Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE:TIN) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doyle R. Simons will speak at the UBS Global Paper and Forest Products Conference in New York City on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time.

All interested parties are invited to listen to the webcast via the company's Internet site at http://www.templeinland.com by clicking on the Investor Relations tab and going to the Presentations page.

Temple-Inland Inc. is a manufacturing company focused on corrugated packaging and building products. The fully integrated corrugated packaging operation consists of 7 mills, and 60 converting facilities. The building products operation manufactures a diverse line of building products for new home construction, commercial and repair and remodeling markets. Temple-Inland's address on the World Wide Web is www.templeinland.com.

SOURCE: Temple-Inland Inc.

Despite growing market share and rising prices for its products, NewPage is having to fend off a leading analyst’s assessment that it is destined for bankruptcy court.

“Bankruptcy/restructuring is inevitable for the company, as it will never generate enough cash to meet its obligations,” Kevin Mason of Equity Research Associates wrote recently. “Many of NewPage’s existing debt holders have no hope of ever being repaid” because of the big paper maker’s “impossible debt load.”

North America’s top producer of coated paper responded by issuing earnings projections that forecast about $250 million in EBITDA (operating cash flow) for the second half of the year, versus only $25 million in the first half. NewPage’s EBITDA excludes nearly $175 million in quarterly expenses, mostly interest payments, so even the company’s projection calls for no profitable quarters this year.

“We currently expect that our levels of sales volume and pricing for the fourth quarter of 2010 will be indicative of the quarterly sales volume and pricing levels in 2011 after consideration of seasonal factors,” NewPage said in the SEC filing. After all, its machines are full, if not overbooked, and prices are still rising for its main products, coated and supercalendered papers.

By contrast, Mason projects 2010 EBITDA of less than $70 million and then about $260 million in 2011. He doesn’t foresee EBITDA surpassing $400 million in any year through 2014, which would mean actual earnings remain well under water for years to come.

He questions whether holders of NewPage’s senior secured debt, with a face value of $1.7 billion, will ever get all of their money back. Owners of other NewPage debt have even bleaker prospects.

And what about the owners? NewPage’s equity “is the financial equivalent of a dead man walking,” Mason wrote.

Mason, managing director of ERA, is not just any stock analyst. ERA specializes in the North American forest products industry, and Mason's company-by-company projections early last year about the value of black liquor credits turned out to be quite accurate. ERA’s research reports are generally available only to customers (See equityresearchassociates.com.)

A few years ago, Mason noted, Wall Street was eagerly pushing the benefits of consolidation in pulp and paper markets. As a result, the Cerberus hedge fund had no trouble obtaining backing for a mountain of debt when it decided in 2007 to “double-down” on the coated paper business by having NewPage buy StoraEnso’s North American assets.

But the move occurred just after coated paper demand started experiencing “ongoing secular decline.”

“With NewPage being the largest producer, it took it upon itself to 'control' the market. However, the cost to NewPage of closures and market-related downtime has been substantial, and price control escaped NewPage anyway.”

NewPage also exacerbated the usual buyers’ wariness of price leaders by creating “a lot of negative customer sentiment over the years,” Mason said. “It will take years to heal this damaged reputation.” (Indeed, one paper buyer tells me he was congratulated by a colleague in the magazine industry for being “NewPage-free.”)

Noting that AbitibiBowater, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, is also the product of consolidation frenzy, Mason said, “The jury is still out on the benefits of consolidation for the industry, but there is no doubt it is a great win for the bankers and other advisors.”

There has been at least one other winner in the NewPage saga: Since 2005, NewPage has paid more than $3.7 million to a company owned by the son of recently departed chairman Mark Suwyn for “a training program and a process to improve communication skills, consensus building and problem solving abilities,” according to NewPage’s annual reports.

If Mason is on target, NewPage will get plenty of practice for those multimillion-dollar problem-solving skills.

The United Steelworkers, which vociferously supported black liquor tax credits for U.S. pulp mills, suddenly seems to have decided that renewable-energy subsidies are not such a good idea.

In a case of One Person's (or Country's) Jobs and Energy Program Is Another's Unfair Subsidy, the union filed a complaint this week accusing China of "protectionist and predatory practices . . . to develop their green sector at the expense of production and job creation here in the U.S."

