Displaying items by tag: Cascades

Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS), leader in the recovery and manufacturing of green packaging and tissue products, announces the consolidation of its corrugated product plants in its Norampac division in Ontario. The consolidation translates into an investment totalling in excess of $30 million in the Vaughan, St. Mary's, Etobicoke and Belleville plants, and the closure of the North York and Peterborough units, as well as the OCD plant in Mississauga.

“The purpose of this restructuring is to optimize the productivity in our corrugated product plants in Ontario and enhance customer service. These steps are in line with our regional development strategy, which includes the recent acquisition of three Bird Packaging plants,” explained Marc-André Dépin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Norampac.

As part of the strategic plan set in motion by Cascades, this consolidation aims to improve the group's profitability in an increasingly competitive market. This decision is another step in a series of initiatives taken over the past years that seek to modernize the Company's assets. With this goal in mind, Cascades announced in June 2011, the construction of Greenpac Mill LLC, a lightweight containerboard mill located in Niagara Falls, NY.

Investment in the Corrugated Products Sector

With this investment of over $30 million, Norampac aims to modernize manufacturing equipment in the four Ontario plants and increase production capacity, profitability, as well as productivity.

“We are investing for the future by taking the necessary measures to strengthen our leadership in the market and demonstrate our commitment to our clients,” explained Mr. Dépin. “The Vaughan, St. Mary's, Etobicoke and Belleville plants have the ideal infrastructure in which to incorporate new equipment with cutting edge technology, ranking them among the most competitive in Canada. These investments will enable us to provide clients with a wider variety of packaging products, increase the speed of execution and improve the quality of our products and services,” added Mr. Dépin.

Closure of Three Plants

In a competitive packaging market, which is strongly influenced by the strength of the Canadian dollar and enhanced competition from US manufacturers, Norampac has no choice but to reduce its operating costs through the closure of three corrugated product plants in Ontario.

“The decision to close the OCD, North York and Peterborough plants can be explained by a decrease in demand in the Canadian and North American corrugated products industry dating back to the beginning of the recession, as well as the large number of Norampac converting plants in Ontario. These factors, combined with adverse economic conditions, have forced us to restructure our assets in order to be more competitive” explained Mr. Dépin. The three operating units are scheduled to close at the end of 2012.

The OCD, North York and Peterborough plants are specialized in converting corrugated products. In preparation for the closures, production from these plants will gradually be redirected to other Norampac converting plants in the Province, which will continue to supply the plants' clients with the same quality and services. Many of the 200 employees from the three plants will have the opportunity to transfer to other Norampac plants in Ontario.

“As was the case in Québec in 2010 and in the north-east of the United States in 2011, the consolidation of our Norampac operations in Ontario, to which we are adding significant investments to modernize our facilities, will allow us to optimize our assets in this region and improve Cascades' performance,” added Mr. Dépin.

Source
Marc-André Dépin
President and Chief Executive Officer 
Norampac, a Division of Cascades Canada ULC

Ecolab Inc. has announced that it has entered into a stockholder agreement with Cascade Investment, L.L.C. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust related to their investments in Ecolab. Ecolab has amended its stockholder rights plan so that Cascade and the Foundation Trust would in the future be able to acquire up to 25% of Ecolab's outstanding shares. Cascade currently holds 27,001,348 shares, or 9.3%, and the Foundation Trust currently holds 4,366,425 shares, or 1.5%, of Ecolab's outstanding shares.

Under the agreement, if Cascade and the Foundation Trust own in the aggregate 15% or more of the outstanding Ecolab shares, Cascade and the Foundation Trust have agreed not to seek control of, or encourage others to seek control of, the company or the Board of Directors, and accordingly they will support the Ecolab Board's director nominees as long as a Cascade representative is given the opportunity to serve as a director. Currently, Michael Larson, Chief Investment Officer for William H. Gates III, and the business manager for Cascade, is an Ecolab director.

Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, saying, "Cascade and theFoundation Trust have a demonstrated record of making significant investments in companies for the long-term and being constructive shareholders. We have already enjoyed that experience with them over the past two years since they initiated their positions in our company. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with all of our shareholders as we work to grow our business and develop further superior returns."

The stockholder agreement has been included as an exhibit in Ecolab's current report on Form 8-K, filed May 7, 2012. 

Source: Ecolab Inc.

Award recognizes those who are committed to recycling safely and economically.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) today presented Cascades Fine Papers Group with their annual Design for Recycling® Award.

In order to be considered for the Design for Recycling® Award, candidates must demonstrate progress towards ensuring that the products they build and create can be recycled safely and economically, using existing recycling technologies and methods; eliminating or significantly reducing materials that may impede recycling, including hazardous or toxic materials; increasing the yield of a product's recyclable materials; and the increased use of recycled materials in manufacturing.

Cascades earned the recognition by developing and implementing a 100% Recycled and Recyclable Ream Wrapper for its fine paper that eliminates plastic contaminants, reduces waste, and turns waste that would have ended up in a landfill into a recyclable commodity.

ISRI is the force behind Design for Recycling®, a voluntary program that urges manufacturers to make products that can be recycled from the start. Such design benefits not only the environment, but the economy as well as shareholders and consumers recognize the benefits of designing a product that will have several lives.

"Most companies and design engineers are rightly concerned with things like consumer needs, production costs, energy efficiency, and safety," said ISRI President Robin Wiener. "But rarely do you find companies that put emphasis on what happens to their products when they have reached the end of their useful life. It is evident that Cascades is one such company that is concerned with overall life cycle of their products and producer product responsibility."

Cascades is always thinking of ways to reduce a product's footprint. As stated by Julie Loyer, Communication and Sustainable Development Advisor at Cascades Specialty Products Group, "Having to discard the wrapper because it contaminated the paper recycling process was an issue for us. We created a multi-disciplinary team to find a solution and we created a packaging that is as environmentally friendly as the paper it wraps. We are proud of the result, and also being recognized for such by the Design for Recycling Award."

ISRI created the concept of Design for Recycling® to encourage more companies like Cascades to help protect the environment and create a sustainable means for conserving natural resources. Design for Recycling® seeks to achieve two very basic goals: first, to eliminate or reduce the use of hazardous or toxic materials that may present a grave danger to the environment or put a recycler's workforce in jeopardy, and second, to discourage the use of materials that are not recyclable or manufacturing techniques that make a product non-recyclable using current technologies. 

Past winner have included Wind Simplicity, Coca-Cola Recycling Company, The Herman Miller Company, the U.S. environmental Protection Agency, and Hewlett Packard.

Cascades is launching a food waste bag made of 100% recycled fibres. These paper bags, manufactured in Canada, consist of a double layer to prevent leakage. This bag completes its collection of ecological household products, including yard waste bags which came out last September. Cascades bags are not only compostable*, they are also EcoLogo-certified.

Since its beginnings, Cascades has been committed to the transformation of recycled materials as a means of waste reduction. The food waste bag was created to promote composting and encourage people to adopt this sustainable practice, keeping in mind Quebec's waste materials management policy to recycle 60% of organic matter by the year 2015. For those at Cascades, composting is a practise that, in addition to recycling, allows us to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

If every family in a small city of 10,000 homes used two 100% recycled food waste bags, rather than bags made of virgin fibers, every week for a year, the cutting of more than 660 trees, about the size of two football fields, would be avoided.

Yard Waste Bags
Yard waste bags may be filled with yard trimmings and dead leaves, even if they're wet! These paper bags are the perfect alternative to non-biodegradable plastic bags. They have a 30 lb. capacity for wet leaves and can withstand 150 lb. of dry weight.

Outlets
These bags may be purchased online at Boutique Cascades and in Canac hardware stores in Quebec.

