This statement is made by the Board of Directors of Rottneros AB (publ) ("Rottneros" or the "Company") pursuant to the rules concerning public takeover offers on the stock market adopted by NASDAQ OMX Stockholm (the "Takeover Rules").

Arctic Paper S.A. ("Arctic Paper") has today, on 7 November 2012, announced a public offer to the shareholders in Rottneros to transfer all of their shares in Rottneros to Arctic Paper (the "Offer").

Arctic Paper offers 0.1872 newly issued Arctic Paper shares for each Rottneros share. The Offer values each Rottneros share to SEK 2.30 per share1 based on Arctic Paper's closing price on 6 November 2012, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the Offer.

In addition, Arctic Paper offers shareholders who as per 2 November 2012 held 2,000 shares or less in Rottneros a cash consideration of SEK 2.30 per share in Rottneros (the "Cash Offer"). For detailed terms and conditions regarding the Cash Offer, reference is made to Arctic Paper’s press release.

Arctic Paper is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange but will in relation to the Offer apply for a secondary listing on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm.

The Offer represents a premium of:

•  14.4 per cent compared to the last quoted price prior to the trading halt on 6 November 2012, of SEK 2.01 for the Rottneros share, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the Offer;
•  26.2 per cent compared to the volume weighted average price of SEK 1.82 for the Rottneros share during the last 30 calendar days up to and including 6 November 2012; and
•  27.3 per cent compared to the volume weighted average price of SEK 1.81 for the Rottneros share during the last 90 calendar days up to and including 6 November 2012.

The Offer values Rottneros at approximately SEK 351 million, based on 152,571,925 outstanding shares in Rottneros.

According to the preliminary timetable included in the press release in which the Offer was made public, the acceptance period is expected to run from around 22 November 2012 to around 12 December 2012.

Based on all shareholders in Rottneros accepting the Offer and no shareholders choosing to accept the Cash Offer, Rottneros shareholders will own 34 per cent of the shares in Arctic Paper after completion of the Offer.

Arctic Paper has for a longer period of time held discussions with the Board of Directors of Rottneros (the "Board") regarding a combination of the two companies. As part of this process, the Board has engaged Lenner & Partners as financial advisors and Setterwalls as legal advisors.

The Board has, upon request by Arctic Paper, allowed Arctic Paper to conduct a limited confirmatory due diligence in connection with the preparations of the announcement of the Offer. Arctic Paper has not received any non-public price-sensitive information regarding Rottneros.

Rottneros has conducted a limited confirmatory due diligence regarding Arctic Paper and Arctic Paper has informed Rottneros that no non-public price-sensitive information has been disclosed regarding Arctic Paper.

The Board’s Considerations

During 2008 and 2009 Rottneros went through an operational restructuring where the number of pulp mills was reduced from five to two. During 2009, a financial restructuring was performed in which the Company’s debt was reduced to zero. The ambition was to mitigate the Company’s high operational risk with a low financial risk and establish the preconditions for making necessary investments in the Vallvik Mill, and also to re-introduce dividends. The production capacity in the Vallvik Mill has since been expanded and dividends to shareholders have been re-introduced. The financial position is still sound, though Rottneros remains a rather small company with a market
capitalization of approximately SEK 300 million and net turnover of approximately SEK 1.5 billion. The Board has assessed several possible merger and acquisition opportunities during the last couple of years.

Considering the factors each shareholder has to take into account prior to their decision to accept, or not to accept, the Offer, the Board of Directors of Rottneros wish to make the following concluding comments:

•  A merger will result in both shareholder groups gaining the benefits of a significant reduction in the volatility of earnings and cash flows with ensuing lower operating risk. Over time, this should entail a lower cost of financing and a higher valuation of the shares.
•  The yearly synergies are estimated to be approximately SEK 80 million before tax and the costs to achieve these are rather limited. The estimated synergies are significant in relation to both companies’ current earnings. All things equal, this will substantially strengthen the new group’s future capacity for investments and dividends.
•  The Offer to Rottneros shareholders implies a not insignificant premium compared to the current share price, but most of all the Offer implies that Rottneros shareholders will own 34 per cent of the new group and through that will have a share in the value of the synergies described above.
•  For Rottneros shareholders the Offer represents an upstream integration in the value chain through them becoming owners of Arctic Paper’s current operations in fine graphic paper. In the view of the Board, this represents both a risk and an opportunity. It is a risk because the market for fine graphic paper is under a lot of pressure with limited or even declining growth. But it also means an opportunity to take part in developing one of Europe’s leading players in its field with a focus on bulky book paper and other paper products in the premium segment and with a presence in the growing Eastern European market.

