and even eliminate the need for slip sheets during stacking, saving the additional cost of using these altogether.

Further box compression tests evaluated how different design elements, specifically carton dimension or board fibre direction; and surrounding climate conditions, can affect carton strength. The results found that changing carton size - height and width of the side panels – had no notable effect on the BCT value, as it is the corners that bear most of the load.

Rotating fibre direction can, however, make a dramatic difference.  Most cartons use horizontal fibre direction, to improve runnability on the packaging lines and give more rigid feel when handled.  But when fibre direction was changed to run parallel to compression, stacking strength was increased as much as 20%.  This benefit has, however, to be weighed against the more usually accepted advantages of horizontal fibre direction mentioned above.

Finally, tests found that increasing the relative humidity of air lowers the strength of a board because it is made from a natural raw material – wood fibres.  Both board and carton strength decreased when relative humidity rose from 50 to 80%.  Box compression strength decreased 15-25%, depending on board grade.  This is important to consider when cartons are exposed to humid conditions during transport or storage.

Matthew Terry, Technical Service Manager M-real Consumer Packaging, says: “Today, cartons are required to meet the standards of the retail chain in both quality and functionality.  They not only need to protect and promote the product, but also to be cost efficient and enable efficient handling in the areas where the highest costs are incurred.  Our studies have highlighted the critical points encountered in the packaging value chain, and established what demands they make on a board’s raw materials as well as on the finished carton.”

For further information please contact M-real Consumer Packaging:

Matthew Terry, Technical Service Manager

Mobile  +44 7740027386

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

M-real’s Carta Solida paperboard has been chosen for a box of exclusive filled chocolates, produced by Sweden’s oldest and largest confectionery company, Cloetta, to commemorate the wedding of HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Mr. Daniel Westling on 19^th June 2010.  Cloetta is one of 16 Swedish companies approved by the Royal Court to develop products for ‘The Official Wedding Series’ and has launched six new chocolate products including chocolate boxes and chocolate bars.

The excellent sensory properties and printability of Carta Solida make it an ideal choice for the chocolate box, which holds unwrapped chocolates and opens to reveal a full colour photograph inside the lid of the Princess and Mr. Westling.  The outside of the box features the Official Wedding Series seal, a picture of the happy couple, and a luxurious gold foiled design based on a pattern from the Drottningholm Palace.

Cloetta, in consultation with the converter, approved Carta Solida for the chocolate box as the board fulfils all their criteria regarding, for example, the elimination of odour and taint.

Part of the revenue is donated to the Crown Princess Couple’s Wedding Foundation, which aims to prevent social isolation and promote good health among children and youth in Sweden.

Founded in 1862, Cloetta is the oldest and only major Swedish confectionery company in the Nordic region.  It has a long tradition as a Purveyor to the Royal Swedish Court since 1922.

Carta Solida is a fully coated bleached paperboard (BCTMP) with a white back, recommended for the most

demanding and direct contact confectionery packaging.  It is available in 185-320 gsm.

For further information please contact M-real Consumer Packaging:

Claus Kjaersgaard, Sales Director

Mobile  +45 40 518781

E-mail: claus.kjaersgaard(at)m-real.com