Mats Berencreutz has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SCA’s global hygiene business, i.e. tissue and personal care products. At the same time, Magnus Groth has been appointed new President of SCA’s tissue operations in Europe.

Mats Berencreutz is currently President of SCA’s tissue operations in Europe and a member of SCA’s Corporate Senior Management Team. Mats Berencreutz has long and broad experience of senior positions in SCA’s hygiene business.

Magnus Groth is currently President of Studsvik AB. He has long and broad experience of senior positions in such companies as Boston Consulting Group and Vattenfall.

“By implementing this change, we will strengthen the Group’s resources and create conditions to further coordinate and develop SCA’s hygiene business, with the goal of improving profitability and increasing the growth,” says SCA’s CEO, Jan Johansson.

Mats Berencreutz and Magnus Groth will be members of SCA’s Corporate Senior Management Team.

Asia’s increasing demand for wood drives sawlog prices up in the US and Canada, reports the North American Wood Fiber Review

Sawlog prices in Western US were up about 20 percent in 2010 as an result of increased competition for logs from log buyers in China, South Korea and Japan, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. Prices for logs in the US South and Canada also moved up last year, but at a slower rate. Sawmills in Western Canada currently have some of the lowest wood costs in the world.

Seattle, USA. Softwood sawlog prices have trended upwards in all major regions of North America over the past two years. The biggest increases have occurred in the US Northwest, where the log export market has had a major impact on the supply-demand balance. Total log shipments to Asia from the US west coast last year were the highest they have been in 14 years, and much of this increase was the result of China’s seemingly never-ending need for wood raw-material. The US Southeast and US South Central are the sub-regions where log prices have increased the least since 2009; in fact, prices in these regions even fell slightly late last year, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.

In the 4Q/10, Douglas-fir log prices in the Northwest were up 19 percent from the same quarter in 2009. Hemlock sawlog prices, which increasingly have been influenced by log exports to China and South Korea, have gone up over 25 percent the past 12 months. With the recent price increases, sawmills in the West now have higher wood rawmaterial costs than sawmills in the South, which is opposite to the situation in 2009. Price levels in the Southern states are currently close to their nadir of 15 years.

Sawlog prices in Canada have followed the same pattern as in the US, with prices in the Western provinces increasing more than in the Eastern provinces. In the 4Q/10, log prices in British Columbia had moved up to their highest levels in over two years in US dollar terms. Despite the increase, softwood lumber producers in the Interior of the province still have some of the lowest wood raw-material costs on the continent.

According to the Wood Resource Quarterly, Western Canada currently has the lowest sawlog prices in the world. In Canadian dollar terms, prices have fluctuated less in 2010 than they have over the past few years, and Western and Eastern Canada were actually two of the few regions in the world that had lower log costs in the 4Q/10 in the local currency than they did in the 4Q/08.

Member States over-confidently assume reaching 2020 targets thanks to bio-energy

Preliminary analysis of the National Renewable Energy Action Plans shows that Member States count on wood to cover a high proportion of their 2020 Renewable Energy Targets. But are the plans realistic? Will they actually be implemented?

In a detailed analysis of the national plans, CEPI found out that the bio-energy chapters of some of them were based on flawed conversion factors and measurement units, hence suggesting that the national renewable energy targets would be achievable by 2020.

According to the plans, given that one third of the total production of energy from renewable sources will be based on forest biomass, 333 million m³ of wood extracted from European forests will be necessary - more than twice the annual wood use of the entire European pulp and paper industry.

“The European Union now has the responsibility of verifying the submitted plans and making sure that they are realistically feasible. Or else the Member States should be requested to amend them”, says Bernard de Galembert, CEPI’s Forest Director.

He adds: “The European Commission will also have to monitor the implementation of the plans and its conformance to the national trajectories towards the 2020 targets, as well as the practical measures the Member States have to put in place.”

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) is of the opinion that increasing demand for solid biomass for energy purposes cannot be met only by European forestry alone but requires the production of solid biomass on agricultural land by planting new perennial non-food crops. In that context, the starting review of the CAP in connection with the new EU budget perspective offers an opportunity to promote and support both the boosting of new potentials and a better mobilisation of feedstocks. The recently adopted Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy by 2050 confirms the role of the future CAP in addressing the increased bio-energy contribution of agriculture and forestry[1].

