A high quality conference and exhibition gathered the Indian Paper Industry in the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre Thursday to Saturday last week, Dec 13-15. This first edition of IPX India was well received by delegates, exhibitors and visitors alike.

With a visitor figure of 1283, the organisers are happy with the first edition of the event which attracted qualitative industry professionals mainly from India. The small scale and intimate exhibition held a high standard and the IPX India exhibitors were unanimous in their satisfaction with the high quality and influence power of the visitors.

- We are very happy with the outcome of this first IPX India event, says Marcus Bergström, CEO, Adforum, and K.V Rajeevan, Exhibition Director, Inter Ads-Brooks. We have received a lot of positive feedback from satisfied exhibitors, visitors and conference delegates. A solid base has been established on which we can continue building a strong and influential meeting platform for the Indian pulp and paper industry.

The IPX India 2012 Conference was held within glass walls in the middle of the exhibition hall, making it accessible to all visitors of the event, a concept which was very well received. The main theme of the conference was Paper Industry – A World of Opportunities and Indian and International industry professionals and experts shared their views and knowledge in presentations and panel discussions. The conference programme is available on www.ipxindia.com and the full presentations will be published on the website in the next few days.

The second edition of IPX India will be held on Oct 18-19, 2014, at the HITEX Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad, click here for First Announcement. 

The Commission has decided to finance commercially-viable and innovative production facilities to expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce CO2emissions. BillerudKorsnäs’ project on the production of green oil from forestry residues has been allocated funds within the scope of this initiative.

The aim of the project is to extract green oil from forestry residues such as branches, tops and stumps. The project is based on the idea of producing a new type of commercial fuel at a full-scale facility at Skärblacka Mill.

“We are delighted at the EU’s affirmative response to this forward-looking venture. On the basis of this positive decision, we will now continue with our project planning and I anticipate news on the way ahead in 2013”, says Per Lindberg, President and CEO, BillerudKorsnäs.

BillerudKorsnäs is engaged in discussion with joint venture partners who are interested in a future supply of green oil from forest raw materials.

Resolute Forest Products welcomes the Government of Canada's introduction of Bill C-52, the Fair Rail Freight Service Act, which will provide a framework to make railways more accountable to their customers for providing acceptable levels of service. The bill is expected to be voted into law in spring 2013.

Bill C-52 is an important first step in the process of rebalancing the commercial relationship between the railways and their customers, the companies that depend on rail services to bring their products to market. The legislation gives shippers the right to negotiate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with railways, and sets up a dispute resolution process if negotiations fail, as well as penalties for non-performance by the rail service providers.

"We congratulate Ministers Lebel and Oliver and their Cabinet colleagues for all of their hard work in bringing Bill C-52 to Parliament," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with the government as the bill moves forward through the parliamentary process in order to ensure the Act achieves its intended goals." 

SOURCE: RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS INC.

Sonoco will raise surcharges to 13.4 percent for its nailed wood reels and 8.8 percent for plywood reels, effective Jan. 1, 2013. The surcharges are necessary to offset continued increases in lumber and plywood costs.

"Lumber and plywood pricing continue to rise against traditional downward trends normally seen in the late fall and winter," saidGreg Powell, general manager, Sonoco Reels. "Lumber prices have increased for six consecutive weeks to reach a new high, while plywood pricing has continued to rise due to tightening supply and improving demand. As a result, we must adjust our reel surcharges accordingly."

Sonoco Reels is the most comprehensive provider of reels produced from nailed wood, plywood, poly-fibers, molded plastic and steel materials. Reels produced by Sonoco are used by the wire and cable industry to serve the power transmission and distribution; telecommunications; commercial and industrial building; oil and gas; mining and marine industries.

For more information about Sonoco's complete line of reels or to learn more about current pricing, please visit the Company'swebsite or contact Sonoco Reels at +800-633-3962.

SOURCE Sonoco

Ahlstrom's Board of Directors has today appointed Alexander Ehrnrooth, M.Sc. (Econ.), MBA, as a non-board member of its Nomination Committee. Alexander Ehrnrooth (b. 1974) is President and CEO of Virala Oy Ab as well as member of the Board of Directors of Wärtsilä Corporation and Deputy Chairman of Fiskars Corporation.

Alexander Ehrnrooth represents Vimpu Intressenter Ab, which is the second-biggest shareholder of Ahlstrom, and Belgrano Investments Oy. In addition to three board members, the Nomination Committee consists of three non-board members representing major shareholders. The composition of the committee aims at increasing shareholder influence in nomination matters.

As of December 17, 2012, the members of the Nomination Committee are Peter Seligson, Pertti Korhonen, Anders Moberg as well as the non-board members Risto Murto, Thomas Ahlström and Alexander Ehrnrooth.

Metso will supply Norske Skog with a grade conversion rebuild from newsprint to lightweight coated (LWC) grades of their PM 2 machine at their Boyer mill in Tasmania, Australia. The rebuilt production line will be fully operational after several phases of rebuild during the first quarter of 2014. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

The main target of the rebuild is to convert the newsprint machine into a competitive lightweight coated paper (LWC) production line. The delivery also includes a cooperation agreement aimed at achieving key objectives of the conversion.

Technical information

The future capacity of the PM 2 machine after the rebuild will be 140,000 tonnes per year of lightweight coated grades.

Metso’s delivery will include a rebuild of the existing machine calender and a new ValSizer sizing section, a coating preparation and supply system, a TurnDry Compact air dryer, an OptiLoad calender, a ValReel reeler, a WinBelt C winder and parent roll handling equipment.

