Ian Melin-Jones
Södra buys German sawmill from Klausner and moves it to Värö
Södra confirmed today its decision to invest in a new sawmill in Värö. This project will be expedited through the acquisition of machinery and equipment from the German sawmill company Klausner Group's plant in Adelebsen, Germany. The expansion means that production will almost triple from today's 275 000 m3 to 750 000 m3 per year.
Klausner's plant in Adelebsen has only been in operation for a year and is one of Europe's most modern sawmills. The entire facility will be moved to Värö.
Södra has good faith in its timber supply in Värö and at the same time sees a need and an opportunity to seriously compete with the larger and more productive production units in Central Europe, when compared to those currently existing in Sweden.
- With the investment in Värö, we get a cost effective and flexible mill. This strengthens our competitiveness which is very important both in the timber market and in the raw materials market, said Södra's CEO, Leif Brodén.
- Important reasons for Södra investing in Värö are its proximity to the pulp mill and to a seaport, and the combined advantage in the form of energy, logistics and chips. Besides that, we have common recourses in many areas, said Peter Nilsson, CEO at Södra Timber.
Klausner Group has its roots in Austria and was founded in the early 1900s. Today it is owned by Fritz Klausner. A recent reorganization headed up by Klausner has the business back on track after the global economic recession the business faced in 2008 and 2009. Current operating rates indicate annual production of more than 2 million m3 from the remaining Klausner plants in Germany.
Klausner will be responsible for the relocation and start-up of the plant in Värö.
- We are very pleased with the deal and the cooperation with Klausner will give us unique knowledge about production and logistics for the large mill we are going to build in Värö, said Nilsson.
Klausner and Södra Timber are also announcing their future marketing cooperation in various major markets.
- We are looking forward to the cooperation. Klausner and Södra Timber complement each other and a joint approach to sales and logistics in our main markets will provide value to all stakeholders, including our customers, commented Leopold Stephan, CEO at Klausner Group.
Construction will start in Värö during summer 2010 with production forecast to begin at the new mill during the spring of 2011. Production at the existing sawmill in Värö will not be interrupted during the construction period. By using an existing plant, both construction time and start-up time will be limited.
Södra Timber produces about 1.7 million m3 per year and is one of the leading manufacturers of construction wood in Europe. The company operates 10 sawmills in the south of Sweden and its products are sold primarily to Scandinavia, the Netherlands, U.K. and the U.S.
For further information, please contact:
Peter Nilsson, President Södra Timber,
+46 70 315 09 27
Leif Brodén, CEO Södra Group,
+46 70 558 94 26
Fritz Klausner, Klausner Group,
+43 535 260 21 10
Per Braconier, Director of Communications,
Södra, +46 70 534 51 66
Major Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco prints on FSC certified paper
Itáu Unibanco is the first financial institution in Brazil to achieve FSC Chain of Custody (FSC CoC) certification for its own print unit. With 51 tons of paper used annually, Itaú’s decision to print invoices, statements, and other institutional documents on FSC certified paper is a milestone for FSC in Brazil.
Itaú has also started an education program to promote the benefits of FSC certification among partners and employees. Itaú’s commitment to FSC confirms the increasing awareness of FSC among Brazilian businesses and consumers. São Paulo’s daily newspaper Metro, with a circulation of over 150,000, is also printing on FSC paper.
Friends of the Earth – Brazilian Amazonia conducted a poll in 2009 to assess the knowledge of the population on environmental issues. Results showed that recognition of FSC among the Brazilian public has increased to 22% in 2009 from 1% in 2006. They also showed that 81% of the population would prefer certified forest products, and are willing to pay a little more than for non-certified products.
Leading Retail Companies Join Forces to Curb Illegal Logging
Four of Europe's largest retailers - Carrefour, Kingfisher, IKEA and Marks & Spencer - have announced that they are setting up the Timber Retail Coalition (TRC).
The TRC supports the European Commission’s efforts to create EU-wide regulation as a crucial step towards the widespread adoption of responsible timber sourcing practices.
Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman, Marks & Spencer, said: "Under Plan A, our eco and ethical plan, M&S is committed to sourcing key raw materials such as wood, from the most sustainable resources available to us. Whilst we and our fellow TRC members are committed to responsible procurement, a lack of regulation means illegally harvested timber products can still enter the European market. Working together, the TRC aims to send out a clear message that this is not acceptable."