It is clear as well that several Member States will rely on imports, including from non-EU countries, to achieve their renewable energy targets. Imported feedstocks for energy should match the level of sustainability of domestically sourced ones. Harmonised and binding sustainability criteria for solid biomass based on credible and recognised processes such as Forest Europe[2] are, therefore, needed along with strong implementation guidelines and forceful monitoring if reaching 2020 targets is to be coherent with the Commission’s flagship initiatives for sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Swiss specialty chemical company Clariant has published its 2010 Sustainability Report. Over the course of 60 pages, the company describes how sustainability and innovation go hand in hand along Clariant’s entire value chain. The data, which are collected at all operating levels and in all regions and consolidated at Group level, demonstrate that Clariant has made great progress with key parameters in recent years.

Between 2005 and 2010, CO₂ emissions decreased by more than 40%, energy consumption fell by 35% and water consumption dropped by 30%. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a globally renowned, independent organization for sustainability reporting standards, performed a critical review of the report and confirmed adherence to application level A, its highest reporting level. “Clariant sees this as an obligation to continue to work on the area of sustainability and to make improvements.

We firmly believe that following the successful completion of our restructuring, profitable growth can only come with sustainability,” said Hariolf Kottmann, Chief Executive Officer of Clariant International Ltd.

The 2010 Sustainability Report and further information about the Clariant Group can be found at www.clariant.com.

Gardner Denver, Inc. has announced the appointment of Christopher R. Celtruda as Vice President, Gardner Denver, Inc. and President, Industrial Products Group effective April 26, 2011. Mr. Celtruda will be based in Gardner Denver's global headquarters in Wayne, PA.

Prior to joining Gardner Denver, Mr. Celtruda was employed by CIRCOR International, Inc. as Group Vice President for the global Aerospace Products Group. CIRCOR provides valves and other highly engineered products and subsystems that provide flow management for the aerospace, energy and industrial markets. Mr. Celtruda was instrumental in promoting growth within the CIRCOR Aerospace franchise via acquisition and investment in both new product development and operational excellence.

Prior to joining CIRCOR, Mr. Celtruda spent more than 12 years with Honeywell and the former Allied Signal in a variety of operational and business leadership roles within the aerospace group. These roles included Director of the Engine Systems Integrated Supply Chain, General Manager for the Engine Fuel Control business and additional business leadership roles in Factory Repositioning, New Product Development and Product Management.

Mr. Celtruda began his career with the General Dynamics Corporation and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine and an M.B.A. from the W.P. Carey School of Business at the Arizona State University.

"I am very pleased that Chris has decided to join Gardner Denver," said Barry L. Pennypacker, Gardner Denver's President and Chief Executive Officer. "He brings a breadth of operational leadership experience that has been accumulated during his career at Honeywell and CIRCOR and inherits a strong leadership team that has made significant improvements to the Industrial Products Group over the past three years. The outstanding experience and new perspective that Chris brings, when combined with the existing leadership at IPG, will continue to drive operational excellence through the Gardner Denver Way: accelerating organic growth; expanding our aftermarket revenues; increasing operating margins; and leading the industry in innovative products."

"I am excited about the opportunity to join Gardner Denver and to build upon the strong legacy of innovation and operational excellence," said Mr. Celtruda. "I am looking forward to immersing myself in the Industrial Products Group value stream and connecting with the global team to build customer relationships and drive plans for future growth."

SOURCE: Gardner Denver, Inc.

International Paper has announced Glenn Landau has been named vice president of Investor Relations, effective May 1. Landau will report to Tim Nicholls, chief financial officer and senior vice president, and will be based in the company's Memphis, Tenn., headquarters.

"Glenn brings extensive knowledge of the company's portfolio, performance and strategy," Nicholls said. "His experience within the company and industry, coupled with his customer-focused approach, position Glenn to be an excellent liaison with our shareowners, further enabling them to cultivate an accurate and thorough understanding of our progress toward strengthening our global platform businesses and creating value for shareowners."