It was only last year that Canada and other countries accused the U.S. of violating free-trade rules by allowing pulp mills to hijack a renewable-energy program and get government subsidies for using black liquor, a pulp byproduct, as fuel. And it was only last year that the Steelworkers, the major union for U.S. pulp and paper industry workers, defended those black liquor tax credits for "saving thousands of Steelworker and other jobs.”

"The tax credit has turned out to be good for both jobs and for America's energy future," one Steelworkers leader said at the time.

Despite some politicians' criticism of the tax credits during the spring of 2009, Congress' failure to close the loophole enabled publicly traded pulp manufacturers to reap about $6.6 billion in federal money last year. A Steelworkers publication says privately held Georgia Pacific received an additional $5 billion in black liquor credits.

Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, will exhibit a number of new products at the PacTec Exhibition, September 21-24, 2010. Held at the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, PacTec is one of the largest packaging industry trade shows within the Baltic Sea Region, and is held every three years. Sonoco-Alcore will showcase its new products in various segments including paper, film, textiles and specialty.

Leading Innovation

Among the new products that will be featured are Intellicore(TM) radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled paper cores for roll tracking in the paper industry; Dricore(TM) rain-resistant paperboard cores for the agricultural industry; and FirmaLoad(R) carriers, environmentally responsible paperboard pallets for transporting bulk bags.

Within the agricultural film segment, Sonoco-Alcore has worked closely with silage film producers to develop the DriCore paperboard core, a recyclable high- performance, water-resistant core. Its water-resistant properties allow it to be stored outside for up to 20 days without sacrificing core strength or stability. A live demonstration of the DriCore product within a "rain simulator" will be used to showcase its rain-resistant properties at the exhibition.

Also on display will be the industry-changing Intellicore paper roll, which utilizes RFID technology to enable automatic paper roll inventory tracking for paper manufacturers from initial production all the way through to consumption. The Intellicore technology can also be utilised in the high-end film and textiles industries. Most importantly, it allows manufacturers to monitor and streamline production in real time, minimizes buffer stocks and working capital, and ensures accurate order fulfillment.

The Firmaload carrier is an environmentally friendly paperboard product that is used in the FIBC industry as a more efficient and effective means of transporting big bags. The FirmaLoad carrier saves on cost, space and freight versus wooden pallets. More information about Sonoco's range of pallet products can be found at www.sonocotranspack.com.

A number of other key products will be exhibited at PacTec during the three-day exhibition, including the M-Core(TM) core, a high-performance paper mill core for the printing industry, the Printex(R) core for the textile industry and a range of products for all served industries.

To find out more about the products exhibited at PacTec, visit booth 6 e 5 or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Sonoco

Sonoco, founded in 1899, is a global manufacturer of consumer and industrial packaging and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on Sonoco, visit www.sonoco.com.

UPM Shotton paper mill have struck a long term deal with waste management company, PHS Special Contracts, part of PHS Wastetech, to reprocess all of its rejected material into valuable products.

The paper mill already recycles 650,000 tonnes of recovered paper per year in its newsprint manufacturing process, combusts deinking residues to make energy and reuses the ash from the combustion process.

The last piece in the jigsaw can now be diverted from landfill. Mixed waste materials from UPM Shotton's pulping process will be cleaned and reprocessed to make recycled plastic products such as railway sleepers, furniture and high quality plastic board. Other materials sent to PHS which cannot be processed on their site, such as tin and aluminium will be sent to other reprocessors.

Mr Andrew Bronnert, Head of Energy & Utilities at UPM Shotton, said: "We are delighted to have found an innovative solution through PHS Allclear for this most difficult of waste materials. We are now really heading towards zero waste from the site"

Mr Patrick Wadey, Head of PHS Special Contracts, said "We are proud to be able to offer this solution to UPM. The reject waste stream is the key to achieving zero waste to landfill for the recovered paper sector and we are privileged to be in a position to offer a sustainable alternative to the industry."

Mr David Ingham, General Manager of UPM Shotton added: "This strategic agreement has enabled us to meet our vision as the frontrunner in creating value from renewable and recyclable materials."