For further information about the Offer, reference is made to Arctic Paper’s press release which was made public earlier today, and can be found at www.arcticpaper.com 

The Board’s Recommendation

Arctic Paper has for a longer period of time shown interest in a merger between Rottneros and Arctic Paper. The Board has been positive to the proposal as in the Board’s view – given the right terms and conditions – it provides the right preconditions to create value for Rottneros' shareholders and that it will be to the benefit of employees.

The discussions that have taken place with Arctic Paper have resulted in the offer Arctic Paper is announcing today to the shareholders of Rottneros, which the Board is presenting to Rottneros’ shareholders for their final decision.

The Board requests shareholders to carefully read the press release that Arctic Paper has made public today, as well as the Offer Document that Arctic Paper will make public on or around 21 November 2012, in advance of making their final decision.

The Board has considered what is in the best interest of all shareholders with respect to the Offer consideration, the current position of Rottneros, the future development of the Company and the associated possibilities and risks. As the consideration comprises shares in Arctic Paper, the prospects for the combined company have been evaluated in particular.

As part of this evaluation, the Board has in particular taken into account:

•  The premium the Offer implies for Rottneros’ shareholders;
•  That Arctic Paper is controlled by a shareholder holding 75 per cent of the shares, who is also the largest shareholder in Rottneros with a 20 per cent stake;
•  That Arctic Paper is a Polish company with a primary listing in Poland, but that Arctic Paper will have a secondary listing in Stockholm;
•  That the liquidity in the Arctic Paper share is rather limited at present;
•  The possibilities of realizing the estimated synergies; and
•  That Rottneros’ shareholders with 2,000 shares or less are offered a choice of receiving a cash consideration.

Based on the information that Rottneros has received from Arctic Paper and the information that has been included in Arctic Paper’s press release, the Board is of the opinion that the Offer will not involve any material changes to the future operations nor for the overall strategy of Rottneros’ production units, and that it will not involve any major changes for employees (including terms of employment). However, some administrative functions in these units may be coordinated with Arctic Paper’s units in Sweden. The operations at Rottneros’ head office will be coordinated with Arctic Paper’s units in Sweden and its head office in Poland, which will result in some limited redundancies.

The Board has been informed that Arctic Paper intends to offer certain individuals in the Rottneros management team an incentive arrangement, providing the Offer is completed. The payment is conditional upon the active participation of these key individuals in forming the new group and that they have not terminated their employment before 30 June 2013 and 31 December 2013, respectively. The incentive arrangement for all entitled employees amounts to a maximum of SEK 1.2 million in aggregate. The Board is of the opinion that the management incentive arrangement would be beneficial in relation to the shareholders’ interests and has thus approved Arctic Paper’s arrangement as well as its intention to offer this arrangement.

As part of the Board’s evaluation of the Offer and its recommendation, the Board has taken into account a fairness opinion from KPMG AB ("KPMG"). Rottneros engaged KPMG as an independent advisor to issue a fairness opinion on whether the Offer is deemed fair from a financial perspective. The Board has taken part of KPMG’s evaluation and its underlying materials.

KPMG has in its assignment, amongst other things, taken into consideration internal information from the management of both Arctic Paper and Rottneros concerning business descriptions, historical financial results, financial budgets and projections and other documentation. KPMG has also conducted interviews with the respective management teams of Arctic Paper and Rottneros and with the Chairman of the Board of Rottneros. KPMG has also conducted analyses of public information including competitors’ annual reports and general industry reports.

KPMG’s fairness opinion is attached to this press release and will also be published in the Offer Document.

KPMG’s opinion is that the Offer is to be considered fair for Rottneros’ shareholders from a financial perspective.