Landau, 42, began his career with International Paper in 1991 and held positions of increasing responsibility within the company's U.S. Container and European Container businesses before being named director, strategic planning and fiber supply in 2004, with responsibility for coordinating the strategic direction of the Forest Resources business and providing leadership for the real estate and minerals groups. He was appointed to his current position as vice president and general manager - Containerboard in 2007, where he was instrumental in the company's acquisition, integration and optimization of the former Weyerhaeuser packaging and recycling businesses as well as in the business' successful navigation of the 2009-2010 economic recession. Landau earned his bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering in 1991 from Rutgers University.

Landau replaces Tom Cleves, who has been named vice president and general manager, Containerboard & Recycling.

NewPage Corporation has announced that Curtis H. Short, currently controller and chief accounting officer, has been elected as senior vice president and chief financial officer on an interim basis effective May 11, 2011, replacing David J. Prystash, who resigned from NewPage to pursue other opportunities. Mr. Short will serve in the interim role until a permanent replacement is named.

Mr. Short joined the company in April 2009 and is responsible for managing the corporate accounting and reporting process and ensuring that all financial statements and filings are accurate, complete and timely. In addition, he ensures that corporate-wide accounting policies and appropriate controls are in place in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and works with operations and other finance functions to improve accounting and reporting capabilities.

"Curt has a wealth of experience in driving results, enhancing the timeliness and accuracy of financial reporting and improving our finance function," stated George F. Martin, president and chief executive officer for NewPage. "I am confident in his ability to oversee the financial activities for the company as we search for a replacement CFO; and this change in leadership is not expected to have an impact on our business, customers, suppliers or other stakeholders."

The Yuen Foong Yu PM#1 at Hsin Wu mill in Taiwan was successfully started up on February 14th 2011, after PMT Italia had been selected by YFY as a key partner for the supply of machinery and engineering.

The investment focused on machine efficiency and paper quality improvement to the highest targets, implying the rebuild of the key sections of the paper machine.

PMT Italia’s supply included a new PMT M4 Headbox with dilution system for the back ply and the rebuild of the two existing Headboxes, redesign and reconstruction of the Wire Section into a 3 plies Fourdrinier configuration with upgraded Dewatering System. A new Film Size Press was installed along with new After Dryer Section, new Calender and Reel upgrade. The machine runnability was improved in the critical areas of them dryer section also by means of a new Tail Threading through Film Size Press to Reel. A new MCS for the entire Paper Machine control completed the scope of supply of PMT Italia.

The project was successfully driven to the final targets through the tight and efficient cooperation between YUEN FOONG YU and PMT Italia teams.

This result enabled PMT Italia to strengthen its relationship with YUEN FOONG YU and to consolidate its presence in Asia.

Control Instruments Corporation has volunteered to become an ALLY organization in the Department of Energy’s Save Energy Now program. The goal of the program is to help industry boost competitiveness while reducing its energy and carbon footprint. As an ALLY organization we will help to: reduce industrial energy intensity and greenhouse gas emissions, achieve national energy security goals and increase U.S. sustainability and competitiveness.

Save Energy Now is a national initiative led by the Department Of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program to drive a 25% reduction in industrial energy intensity in 10 years. ITP delivers resources to help all companies boost their energy efficiency – whatever their current level of energy performance. To expand industry access to resources and accelerate energy savings, the Industrial Technologies Program works cooperatively with ALLY Organizations - U.S. trade associations, suppliers, utilities, state organizations, universities, non-profit organizations, consultants, and other groups. Ultimately these organizations will help manufacturers become more efficient and productive.

Energy savings in industry can be achieved cost-effectively today using proven technology with economically attractive rates of return. As a result, industrial energy efficiency can contribute to energy cost savings and improved productivity while reducing the nation’s carbon footprint and preserving jobs.

Since 1969 Control Instruments Corporation has dedicated their expertise to the industrial community, providing safe and efficient environments for companies worldwide. Our mission is to engineer and manufacture high quality solutions to both simple and complex gas detection problems, leaving your facility, employees, and environment safe and secure.