Displaying items by tag: paper

After a difficult year, during which the industry encountered more down-time and capacity closures as a result of the weakened global economy the indications are that CEPI member countries produced less than 90 million tonnes of paper and board in 2009, the lowest annual total production since 2001. This represents a fall in the region of around 11% over 2008, which is slightly better than the European manufacturing industry taken as a whole. It would appear that the overall output performance of the CEPI countries in total during 2009 is much the same as that of the other major paper producing regions of the world.

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Canfor's Prince George Pulp and Paper mill is moving a maintenance shutdown previously planned for April to this month, in order to coincide with unplanned maintenance requiring the shutdown of the recovery boiler. It was discovered that the recovery boiler had a leak which needed to be repaired.

The total duration of the shutdown of the boiler is expected to be approximately 20 days and the total reduced pulp production in the first quarter is expected to be approximately 15,000 tonnes, including the 4 days and 3,600 tonnes previously scheduled for the April outage. Operation of the paper machine during part of the shut down period is expected to mitigate the financial impact of these outages.

Canfor Pulp operates three pulp mills in Prince George which employ more than 1,100 people. Canfor Pulp, an income trust, was spun out from Canfor Corp. several years ago.

The forest and paper sector is changing. It's a matter of survival. Take the next step towards transforming into a more profitable business by joining PricewaterhouseCoopers at our 23rd Annual Global Forest & Paper Industry Conference. Find out about emerging trends, new innovations, and other ways forest products companies are transforming to add value for customers and improve their bottom line.

New revenue streams, strategic partnerships, new technology or simply making the most with what you already have. . . it's on the agenda.

link to Conference media

May 11, 2010
Vancouver, Canada

For more info contact:
Erica McEvoy
Marketing
Tel: +61 (03) 8603 4827

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has released a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind study that examines a wide range of options for renewal of the Canadian forest products industry.

"The study, The Future Bio-pathways Project, focuses on the triple bottom line: clean energy, high employment, and economic recovery. The results are clear - integrating the production of bio-products and bio-energy into the existing industry is a winner on all fronts," says Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of FPAC.
The Future Bio-pathways Project is one of the first and most exhaustive studies in the world on this topic. The project involved more than 65 top Canadian experts in fields as diverse as bio-technology, investment banking, and carbon pricing.

"This study produced a blueprint for change that is both surprising and welcome," says Lazar. "It places traditional products, especially lumber and pulp, at the heart of a new, green business model that has the potential to make the forest products industry a pivotal force in Canada's effort to become a clean energy super-power. If we follow this new model we will be able to produce power on the scale of nine nuclear reactors, enough to meet the energy needs of 2.5 million homes, or one out of every five homes across Canada."

On the employment front the research shows that an integrated mill - one that produces wood, pulp or paper as well as bio-energy and bio-materials -- provides five times as many jobs as a stand-alone bio-operation. It also shows that the industry's 270,000 jobs will be best sustained by following this integrated road to recovery.

"Years of intensive research and development have produced technologies that open up a world of possibility for the forest products industry in Canada. We can now rapidly convert wood fibre into a wide variety of high-value products such as bio-fuels to heat homes or power vehicles as well as bio-chemicals to make cosmetics, solvents, food additives and renewable plastics," says Pierre Lapointe, president and CEO, FPInnovations.

FPAC notes that by integrating the production of bio-products into existing forestry operations, they will be subject to the same high and increasingly stringent environmental standards that have made Canada a world leader in sustainable forest management.

"This new integrated model will cause investors to take a fresh and more optimistic look at the economic potential of Canada's forest products industry. That is why governments should follow this study's roadmap as it best defines where investors will want to put their money," says Don Roberts, Managing Director, CIBC World Markets and leader of the FPAC study.

"Our research shows this new bio-pathway is the business model for the future of Canada's forest products industry. With 300 Canadian communities depending on the health of the forest products industry for their survival, we must embrace the opportunities it presents," says Lazar.

Appleton Coated LLC, NewPage Corporation, and Sappi Fine Paper North America – together with the United Steelworkers commended the U.S. Department of Commerce for its preliminary countervailing duty determinations against subsidized coated paper imports from China and Indonesia.

As a result of these determinations, the Department of Commerce will impose tariffs on imports of coated paper to offset the unfair advantage provided by subsidization. The Department of Commerce found that Chinese coated paper was subsidized by an average rate of 8.38 percent.