In conclusion, and based on the above, the Board of Directors of Rottneros unanimously recommends the shareholders of Rottneros to accept the Offer.

download the full release in pdf format

Ahlstrom, a high performance materials company, today celebrates the inauguration of its new production facility in Longkou, Shandong Province, in eastern China. The plant is a joint venture together with Longkou Yulong Paper Co. Ltd, and it produces medical papers used for sterilization wraps and masking tape base papers for the building industry in the Asian market. 

"This joint venture in Longkou supports Ahlstrom's growth strategy and strengthens our presence in Asia. Crepe paper used in the medical and building industries in Asia provides us interesting opportunities for growth in the area," says Jan Lång, Ahlstrom's President & CEO.

The new plant in China is the outcome of a EUR 21.9 million investment, of which EUR 13.1 million contributed by Ahlstrom, and employs approximately 140 people. Located in the Zhu You Guan Industrial Park in Longkou, the plant is conveniently positioned near a large commercial port with excellent connects to China and Asia by road and sea, ensuring easy logistics for both incoming raw materials and shipment of products. The investment was initially announced on October 28, 2010.

The plant is a part of Ahlstrom's Food and Medical Business Area. In addition to Longkou, Ahlstrom has three other manufacturing plants and twelve sales offices in Asia, providing service throughout the region.  

The Rottneros share was suspended from trading today, Tuesday 6 November 2012, at 10.14 on the initiative of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. It is expected that further information will be provided before the stock exchange opens in the morning, Wednesday 7 November 2012.

Rottneros discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The Information was submitted for publication on Tuesday 6 November 2012 at 15.00 CET.

BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, today inaugurated its first BASF Innovation Campus Asia Pacific and its new Greater China headquarters. The € 55 million expansion of BASF’s site in Pudong, Shanghai, where the new facilities are located, marks the company’s most important innovation investment in the region to date. Ultimately employing more than 2,500 employees, the site will be one of BASF’s largest outside of Germany.

“Innovations based on chemistry will play a key role in providing solutions to help Asia Pacific meet the challenges of sustainable development. Through close cooperation with materials scientists, technical experts, business colleagues and customers, BASF will create innovations from Asia, for Asia and the world.By 2020, we expect to have about 25 percent of our global R&D headcount in this region,” said Dr. Martin Brudermueller, Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific.BASF employs more than 800 people in research and development in Asia Pacific.

“The Innovation Campus Asia Pacific will play a central role to gain local access to customers, talent and innovation centers. I am convinced that the enthusiasm and scientific spirit of our colleagues will cross over to other regions in our BASF Verbund and will be the cornerstone of our growing global scientific network in Asia,” said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Research Executive Director.

At the first phase of the new Innovation Campus Asia Pacific, around 450 researchers and developers in technical teams from 17 regional business units will come together, forming a powerful innovation hub for BASF in Asia Pacific. Scientists in close proximity to local markets will work in international and multi-disciplinary project teams. The Innovation Campus will also help intensify development of local scientific and technical talent and to foster collaboration with universities and scientific institutes in Asia Pacific. Further expansion of the facility is also planned.

At the site, researchers will focus on advanced materials and sustainable solutions. Examples include biobased polymers for home and personal care applications, tailor-made binders for waterproofing in a variety of local climate and weather conditions, thermally conductive plastics for energy-efficient lighting, and advanced polyurethane formulation for shoe components. Additionally, a strong analytics and material physics team will support the R&D activities. 

“The overall expansion of the Pudong site marks an important milestone in the history of BASF in Greater China, more specifically of BASF in Shanghai. As one of our largest integrated sites, the Pudong site will be a key enabler for collaboration between BASF employees and customers. Additionally, we aim to engage closely with nearby communities and contribute to the development of Shanghai as an international innovation hub,” said Johnny Kwan, Chairman of BASF Greater China Country Board.

China is BASF’s third-largest market worldwide. The new Greater China head office will include administration, functional units, and sales and marketing for its business units with more than 1,500 work stations, comfortable social areas on each floor, and a state-of-the-art, multi-function theater.

Globally, at about 70 research and development centers, more than 10,000 BASF researchers in various disciplines are engaged in about 2,800 research projects around the world. The BASF central research and development organization is also integrated into an interdisciplinary and international network: in about 1,950cooperative partnerships the company is working closely together with partners from science and industry worldwide to develop solutions for a sustainable future. In 2011, BASF filed about 1,050 patents worldwide.