PEFC certification, as a voluntary, market-based mechanism, provides assurance concerning the sustainability of timber, with compliance to all relevant national and international laws being a fundamental pre-requisite for certification. With two-thirds of the world’s certified forest area is certified to PEFC, it offers the widest supply of certified fibre and timber.
PEFC's Sustainability Benchmarks go far beyond the concept of legality. PEFC sets the highest standards for forest certification and sustainable forest management aligned with the majority of the world's governments and offers a number of unique features that make it especially attractive to responsible companies. PEFC demands the highest percentage of certified material in labelled products, and it is the only global forest certification system that requires compliance with the fundamental ILO conventions not only in signatory countries, but in all countries globally.
PEFC is looking forward to working closely with all companies committed to increase the quantity of certified materials on their stores' shelves.
The simple action of procuring PEFC-certified products communicates to the customer in a clear, concise and transparent manner that products have been sourced from sustainably managed forests and that illegally harvested wood is not tolerated.
Paper Excellence Acquires Mackenzie Pulp Mill
The Mackenzie pulp mill in British Columbia has been acquired by Paper Excellence B.V., for an undisclosed sum. The transaction secures the future of the mill which is expected to resume production of high quality NBSK pulp in the fall. The Mackenzie mill employs over 240 workers and will generate significant additional economic activity and jobs within the region.
Paper Excellence B.V. is a Netherland-based company associated with one of the world's largest pulp and paper producers of Asia Pulp and Paper brands.
This Mackenzie mill is the Paper Excellence Group's second acquisition in Canada. It currently owns and operates a pulp mill in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.
"We are very pleased to have a company like Paper Excellence establish itself in British Columbia," says Pat Bell, Minister of Forests and Range. "It already has experience in Canada with its mill in Meadow Lake and the company has maintained a high level of safe profitable production and regulatory compliance."
It took a concerted effort by a number of organizations and groups to get the mill to the point where it could resume production. Team Mackenzie of the Mackenzie Pulp Mill Development Corporation preserved the capacity of the mill to resume production. The Provincial Government worked with the District of Mackenzie to consolidate and reduce the debt of the mill.
"I want to credit the hard working public servants in the Rural BC Secretariat for the instrumental role they played in crafting a deal that will ensure hundreds of people in Mackenzie can head back to work," said B.C. Community and Rural Development Minister Bill Bennett. "It is personally gratifying to be able to help the District of Mackenzie at a time when the people of Mackenzie really need it."
The McLeod Lake Indian Band worked with the Ministry of Forests and Range to help secure the fibre needed to start the mill.
"We are very pleased that we have been able to work with the government and the community and be part of the effort to bring the mill back into production," says Chief Derek Orr of the McLeod Lake Indian Band. "By working together we can provide benefits for the entire region."
Also important was the negotiation of a new collective agreement with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP). The agreement preserves wages, benefits and pensions, while enabling the mill to reopen with significant cost reductions.
"This is very good news for our members and for the community of Mackenzie," says CEP Western Region Vice President Jim Britton. "We are extremely happy to see our members return to well paying jobs within the forest industry and that it looks like they have a future in this industry."
Buckeye Technologies Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Results Schedule
Buckeye Technologies Inc. has scheduled a conference call for Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Central (11:00 Eastern) to discuss third quarter 2010 results.
All interested parties are invited to listen to the call live or tape delayed via the website www.streetevents.com or via the Company's website homepage at www.bkitech.com. Supplemental material for this call will be available on these websites. The replay will be archived on these websites through May 28, 2010.
In addition, persons interested in listening by telephone may dial in at (800) 967-7138within the United States. International callers should dial(719) 325-2306. Participants should call no later than 9:50 a.m. CT.
To listen to the telephone replay of the call, dial (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820. The passcode is 7646143. This replay will be available until midnight May 12, 2010.
A press release will be issued via Business Wire after the market closes on April 27. If you do not receive a copy of this release, please contact Shirley Spears at (901) 320-8125.
SOURCE: Buckeye Technologies Inc.
Buckeye Technologies Inc.