In January 2010 UPM Shotton announced the construction of a Materials Recovery Facility on site to separate mixed recyclable materials from kerbside collections to a recovered paper suitable for newsprint manufacture.

For more information, please contact:
Mr Andrew Bronnert, Head of Energy & Utilities, UPM Shotton, tel. +44 (0) 1244 284 329
Mr Will Stone, Head of Communications UK & Ireland, UPM, tel. +44 (0) 7841 493 447

Wood fiber costs for the global pulp industry fell in the 2Q/10 after having increased for 18 months, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly 

The global pulp industry benefited from lower wood fiber costs and higher product prices in the 2Q/10. Wood chip and pulpwood prices fell the most in the US, Sweden, Finland, Australia and Eastern Canada. Both the softwood and hardwood wood fiber price indices (SFPI and HFPI) fell for the first time since early 2009, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

The full article can be found in the attached PDF file.....

Ahlstrom, a global leader in nonwovens and specialty papers, announces that it has completed the acquisition of Shandong Puri Filter & Paper Products Limited in China from the Purico Group.

Shandong Puri Filter & Paper Products Limited is a producer of transportation filtration media and operates a plant in Binzhou in the province of Shandong in northeastern China. The site currently employs 170 persons.

Ahlstrom announced the acquisition Shandong Puri Filter & Paper Products Limited on August 11, 2010 as part of implementing its growth strategy in Asia. The debt free transaction value is MEUR 22.5.

Further information:
Jan Lång
President & CEO
Tel. +358 10 888 4700, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tommi Björnman
Executive Vice President, Filtration
Tel. +39 349 441 1034, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Seppo Parvi
CFO
Tel. +358 10 888 4768, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Australian Forestry Standard Limited  (AFSL) announces the commencement of the 5-yearly revision process of the Australian Standards for Sustainable Forest Management (AS 4708) and Chain of Custody of wood and wood products (AS 4707).

The revision will be a concentrated and collaborative process spanning 2 years. The intensive public participation plan for the project will fully engage all stakeholders groups and interested parties within and connected to sustainable forestry and the supply chain of wood and wood products. Couple this with rigorous adherence to international processes and guidelines, as well as an emphasis on science and evidence, this review project will ensure that these internationally recognised Australian Standards continue to be regarded as the most credible and robust forest certification tools.

Responsibility of the reviews and ultimate decision making powers will reside with Standards Reference Committees (SRC), one for each Australian Standard. SRCs members will consist of representatives who cover scientific, environmental, social, economic and cultural aspects of sustainable forest management and wood production in Australia. Call for nominations from representative national organisations, industries bodies and stakeholders to participate on the SRCs are being mailed out and will be advertised in leading publications. There are many places that need to be filled and AFSL is ensuring that all interested parties are aware of their ability to be involved either on the committee or through public consultation.

Mr Geoff Gorrie, Chairperson AFSL stated "we are very pleased with the plan to conduct this revision as it will ensure a wide coverage of topics and criteria, and that engagement with stakeholders and interested parties is a priority. We are also very happy that Dr Paul Biggs has accepted the role as Chair to the SRC for Sustainable Forest Management. Paul has been a leader in Australian forest management for over 25 years, in that time developing a strong technical and scientific background, and greatly suited to this SRC Chair appointment."

Kayt Watts, CEO of AFSL said "the revision process involves a public call for comment on both Australian Standards. It will be interesting to see the types of issues and aspects of the criteria of the Australian Standards that will be raised in this process, especially in this ever changing forestry and wood production environment."

"AFSL is committed to the revision process which enables a fully transparent and inclusive consultation. We have engaged Fitzpatrick Woods Consulting (FWC) to provide an independent management service to the revision project, especially relating to collaborative stakeholder management and standards revision support to the SRCs," Ms Watts said.

FWC is a specialist consulting firm with particular expertise in the Australian and regional forestry and forest products industries and in stakeholder identification and management.

Revision of the Australian Standards for Forest Management and wood products Chain of Custody will require significant support from industry, government and all stakeholders. AFSL will soon be commencing engagement with industry partners and the Australian Government to discuss assistance options. Needless to say, the revision process cannot be completed without considerable support.