*According to standards ASTM D6400 and ASTM D6868.

Cascades Inc., a leader in the recovery and the manufacturing of green packaging and tissue paper products, continues to consolidate its operations and announces the permanent closure of Cascades Enviropac, located in Toronto.

Production at this unit, specialized in the manufacturing of Technicomb™ honeycomb packaging, intended primarily for the furniture packaging industry, will progressively be redirected towards the Cascades Enviropac Berthierville, Québec and the Grand Rapids, Michigan plants. Approximately 36 employees will be affected by this closure which will be effective on June 1, 2012.

"The decision to cease operations at the Toronto plant is due to a significant reduction in business volume. This decision was taken to secure the group's profitability and to improve its position as leader in the industrial packaging sector. Demand in the honeycomb packaging industry has been affected by challenging economic conditions over the past few years and it is imperative we adjust our operations based on this new economic environment. This initiative will enable us to maximize the operations at our mills of Grand Rapids and Berthierville, while continuing to offer a first-class product and service to our customers", stated Luc Langevin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group.

Cascades has taken the necessary measures to help employees affected by this closure relocate to other manufacturing units and provide them with assistance in their search for work.

Cascades Tissue Group announces the launch of Cascadesâ Eliteä, a Premium quality high-end hardwound roll towel made with 100 percent recycled fiber, and a first-of-its-kind product now available to the Away-from-Home market.

The Cascades Elite hand towels are made with an innovative manufacturing technology, Atmos, used exclusively by Cascades in North America. Originally developed by Voith Paper's Tissue Process Technology Center in Brazil, this “TAD equivalent” (TADe) process produces a soft feeling, strong and absorbent paper requiring fewer sheets to do the job. Voith's Atmos yields a product similar to the fluffy and absorbent towel offerings made with Through-Air-Drying (TAD) technology, which utilizes mostly virgin fiber. Unlike TAD, however, Voith Atmos can work with 100 percent recycled fiber and less chemical products, making for a unique and innovative solution to manufacturing premium toweling paper with a lower environmental footprint.

Cascades' TADe technology also generates 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional TAD products. The company's responsible resource management is further proven through its chlorine-free whitening process, which uses 80 percent less water than the North American paper industry average.

"Since its foundation, and well before it became a buzzword, Cascades believed in sustainable development. That is why we have invested in a new TAD-equivalent technology, which enables us to produce premium products, while being even more mindful of the environment”, stated Suzanne Blanchet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades Tissue Group.

Compatible with Cascades Tandem® Dispensers

The unique TADe™ Cascades Elite hand towels complement the Cascades Tandem® series of hand towel dispensers, designed to deliver maximum value, durability, ease-of-use and respect for the environment. The system's features include a controlled paper release, which greatly reduces consumption, and an end-of-roll transfer system that eliminates stub roll waste, and allows for a customizable advertising window. New to the Tandem dispenser family is the stainless mechanical No Touch, whose high-end aesthetics perfectly suits the new Cascades Elite towels and make for an ideal combination for class-A installations, high-end establishments or any other locations where image is important.

We are pleased to announce that Cascades' range of environmental papers is growing with the improved ReproPlus, now made with 50% post-consumer fiber and newly FSC certified.

Despite the increase in its recycled content from 30% to 50%, ReproPlus50 retains its superior brightness and efficiency. In addition to being FSC and EcoLogo certified, this paper is manufactured using biogas energy.

Laser-guaranteed, ReproPlus50 is the ideal solution for various office printing needs, including use with printers, copiers and fax machines.

With this improvement, all of Cascades' fine commercial papers are now FSC certified. They are separated into two complementary product lines, the Rolland Enviro100 family and the Rolland50 family, both of which guarantee an environmentally-friendly option whether for commercial, digital or even reprographic printing.

Interested in learning more? Download the ReproPlus50 Specification Sheet on our website by clicking here.