The order is included in Metso’s Pulp, Paper and Power fourth quarter 2012 orders received.

Norske Skog has 11 wholly and partly-owned mills in 9 countries and is one of the world’s largest producers of publication papers like newspapers, magazines and periodicals as well as grades for advertising purposes. Norske Skog is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and had 5,100 employees at year-end 2011.

SCA has approved an investment of approximately SEK 380m in expanded cooperation between SCA’s industries in the Sundsvall region and Sundsvall Energi AB. The agreement will enable SCA to increase its deliveries of energy to Sundsvall’s district heating grid.

The investments will cover the rebuilding of two boilers, a new facility for handling and grinding wood pellets and equipment for cleaning flue gases at Ortviken paper mill. Östrand pulp plant will also be connected to Sundsvall’s district heating grid as part of the investment.

As a result of the investments deliveries of heat derived from renewable fuels to Sundvall’s district heating grid will increase. Ortviken paper mill will then have the capacity to deliver up to 300 GWh/a based on wood pellets from SCA’s BioNorr facility in Härnösand.

Oil consumption in Sundsvall will be reduced by a total of 25,000 cubic meters annually as a result. For Ortviken, the annual decrease in oil consumption will be 4,500 cubic meters, thereby reducing the mill’s already low carbon footprint by about 40%.

The new facilities are expected to be operational in November 2013.

Three of Kelheim Fibres’ new viscose fibre specialities have been assessed by a panel of creative professionals and have been accepted into Material ConneXion’s library of innovative materials – the world’s largest library of this type.

The fibres Verdi, Danufil® Deep-Dye and Microfine as well as product samples made of these fibres are now displayed in Material ConneXion’s nine locations around the world.

In this library, which features more than 7,000 cutting-edge materials, including the largest selection of sustainable materials, designers and manufacturers from all disciplines and market segments, from industrial design to textile specialists, find solutions to their specific material challenges.

The fibres from Kelheim fit perfectly into Material ConneXion’s range of advanced materials:
each one delivers an additional benefit for the user:

Microfine, Kelheim’s finest viscose fibre, creates outstanding wearer comfort in high quality textiles and helps to enhance the physical properties of all types of speciality papers. Microfine is especially soft – an additional benefit for wipes.

Danufil® Deep-Dye is a chemically modified viscose speciality with a dye absorption capacity up to 40 times higher than standard viscose – ideal for optimising the dyeing process of textiles made out of viscose and PET, but also perfect for colour catcher fabrics which prevent colour staining in domestic wash cycles.

The the viscose fibre Verdi has been ionically activated in order to deliver a higher level of intrinsic absorbency and excellent dispersability in water – the fibre is ideally suited for paper applications where it improves the physical properties of speciality papers such as the paper’s strength.

Currently, Kelheim Fibres is preparing applications for further fibre innovations for the Material ConneXion Library.

The market balance will improve further in 2013. Södra will raise the price of its softwood pulp in Europe to US$ 840.00 per tonne, effective from 1st January 2013.

In Södra’s world everything starts with the forest. The forest provides our constant supply of raw materials and is the essential requirement for Södra’s many different operations.

More than 51,000 forest owners in southern Sweden are members of the economic association that is Södra. They own just over half of all privately owned forest in the area, as well as a group of companies that are successful in both Swedish and international markets. This gives them a market for their raw materials from the forest and at the same time provides the foundation for profitable forestry.

Södra is also a large employer. 4,000 people work for the Group, in areas that range from forestry management and environmental conservation to accounting, sales and product development. The Group’s four business areas produce sawn and planed timber goods, interior products, paper pulp and biofuel. In recent years Södra has also become such a large producer of electricity that the Group now produces more electricity than it uses.

Kemira will record non-recurring items with a negative impact of approximately EUR 71 million on its reported EBIT in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Due to the accelerated implementation of the "Fit for Growth" program, related non-recurring charges will affect the reported EBIT in the fourth quarter of 2012 by approximately EUR 27 million, resulting in a total of approximately EUR 67 million "Fit for Growth" related restructuring charges for the second half of 2012. Previous guidance, in connection to the third quarter 2012 result release, was to book EUR 60 million of the restructuring charges in the second half of 2012 and the balance in the first half of 2013. Overall, non-recurring charges related to the restructuring program are estimated to be around EUR 85 million, as communicated earlier.

The annualized cost savings target of EUR 60 million with the "Fit for Growth" restructuring program remain as earlier communicated. The savings impact is expected to take place as follows: EUR 10 million in 2012, EUR 50 million in 2013 and EUR 60 million in 2014.

The write-down related to the divestment of Kemira's food and pharmaceuticals businesses related to Niacet Corporation (Niagara Falls, USA), announced on December 14, 2012, will have a negative impact of approximately EUR 18 million on the reported EBIT in the fourth quarter of 2012.

In addition, approximately EUR 26 million non-recurring items, impacting the reported EBIT negatively in the fourth quarter of 2012, will be booked. These non-recurring items are mainly related to environmental liabilities and efficiency improvements, as well as streamlining of Kemira's current operations outside of the "Fit for Growth" program.

Kemira's dividend policy is to distribute a dividend that accounts for 40 - 60% of its operative net income. Operative net income is defined as net profit for the period, excluding non-recurring items and adjusted for tax effects. The non-recurring items therefore will not negatively impact Kemira's ability to distribute dividends.

Kemira will publish its fourth quarter and full year 2012 results on February 6, 2013 at around 2.30 pm (CET+1).