Sonoco Display and Packaging, the point-of-purchase (POP) display and packaging services business of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), has been awarded four Design of the Times awards, including a prestigious Platinum award, by the Path to Purchase Institute.

The Display and Packaging group won the following awards:

• Platinum, Home/Hardware category – Scotts® Snap® Spreader Launch Bridge for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.
• Gold, Home/Hardware category – Scotts® Snap® Spreader Launch Bridge for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.
• Gold, Mass Merchandisers, category – P&G Pringles® Gravity-feed Endcap for Procter & Gamble, in partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi X
• Silver, Drug category – Allegra® RX-to-OTC Launch Display for Chattem Inc.

"It is very rewarding to have our talented group recognized for effectively demonstrating Sonoco's ability to deliver on the promise of providing superior retail merchandising and shelf appeal for our global customers," said Jeff Tomaszewski, general manager, Sonoco Display and Packaging.

Sonoco's entries made it through two rounds of judging during the competition, including a first round in August 2012 at Target Corp.'s headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. Judges evaluated hundreds of entries from eight retail channels based on the Four C's of Effective in-store Activation:

• Command attention,
• Connect with the shopper,
• Convey information, and
• Close the sale.

Judges scored entries on a scale of one to five for each attribute and chose 85 finalists, based on average point total, to move on to the second and final round, held on Oct. 16, at the Shopper Marketing Expo. Finalists were awarded bronze, silver, gold, platinum or Best of the Times status. Finalists with the top average score in each retail channel received platinum status, and the finalist with the highest score overall won "Best of the Times" for 2012.

SOURCE Sonoco

Resolute Forest Products has announced that it is permanently shutting down paper machine No. 10 at its Laurentide mill in Shawinigan, Quebec. The permanent shutdown comes after an important drop in demand and an increase in market capacity of the paper grade produced on machine No. 10.

The Laurentide mill, which currently has 388 employees, produces over 350,000 metric tons per year of commercial printing papers with two machines. Machine No. 10 produces 125,000 metric tons per year. This machine will cease production on November 26, eliminating nearly 111 jobs. The shutdown will not affect paper machine No. 11, which has an annual production of nearly 225,000 metric tons per year.

The Company is aware of the impacts this decision will have on the employees concerned and their families and will work with union representatives and the governments to mitigate these impacts with a focus on retirement. Management intends to make sure that all the employees affected receive the necessary support, in compliance with the relevant collective agreement terms, and that as many employees as possible are reassigned to other Company facilities.

Resolute President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Garneau noted that market demand and capacity, the strong Canadian dollar, rising freight and fuel costs, and the continuing high cost of fiber also factored into management's decision. "Resolute must prove that it is profitable with mills that perform well, which forces us to improve our competitive edge by focusing on our best assets and cutting costs," stated Richard Garneau. "This is a major challenge and we are confident that we, with our employees, will be able to meet it." 

SOURCE: RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS INC

Visit Metso at Hall 3. Stand F46 at Valve World, 27th to 29th November 2012 in Düsseldorf, Germany

Metso's state-of-the-art solution portfolio is designed to improve safety and productivity in the oil & gas, pulp and paper and power industries. Metso aims to maximize production efficiency and reduce safety risks throughout the lifecycle of a plant starting from simplifying valve selection, maximizing process availability and maximizing production performance.

The right valve for the right application

During Valve World Metso experts are available on the stand to guide visitors through product selection steps and demonstrate the company's approach to optimizing the valve selection process. Metso offers benchmark services that cover all facets of the purchase experience including expert application personnel, benchmark product sizing tools, pre and post sale and drawing submittal tools, project management services that assure total contract compliance and a globally deployed direct service network to provide optimum performance through the entire product life cycle.

On Metso stand visitors also can familiarize themselves with Metso developed tools such as Nelprof® which is the world's first software for safety valve calculation, and new RapidDraw3D™ one-of-a-kind valve model generator to quickly create realistic, to-scale, 3D valve assemblies and export them to any CAD program for use in plant piping diagrams.

