KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (NYSE: KS) ("KapStone") will open a new corrugated manufacturing facility in Aurora, IL.  The 192,000 square foot facility located 40 miles west of the city of Chicago will produce corrugated packaging and will also include a design lab and a technical center. KapStone expects to invest approximately $8 to $10 million in the first phase. The Aurora location will enhance KapStone's sales coverage in the Midwest, particularly in Chicago and surrounding areas. 

Matt Kaplan, KapStone's President, stated, "We are excited to establish a corrugated manufacturing facility in the Chicago area, our home territory.   We are very optimistic that KapStone will deliver a very high level of service and quality of corrugated products that will enable us to continue to grow our operations."   

The site General Manager will be Katie Wilhelm who has an extensive career in the corrugated industry predominantly in the Chicago area.

The first phase will begin production at the new facility in March of this year.

SOURCE KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation

Sonoco (NYSE: SON) has announced that it will raise the price for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) products by $25 per ton, effective for shipments in the United States andCanada beginning Feb. 11, 2013.

"This price increase is necessary to recover continued inflationary pressure from non-fiber-related costs, including chemicals, energy, freight, repair materials, labor and other expenses," said Marty Pignone, vice president, Primary Materials Group, North America.

Sonoco is one of the largest producers of uncoated recycled paperboard in the United States and Canada, producing more than 1 million tons annually from 13 mills. For more information about Sonoco's complete line of URB paper products or to learn more about current pricing, please visit the Company's website or contact the Company at +800-377-2692.

Wausau Paper (NYSE:WPP) has announced that it commenced a process last year to identify strategic alternatives for its Paper Segment that will position the Company to focus its management efforts on continuing the growth of its highly successful tissue business.

In early 2012 the Company exited its legacy Print & Color business and narrowed the focus of its Paper Segment to specialty products with leading domestic and global positions in food, industrial and tape markets. Since that time the Company retained financial advisors to assist the Company’s board of directors in the evaluation of alternatives for the remainder of the Paper Segment.

The Company recently began the start-up phase of a $220 million tissue capacity investment at its Harrodsburg, Kentucky site. The project will accelerate growth of its Tissue Segment and further establish its “green leadership” position in away-from-home tissue markets through improved product performance and the introduction of new-to-the-market premium recycled products.

“Our Tissue Segment has demonstrated strong profitability and exceptional growth over the last decade,” stated Hank Newell, president & CEO. “We believe our shareholders’ interests will be best served through a singular focus on successfully marketing the capacity and capability of our new tissue machine and sustaining the historically strong growth and profit performance of our tissue business.”

The Company cannot provide assurance of the timing, terms or completion of a transaction related to the strategic alternatives for the Paper Segment.

Source: Wausau Paper

The President and CEO, Sven Ombudstvedt, has signed a lease contract for Norske Skog's new headquarters at Skøyen. The headquarters will be located centrally at Skøyen in Fram Eiendom's new building in 49 Karenslyst Allé in Oslo. The move will take place in early June 2013.

Norske Skog has undergone a major reorganisation and downsizing in recent years, reducing the need for the large premises at Oxenøen.

- Norske Skog is a very different company today than it was just a few years ago. Our intention is to have timely, efficient and pleasant premises, adapted to the number of employees and our current business, says Ombudstvedt.

Norske Skog has had its headquarters at Oxenøen in the municipality of Bærum since 1998. Norske Skog and the landlord of the head office at Oxenøen (OBOS and Aspelin-Ramm) have agreed to terminate the current lease contract during June 2013.

- We have been very pleased with the premises at Oxenøen, and wish to thank the landlord for good cooperation during the lease period, says Ombudstvedt.

DNB Næringsmegling has assisted Norske Skog in the efforts to find new premises.

Irving Paper has a new target to beat in 2013 as it ends 2012 with record-breaking production.  The team of over 300 employees pulled together to make 408,214 tonnes of quality specialty grade paper.  While production has increased, the team has worked hard to reduce the mill’s impact on the environment.  Over the past five years, Irving Paper has achieved a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of about 20,000 cars off the road. 

Saint John is the province’s forestry hub; and Irving Paper is a significant contributor to the local economy, generating tens of millions of dollars in payroll and purchasing over $130 million a year in goods and services from New Brunswick suppliers.  The mill is also active in the community – including volunteering with the award-winning PALs program at Glen Falls School, revitalizing local playgrounds, and supporting meal programs.

Marko Koskela has been appointed Senior Vice President, UPM Energy, starting from 1 February 2013. He will transfer to the new position from his current post in UPM as Vice President, Business Controlling, Energy and Pulp Business Group.

Current Head of UPM Energy, Anja Silvennoinen, has decided to leave UPM after nine years in the company. She will continue to support Marko Koskela during the next couple of months before moving to new challenges.  “I want to express my warmest thanks to Anja for the great work she has done in building up the Energy Business Area to the current performance level,” says Heikki Vappula, President for Energy and pulp Business Group.

Burgo Group communicates the suspension of production at Mantova Mill starting February 9th, 2013.

Current production capacity of the plant is 150,000 tons/year of Newsprint.

The decision is due to the unsustainable impact of energy costs in Italy. Additional causes are European Newsprint market overcapacity and raw materials costs.

Burgo Group will evaluate developments of the competitive scenario before taking any decision about the industrial future of the plant.

The Burgo Group plant in Verzuolo (Cuneo) has obtained its EMASregistration from the Ecolabel and Ecoaudit board of the Italian Department for the Environment.

This is a very important result for this paper mill where the Group was founded more than a century ago.

On October 22nd, 2012, during renewal of the EMAS registration for the Company’s plants in Toscolano Maderno (Brescia) and Mantova, it was decided to extend the same certification to the Verzuolo site; the ruling is valid for all the facilities until April 22nd, 2015.

EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is a system that companies and organisations sign up to voluntarily, undertaking to monitor and improve their environmental efficiency, and providing the control authority and local population a tool to assess their environmental impact.

EMAS registration is further confirmation of the Burgo Group’s continued commitment to environmental policies and sustainability. All the environmental data for the plants involved have been included in an official document, the Environmental Statement, which is assessed and endorsed by an authorised independent Inspector.

Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE:CLW) has announced that it upsized and priced 275 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2023 (the "Notes"). The Notes will have an interest rate of 4.5% per annum and are being issued at a price equal to 100% of their face value.

The company estimates that the net proceeds from the offering will be approximately $270.7 million after deducting discounts and estimated offering expenses. Clearwater Paper intends to use approximately $163.9 million of the net proceeds to redeem all of its outstanding 10.625% Senior Notes due 2016, and to use $100 million of the net proceeds to purchase shares of the company's common stock pursuant to the company's previously announced $100 million stock repurchase program. The company intends to use the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

As the offering was a private placement, the notes were offered and sold only to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and to certain non-U.S. persons in transactions outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes that were offered have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the notes nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This news release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act.

This press release contains information about pending transactions, and there can be no assurance that these transactions will be completed.

Source: Clearwater Paper Corporation