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) producers Gold East, Gold Huasheng, Ningbo Zhonghua and Ningbo Asia Pulp and Paper received a subsidy margin of 12.83 percent, while Sun Paper received a rate of 3.92 percent. In Indonesia , APP/Sinar Mas producers Tjiwi Kimia and Indah Kiat received a subsidy margin of 17.48 percent. All other Indonesian producers/exporters will be subject to this same rate. The result of the Department's actions will be the immediate requirement that these importers of paper from the subject countries will have to post bond or cash deposits in an amount equal to the announced margins pending final resolution of the cases later this year.

The companies and the USW filed unfair trade cases on September 23, 2009 with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission ("ITC") alleging that certain coated paper from China and Indonesia had been dumped and subsidized resulting in injury to the domestic industry and its employees. The paper products covered by the petitions include coated paper used in high-quality writing, printing and other graphic applications, using sheet-fed presses with a GE brightness rating of 80 or higher and weighing up to 340 grams per square meter.

source: NewPage

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The Indian paper industry today failed to get any relief from the Delhi High Court over the government's decision of not imposing safeguard duty on imports of coated paper and paper board.

A division bench Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul declined to give ex-parte stay over notification issued by the Director General of Safeguards on November 13, 2009, in this regard.

However, the court issued notices to the government and the Director General of Safeguards (DGS) and directed them to file reply to the petition filed by domestic paper producers - ITC, Ballarpur Industries, J K Paper and their lobby group India Papaer Manufacturer Association (IPMA).

The petition filed by leading paper producers and IPMA, requested the court to set aside the notification issued by DGS which falls under the Ministry of Finance.

International technology Group Andritz has received an order from Nanning Phoenix Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd, Guangxi, China to supply a PrimeLine high-speed tissue machine. Start-up is scheduled for mid- 2011.

Andritz™s scope of supply includes a complete stock preparation plant that is also designed for bagasse pulp and the PrimeLineTM machine, which has a design speed of 2100 m/min and a width of 3.65 m. The machine will feature a two-layer PrimeFlow headbox, an EquiDry hood, and a PrimeDry Steel Yankee " a high-precision drying cylinder for excellent drying at low cost.

Part of the machine and equipment will be manufactured in Europe and part in China by Andritz Technologies Ltd, Foshan.

This order is the 11th high-speed tissue machine delivered to China by Andritz Pulp & Paper, making it one of the leaders in the Chinese market.

"Although the time available for the overhaul was extremely short, the reconditioned spreader roll is running very well. Some other spreader rolls will also soon require reconditioning but we have nothing to worry about because we have Metso, a professional team to do it," says Deputy Maintenance Manager Hu Jinguo.

The Jiangxi Chenming mill in China is now familiar with the roll overhaul services of Metso's Guangzhou service center. "Metso really showed its professionalism on this project," says Hu Jinguo, Deputy Maintenance Manager for Jiangxi Chenming PM 1.

Jiangxi Chenming PM 1 (wire width 8,600 mm, design speed 2,000 m/min) is one of the high-speed machines of Chenming Group. Started up in March, 2005, PM 1 mainly makes light weight coated paper at a rate in excess of 1,000 metric tons per day.

This machine was supplied by Metso and its spreader rolls were manufactured by another supplier. Hu Jinguo explains: "After three years of operation some of the spreader rolls were starting to experience runnability problems, increased vibration or bearing failures, which made them very difficult to run. The problems were serious and had an influence on spreading efficiency and machine runnability.

The condition of one press section spreader roll was getting very serious and we decided to remove it from the machine at the next 10-day annual shutdown. Our spare roll for the position had been sent out earlier for maintenance and was still unavailable, which made the situation quite challenging. We contacted Metso's Guangzhou service center and informed them of our need to get the existing spreader roll reconditioned within the upcoming 10-day shutdown. We also ordered a new spare spreader roll for the press section from Metso."

Metso was willing to take on the spreader roll reconditioning challenge. In the course of the 10-day annual shutdown the spreader roll was taken out of the machine and transported to the Guangzhou workshop. The roll went through a complete reconditioning where all roll parts were inspected and consumables, including bearings, spool couplings and seals, were replaced with new parts. Some of the spools were repaired due to bearing seat wear and distortion. After several days of work, the spreader roll was reassembled and it was ready for a test run. A heat buildup problem was discovered during the test run in one of the tending side spools.

The roll was taken back to the workshop and the problem was solved. The final test run gave excellent results, and the roll was shipped back to the customer mill. This challenging spreader roll reconditioning project was performed, from machine to machine, within the 10-day turnaround time promised.

Metso's first service center to serve the pulp and paper industry in China was opened in 2001 in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. The expansion of the Wuxi service center was completed in March 2008, which doubled overall service capacity. In line with its commitment to Chinese papermakers, Metso opened a second service center in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in January 2009, and a third center is currently being built in Zibo, Shandong province.