Metso will also have its latest innovations beginning with an extended capability version of famous Q-Trim™ noise reduction technology and Metso Valve Manager™ representing state-of-the art 3rd generation valve diagnostics.

Intelligent shutdowns

Metso's customers are constantly looking for better ways to maximize process availability and increase process efficiency and Metso has developed a full service portfolio to address these business issues.

On the Metso stand visitors can find out more about Metso's Intelligent Shutdown solution, one solution in its portfolio, targeted to improve availability but simultaneously reduce the time, effort and cost of shutdowns. Several Metso customers have already benefitted from this service through operational savings.

Metso papers in the conference

During Valve World Conference Metso's experts host workshops and Ville Kähkönen, Product manager, will be presenting the following papers in the conference:


- CONTROL VALVE: 'Aerodynamic noise attenuation in rotary control valves', Tuesday 27 November 2012 at 11:50

- SAFETY & INTEGRITY: 'High end intelligent Emergency Valves - Depressuring and Pressure Protection Systems', Wednesday 28 November 2012 at 11:50

On-going investments in global customer support

Besides offering an extensive product and service offering, Metso is also investing in its global portfolio and presence to constantly improve our solution portfolio for customers in the oil & gas, pulp and paper and power industries. Last Spring, Metso announced the acquisition of a globe valve technology and service company, Valstone Control Inc., in South Korea and the establishment of a new supply and service center in India. Just recently, Metso completed the expansion of its valve production facility in North America. Last year, Metso opened a new valve technology center in Finland, and another one in 2010 in Shanghai, China. These are complemented by existing high-class industrial valve facilities in Brazil and Germany.

Experienced in valves

Metso is the leading valve solutions and services provider. Metso's Flow Control solutions include control valves, automated on/off and emergency shut-down valves, as well as smart positioners and condition monitoring. Metso's world-leading brands include Neles, Jamesbury and Mapag.

PT. South Pacific Viscose (SPV) is now the world’s largest viscose fiber plant

In late October, trial operations of the fifth production line started successfully at Lenzing’s Indonesian subsidiary PT. South Pacific Viscose. With an additional nominal capacity of 80,000 tons of viscose fibers p.a., the annual total capacity of SPV will increase to 320,000 tons once Line 5 has been launched. SPV will thus exceed the capacity of the parent plant in Lenzing/Upper Austria (250,000 tons p.a.) for the first time and become the world’s largest viscose fiber plant.

“Asia is the most important market for the Lenzing Group. It’s where we generate more than half of our fiber revenues. Therefore it is only logical that our largest plant is located in Indonesia”, Peter Untersperger, Chief Executive Officer of Lenzing, explains the general thrust of the expansion. “More than half of our fiber production capacity is now located in Asia.”

Indonesia has a significant textile industry, which represents one of the largest industrial sectors of the Southeast Asian island state. SPV has been an important supplier and reliable partner of the local industry for nearly 30 years. Moreover, customers are supplied with high-quality fibers for textile and nonwovens use from the Purwakarta plant not only in the Asian region, but in nearly all continents as part of the global market presence of the Lenzing Group.

International technology Group ANDRITZ showed solid business development during the third quarter of 2012 and the first three quarters of 2012:

§   In the third quarter of 2012, sales amounted to 1,265.5 MEUR, which is an increase of 7.9% compared to last year’s reference figure (Q3 2011: 1,173.1 MEUR). With the exception of the SEPARATION business area, all business areas noted increases in sales. In the first three quarters of 2012, sales, at

3,703.3 MEUR, rose by 16.3% compared to the previous year’s reference period (Q1-Q3 2011:3,184.2 MEUR).

§   The order intake saw a very satisfactory development in the third quarter of 2012. At 1,238.8 MEUR, it was only slightly below the high level of last year’s reference period (Q3 2011: 1,254.1 MEUR), which included a large order in the amount of approximately 330 MEUR in the HYDRO business area. In the first three quarters of 2012, order intake amounted to 3,793.2 MEUR and was thus 22.6% below the extraordinarily high level of the previous year’s reference period (Q1-Q3 2011: 4,898.6 MEUR), which included two large orders in the PULP & PAPER business area amounting to around 1,100 MEUR in addition to the large order mentioned above (HYDRO: 330 MEUR).