Steve Dean, 901-320-8352
Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
or
Investor Relations:
Daryn Abercrombie, 901-320-8908
www.bkitech.com
Verso Paper Corp. Receives Green Business Innovator of the Year Award
Verso Paper Corp. announced on friday it was honored as the 2009 Southeast Regional Green Business Innovator of the Year in a ceremony at the Green Business Summit hosted by Lipscomb University in Nashville.
Verso was recognized for its continued efforts to work with customers and suppliers as partners, often sharing environmental performance data, to enable the evaluation of sustainability throughout the supply chain and promote forest certification and recycling programs.
"Verso has made tremendous strides in addressing sustainability throughout the supply chain," said William Paddock, Co-Founder of WAP Sustainability, a business sustainability consultant based in Nashville, and Chairman of the Tennessee Sustainability Roundtable's Green Business Leadership Award Committee. "Verso went above and beyond, strategically evaluating their environmental impacts through effective collaboration with core customers such as National Geographic. As Chairman of the awards committee, we felt this approach to sustainability exhibited the highest level of institutional practices and led to innovative learning that has helped the company address its most important environmental and social goals."
About the Green Business Awards
"The Green Business Awards were established to recognize businesses, individuals and organizations that have demonstrated unusually exceptional leadership in green business practices and to encourage others to exceed their example," said Lipscomb University President, L. Randolph Lowry. "Each honoree succeeded in establishing institutional practices, a policy framework, new products or services, or a vision resulting in precedent setting business practices in Tennessee in 2009." Other notable honorees include Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority.
About Verso
Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Verso Paper Corp. is a leading North American producer of coated papers, including coated groundwood and coated freesheet, and supercalendered and specialty products. Verso's paper products are used primarily in media and marketing applications, including magazines, catalogs and commercial printing applications such as high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct-mail advertising. Additional information about Verso is available on the company's Web site at www.versopaper.com.
SOURCE: Verso Paper Corp.
Verso Paper Corp.
Monica Garvey, 901-369-4154
Sustainability Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.versopaper.com
Net sales in 2010 estimated to be better than earlier expected
Ahlstrom Corporation, a leading manufacturer of nonwovens and specialty papers, anticipated in its financial statements bulletin on February 3, 2010, that the Group net sales will increase compared to 2009, but remain lower than in 2008. EBIT excluding non-recurring items was estimated to increase from 2009.
The recovery of demand that started toward the end of 2009, continued in January-March 2010. Since sales prices in most business areas are being increased to cover the rising raw material costs and sales volumes seem to develop slightly more favorably than anticipated, the net sales estimate has been revised.
Demand and net sales in 2010 are expected to increase to approximately the same levels they were in 2008. The company will continue to increase sales prices to cover for the risen raw material costs. It will also be ready to increase sales prices further to cover for possible future raw material price increases.
The EBIT estimate given in the financial statements bulleting remains unchanged. EBIT excluding non-recurring items is expected to increase from 2009.
The company's first quarter financial results will be published on Thursday, April 29, 2010.
Ahlstrom Corporation
Jan Lång, President & CEO
Further information
Jan Lång, President & CEO, tel. +358 10 888 4700
Seppo Parvi, CFO, tel. +358 10 888 4768
Södra hit by a strike
Södra is hit by a strike that broke out this morning at 6.00 a.m. Because of the strike we had to stop the pulp mill Södra Cell Värö. The strike hits a number of different mills in Swedish forest industry sector and Södra Cell Värö is one of those.
We are going to have a dialogue with every singular customer on how to deal with this situation. For now it's impossible to know the direct effects caused by the strike.
For further information, please contact:
Ulf Edman, President of Södra Cell International, +46 70 677 8769
Per Braconier, Director of Corporate Communications, Södra, +46 70 534 5166
Verso Bolsters Advocate(R) Product Line Up
Verso Paper Corp. is pleased to announce the addition of 24# Advocate(R) Gloss Offset as well as an all new Advocate(R) Dull Offset line.
24# Advocate(R) Gloss Offset is the lightest No. 5 product produced in North America. Extending the Advocate(R) Offset basis weight range down to 24# provides additional opportunities for end users to save on paper yield and postage while supporting their Sustainability objectives.
Advocate(R) Dull Offset offers No. 5 end users an option for differentiating the look and feel of their printed piece. Currently available in 36# and 38# basis weights, Advocate(R) Dull Offset delivers an excellent printed image with an attractive, low glare finish.