Intermost Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: IMOT, which filed an application to change its name to Uni Core Holdings Corporation, and referred to as "UCHC"), an experienced 'company doctor' and aggressive 'incubator' of mid- to large-size companies in China, is pleased to announce that IMOT is in the process of acquiring one of the leading Environmental Paper Products companies in China, APT Paper Product Company (referred to as "APT").

APT is based in Shenzhen, with over 19 years history in the industry in China. Being an OEM, APT manufactures "Honey Comb packaging materials" for LED and Plasma products for a lot of big companies and expensive and fragile product clients, such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam's Club, Sony, Nokia, DHL, Haier, Hisense and other well-known companies.

Background of the Acquisition
In March 2009, one of the investors, FFBC Group from Taiwan, approached IMOT to discuss this acquisition which was concluded in September 2009.

IMOT considered this project to have good potential since all the products are environmentally designed and will never become obsolete. Besides, the products are made according to clients' designs and requirements, so they will always meet client needs.

Honeycomb paper products packing industry has a huge market with big potential and wide prospects, and considering APT's industry knowhow, experience and the advanced machinery from Holland, we are confident that the company can be groomed as the market leader in "Honey Comb" products. This is the common goal of both APT and IMOT in this acquisition.

Return on Investment (ROI)
IMOT shall take over an estimated total asset value of around US$22 million, depending on the final audit and valuation result, with additional share issuance.

Based on the forecast of US$6 million profits after tax per annum, the ROI is around 27% per annum. For details, please refer to the Financial Forecast posted on the IMOT website.

This acquisition represents a breakthrough of IMOT's business to become an incubator for the modern green packing and honeycomb paper products packing industry in the next three years. Again, we expect to spin this project off for IPO within a 3-year period.

About Intermost Corporation (with plans to change its name to Uni Core Holdings Corporation)
Founded in the USA in September 1998, Intermost Corporation was the first Chinese Internet company listed on the US OTC Bulletin Board (stock symbol: IMOT) in December 1998. Intermost Corporation (with plans to change its name to Uni Core Holdings Corporation) has evolved into a 'company doctor' and 'incubator' of mid- to large-size companies that have good potential and profitable products in the market which are desperate for help from experts who can help them grow by assisting them in obtaining public or private financing in China, including company diagnosis services; consulting services; mergers and acquisitions; incubating; raise fund or financing; assistance to get public listing for mid- to large-size companies, etc.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that, if they never materialize or if they prove incorrect, could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any projections of earnings, revenue, or other financial items, any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new products, services or developments, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. These statements are based on expectations as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially from those projected because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligations and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Intermost Corporation

The continued strength of the Australian dollar and the increase in the size and competitiveness of manufacturers elsewhere in the world is making it more difficult for Australian manufacturers in both domestic and export markets, according to the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (AP3).

The Council outlines that the recent decision by PaperlinX to close its Wesley Vale pulp and paper mill and part of the Burnie facility is yet another confirmation of the major challenges facing Australian manufacturing.

Richard Stanton, CEO of A3P says, "The resources boom is providing huge benefits for the Australian economy as a whole and certain sectors and regions in particular. However, the boom is also having negative consequences for manufacturing and for those regions and communities that do not have large endowments of key natural resources."

He continues, "Australian pulp and paper manufacturers are competing against producers who receive a range of subsidies and benefits including free or cheap finance, generous renewable energy and fuel subsidies, and lower regulatory standards for environmental protection and employment conditions."

The Australian pulp and paper industry produces some $9bn of finished product each year including newsprint, packaging, printing, writing and industrial papers along with tissue and other sanitary products, according to the Council.

The A3P continues that the vast majority of these products are sold in the domestic market and in New Zealand, but these markets are increasingly being targeted by low cost producers in countries such as China and Indonesia. Australia must maintain a strong anti-dumping system to ensure Australian manufacturing is not unfairly disadvantaged, the Council states.

Also according to the A3p, the Australian pulp and paper industry does have a number of competitive advantages including;

* High quality, reasonably priced, sustainably managed fibre supply (wood and recovered paper);

* Competitively priced energy and an ability to increase renewable energy production from biomass;

* Skilled labour

* Stable business and regulatory environments

The council outlines that the pulp and paper manufacturing facilities require continuous large scale capital investment to remain competitive. Some $2bn has been invested in the industry in Australia in the past five years but even this investment is not enough to maintain the capacity of the industry and its ability to compete internationally.

Stanton also says, "The announcement by PaperlinX is sad news for the company's employees, contractors and suppliers and the communities concerned. These mills have made a substantial contribution to the Tasmanian and Australian economies over many decades."