§   The order backlog as of September 30, 2012 amounted to 6,929.8 MEUR (+3.7% vs. December 31,

2011: 6,683.1 MEUR).

§    EBITA amounted to 86.5 MEUR in the third quarter of 2012 and thus almost reached the previous year’s reference figure (-3.7 % vs. Q3 2011: 89.8 MEUR). The EBITA margin declined to 6.8% (Q3 2011: 7.7%). This decline is mainly attributable to the PULP & PAPER business area (execution of large orders) and the SEPARATION business area (cost overruns at some projects and investments in the expansion of business activities in the emerging markets). The EBITA in the first three quarters of 2012, at

242.1 MEUR, increased by 9.3% compared to the reference period of the previous year (Q1-Q3 2011:

221.4 MEUR). The EBITA margin amounted to 6.5% (Q1-Q3 2011: 7.0%).

§    Net income (excluding non-controlling interests) increased to 167.2 MEUR during the first three quarters of 2012 (+11.1% vs. Q1-Q3 2011: 150.5 MEUR).

§   The net worth position and capital structure as of September 30, 2012 remained solid. The total assets increased to 5,103.7 MEUR (December 31, 2011: 4,566.6 MEUR). This increase is attributable primarily to the successful issue of a corporate bond with a volume of 350 MEUR (tenor: seven years). Thus, the equity ratio declined to 19.4% (December 31, 2011: 20.6%). The net liquidity amounted to 1,286.4 MEUR (December 31, 2011: 1,400.6 MEUR).

Commenting on the outlook for the 2012 business year, President and CEO Wolfgang Leitner says: “Although there is perceptible caution in investment activity in the industries served by ANDRITZ due to the very difficult overall economic environment, the overall project activity is satisfactory. However, the visibility of upcoming projects and the award of orders have shortened significantly, particularly for large-scale investments.”

For the fully year of 2012, the ANDRITZ GROUP expects an increase in sales to approximately 5 billion EUR. The net income is also expected to rise compared to last year. However, if the global economy should deteriorate further in the coming months, this may have a negative impact on the Group’s earnings.

Click here to download the press release including tables

Pulp mills and sawmills in Brazil became more competitive in 2012, because the costs for the wood raw-material, which accounts for about 70 percent of the production costs,have declined by over 20 percent since 2011, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Seattle, USA. Pulp mills and sawmills in Brazil became more competitive in 2012 mostly thanks to a weakening Brazilian Real. Pine sawlog prices in Brazil, in US dollar terms, fell 22 percent in just one year, and prices in the 2Q/12 have been at a level below where they were just before the financial crisis that hit in 2008, according to the WoodResource Quarterly (www.woodprices.com).

In the local currency on the other hand, prices have actually increased steadily and in the 2Q/12 were at their highest levels in over four years. Domestic demand for wood products has been a key driver for the higher log costs. In 2010 and 2011, the local lumber market was strong because of major investments in the housing construction sector in Brazil. This market slowed in 2012, and instead, lumber and plywood exports have slowly picked up steam as those sectors have benefited from the weakening Brazilian Real and the Brazilian forest industry became more competitive in the international market.

With the Real expected to continue to stay weak against the US dollar, market participants are hoping for increased exports of lumber, plywood and value-added products in the coming months. If this scenario actually comes to fruition, demand for sawlogs may go up and log prices will likely move up in both Real and dollar terms. 

Although Brazilian pulplog prices have not changed much in the local currency, they have fallen dramatically in US dollar terms as the Real weakened this past year. Eucalyptus pulplog prices in the 2Q/12 were down 28 percent from the same quarter in 2011, while pine pulplog prices declined 26 percent from a year ago, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ).

The recent dramatic price reductions of pulpwood have had the result that the wood costs for Brazilian pulpmill now are among the lowest of all regions tracked by the WRQ, as compared to a year ago when wood fiber costs in Brazil were above the Global Wood Fiber Price Indices (SFPI and HFPI). Since wood fiber costs accounted for about 70 percent of the production costs for pulp mills in Brazil in the 2Q/12, the substantial reduction in pulpwood prices has made the country’s pulp mills more competitive in 2012 relative to other pulp producers around the world.