Arctic Paper's uncoated Munken Design Range introduces MUNKEN ROUGH, a major new addition to the print and design market – three new papers with a ‘rough’, toothy surface. Providing exceptionally high quality four-colour printing and image reproduction, these unique grades also have a distinctive natural and bulky paper feel.

The new products within the Munken Design Range are:
Munken Polar Rough, Munken Lynx Rough and Munken Pure Rough and come in three shades – crisp white, natural white and cream. This brings the total number of products within the Munken Design range to six different papers, in three shades and with two distinctive and complementary surfaces.

Garry Colyer, Managing Director for Arctic Paper UK commented “Research has indicated that the current trend is for rougher paper surfaces which are becoming progressively more popular with designers, creative printers and publishers who are increasingly striving to reflect a product's characteristics with the help of the paper they choose. Munken Rough range, with the market's roughest surface, is now ideal to use instead of wood containing papers which are specified because of their extremely rough surfaces. Arctic Paper’s Munken Rough range now provides a woodfree design paper with this unique toothy feel which is easier to print on and gives excellent print results”.

A feeling of depth and authenticity

Munken Rough also provides a real bulky addition to the Munken range

Garry added “Bulkier papers are growing in demand because they have the thickness and feeling that coated papers lack. They give a totally different experience and are easier to get that ‘fibre feeling’ without printing problems. Today, designers are confidently working with the combination of paper surfaces; we feel that designers will be just as pleased as we are with the new Munken Rough range and the expressive possibilities of these 3 new surfaces can provide.”

Rough Roads – a suitable campaign theme

A campaign is built up around the new Munken Rough range qualities with the help of artistic close-ups on different tarmac roads. The photos were taken by the Swedish photographer, Jens Andersson. The campaign theme, Rough Roads, is in-line with the unique rough feeling of the three papers. A Direct mailing campaign is being sent to 45,000 creators, printers and publishers throughout Europe. The mailing gives the opportunity to order a box with 15 art prints with Jens' photos printed on all six Munken Design paper qualities.

Samples and dummies of the entire Munken Design Range are available from Dummyshop, www.arcticpaper.com/Dummyshop

Facts about the Munken Design Range:

The Munken Design Range now comes in six different variations; in three shades and with two surfaces.
Munken's new, rough surfaces have the best possible printability and colour reproduction with a unique paper feel and bulk.

They are available as FSC or PEFC certified.
Products with a rough surface – Munken Polar Rough, Munken Lynx Rough and Munken Pure Rough.

Products with a smooth surface – Munken Polar, Munken Lynx and Munken Pure.

Shades – crisp white, natural white and cream

Grammages – 70-400 g/m2

Source: news.paperindex.com

UPM has been selected as an index component for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 2010-2011. The DJSI follow a best-in-class approach and include sustainability leaders from each industry on a global and regional level respectively. UPM was chosen both to the European and Global Sustainability Index.

The annual review of the DJSI is based on a thorough analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as climate change mitigation, supply chain standards, labour practices, corporate governance and risk management.

"UPM's selection to the DJSI is a great recognition for UPM's Biofore strategy. Continuous improvement of our environmental, social and financial performance is a key driver for UPM. It is very positive that stakeholders recognise our commitment" says Marko Janhunen, Director Corporate Responsibility & Public Affairs.

As the Biofore Company, UPM is shaping the new forest industry by leading the way into a new, innovation-driven and sustainable bio-economy. The company is strongly committed to continuous improvement in economic, social and environmental performance while always aiming for a long term sustainable future based on profitability and value creation from sustainable products. The Corporate Responsibility Principles that were published in 2010 support the company’s strategy and vision as the Biofore Company. Principles are available on corporate web site: www.upm.com/en/about_upm/responsibility/principles.

For further information, please contact:
Mr Marko Janhunen, Director, Corporate Responsibility & Public Affairs +358 2041 50572

UPM leads the integration of bio and forest industries into a new, sustainable and innovation-driven future. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM consists of three Business Groups: Energy and pulp, Paper, and Engineered materials. The Group employs around 23,000 people and it has production plants in 15 countries. In 2009, UPM's sales amounted to EUR 7.7 billion. UPM's shares are listed on the Helsinki stock exchange.

UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upmbiofore.com and www.upm.com