"Advocate(R) has long been recognized as a market leader in its category and remains a key component of our coated product portfolio," says Mike Weinhold, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "These latest additions to our Advocate(R) product portfolio reinforce Verso's commitment to developing innovative product solutions that help our catalog, magazine and retail customers achieve their business objectives."
For more information on Advocate(R) or other Verso products, please contact Verso at 1-800-258-8852.
About Verso
Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Verso Paper Corp. is a leading North American producer of coated papers, including coated groundwood and coated freesheet, and supercalendered and specialty products. Verso's paper products are used primarily in media and marketing applications, including magazines, catalogs and commercial printing applications such as high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct-mail advertising. Additional information about Verso is available on the company's Web site at www.versopaper.com.
SOURCE: Verso Paper Corp.
Verso Paper Corp.
Rick Schneider
Vice President
Marketing and Product Development
901-369-4138
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.versopaper.com
Stakeholder Dialogue to Elaborate on Global Forest Management Standard
Over the past two years, forest stakeholders have collaborated to revise part of PEFC's Sustainability Benchmarks, with the enquiry draft becoming available for public consultation shortly.
As the new standards will impact the management of the majority of the world's certified forests, PEFC has organized a number of seminars and workshops during the revision process to gather stakeholder input, culminating in a Stakeholder Dialogue on 26 May 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland, to provide opportunities to gather additional feedback, input and suggestions from all interested parties.
Venue
Maison des Associations
Rue des Savoises 15
1205 Geneva - Switzerland
Date
Wednesday, 26 May
2010
9:00 – 17:000 hrs, followed by a cocktail.
Click here to register
Background
PEFC as the world's largest forest certification system and the system of choice for small and family forest owners has a special responsibility in the promotion of the sustainable management of forests globally and locally.
The opportunities that forest certification provides in improving and verifying sustainable forest management are enormous, though the barriers to a further expansion are increasing. With many of the forests in countries with well-designed and –enforced forest laws, long traditions of forest management, and good governance certified to one of the two global forest certification systems, there is a real need to revisit forest certification requirements in detail and ensure their applicability in countries with less favorable structures, especially in the tropics, in Asia, South America and Africa.
At the same time, forest certification must demonstrate continuous improvement in countries where it enjoys broad support to increase its effectiveness in contributing societal challenges such as climate change.
Ultimately, mainstreaming forest certification is required to safeguard forests as the world's most valuable terrestrial ecosystem, with global and local stakeholders joining forces to further develop certification systems such as PEFC to fully utilize the potential it offers.
Objective
PEFC, an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management, works throughout the entire forest supply chain to promote good practice in the forest and to ensure that timber and non-timber forest products are produced with respect for the highest ecological, social and ethical standards.
As a learning organization, PEFC understands that sustainable forest management is an evolving process, and the parameters defining it change over time based on the latest scientific knowledge and society's understanding of the concept.
Over the past two years, the organization has been revising its forest management standard, its requirements for developing national certification standards, and requirements for group certification, a tool that is of specific importance for family- and community forests owners. PEFC's benchmark applies globally, though it promotes local adaptation.
The specific objective of the Stakeholder Dialogue therefore is to discuss the relevance and appropriateness of the suggested revised internationally applicable criteria at global, regional and national levels.
Have your say: Discuss and provide feedback on the revised criteria from a global – and local – perspective. Share your knowledge and engage with stakeholders from the region on issues relevant to sustainable forest management.
Who Should Participate?
All stakeholders working to improve the forest management at global, regional and national levels. Participants will include representatives from:
* Non-governmental and community-based organizations
* Forest managers and owners
* Forest-based industries
* Governmental and intergovernmental entities
* Certification initiatives
* Members of the Standards Revision working group and EFC Members
Content
The Stakeholder Dialogue will feature plenary sessions with presenters providing in-depth information about
* PEFC revision process
* Draft requirements for standard setting
* Draft requirements for group certification
* Draft requirements for sustainable forest management
and roundtables on topics centered around the following issues:
* Standard setting
* Group forest certification
* Sustainable forest management boreal, temperate forests and plantations
* Sustainable forest management – natural tropical forests