Metso and Wärtsilä have agreed that Wärtsilä’s holding in their MW Power joint venture will be acquired by Metso. Metso currently owns 60 percent and Wärtsilä 40 percent of MW Power. The arrangement is subject to permission from the EU competition authorities. The owners estimate completion by the end of July 2012. The value of the agreement will not be disclosed.

Founded in 2009, MW Power has been part of Metso’s corporate structure. “In the future, Metso will develop MW Power’s business as part of its comprehensive power generation solutions offering for the international market,” says Jyrki Holmala, President of Metso’s Power business line.

MW Power supplies small- and medium-sized heat and power plants for European market, and focuses on renewable fuel solutions. Its main customers are municipalities, process industries and utilities. The company has a total of 250 employees in Finland, Scandinavia, the Baltic area and Russia.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has successfully started up PM12 tissue machine supplied to Hengan Group Chongqing. Hengan Group, one of the leading tissue producers in China, now has seven ANDRITZ PrimeLine machines in operation. Two more machines will be started up this year, both of them equipped with the world’s largest steel yankees (diameter: 4.88 m) for high-speed machines.

The PM12 machine (PrimeLine TM W8 model) has a design speed of 2,100 m/min, a width of 5.6 m, and is equipped with energy-saving components such as yankee head insulation and a re-evaporation system. The scope of supply also included the complete stock preparation and machine control systems.

The ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER business area, which manufactures its tissue machine components in Europe and China, is thus further strengthening its position as one of the leading suppliers of tissue machines and local services in China.

Metso will rebuild the white top kraftliner machine at the Piteå mill of SCA Packaging Munksund AB in Sweden. The rebuilt production line will be fully operational during 2013. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

The main target of the rebuild is to increase the share of the production of value-added white top kraftliner products. As a result of the rebuild, SCA Packaging Munksund will be able to increase its total annual white top kraftliner production from the current level of 110,000 tonnes to 165,000 tonnes and the total kraftliner production from today’s 360,000 tonnes to 415,000 tonnes.

“The investment in the rebuild facilitates increased production of white top kraftliner, a strong specialty paper for the corrugated board industry which is experiencing a high growth rate. The investment is in line with the company’s strategy, which is to increase production and sales of products and services with a higher degree of refinement that add value to our customers,” said Jan Johansson, President and CEO of SCA, in a press release after the investment decision.

Metso’s delivery will comprise a rebuild of the approach flow system, headbox, forming, press and dryer sections as well as of the board machine ventilation system.

The 7.01-m-wide (wire) PM 1 produces white top kraftliner in the basis weight range of 115-200 g/m² and unbleached kraftliner in the range of 170-440 g/m² at the design speed of 1,100 m/min.

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

Ahlstrom, a global high performance materials company, plans to close its plant in Barcelona, Spain. The plant, which manufactures products for advanced and transportation filtration businesses, has suffered from continued weakening demand in Southern Europe. The company estimates that about 30 employees will be affected starting from the second half of 2012.

The Barcelona plant, part of the Filtration business area, is one of the Ahlstrom's smallest production units. The plant has a saturator and a converter unit for materials used in transportation and advanced filtration applications. In the future, customers will be served from Ahlstrom's other plants. 

The measures taken by Ahlstrom to improve the efficiency at the plant have unfortunately not proved sufficient. The company will make every effort in supporting employees affected by the changes. 

Although some paper sectors are reeling, boosted output figures are predicted for others, meaning the paper industry is not dying.

Institutional investors consider it positive news when Apple Inc. reports booming sales figures for its iPad products or the electronics industry touts the sale of tablets overall.

Segments of the paper industry, as well as paper recyclers, receive such news less cheerfully, as they see the writing on the wall (or, more accurately, the writing on the tablet) for the declining production of books, magazines and newspapers.

Papermakers and recyclers alike are in the midst of a world that is rapidly changing how it views information, which is having a serious impact on how much ink-on-paper material is being produced.

Some better news for those in the paper industry supply chain lies in the ongoing creation of a larger global middle class, which is boosting the production of paper grades in the packaging and tissue sectors.

Reading Disability
The influence of the Internet and reading tablets on how Americans consume paper has become apparent in the past several years.

In a presentation at WasteExpo in the United States in late April, paper and paper recycling industry consultant Bill Moore of Moore & Associates, Atlanta, noted that the United States has gone from manufacturing 97 million tons of paper products in 2007 to just 79 million tons four years later in 2011.

This 18.5% decrease is attributable primarily to declines in the production of newsprint and printing and writing papers. The decline of the daily newspaper in the United States is evident when looking at newsprint production numbers.

Moore noted that newsprint production in the United States peaked in 2004, when 17.54 million tons of newsprint was produced. Just eight years later, in 2012, just 8.72 million tons of newsprint will be produced—less than half of the 2004 total. “In the span of eight years, that’s pretty drastic,” said Moore.

According to Moore, the rest of the world is beginning to follow suit. While Europe’s newsprint production has not fallen as fast, it is declining, he commented.

While the growing middle class in the developing world has been reading (and recycling) more newspapers in the past 10 years, this population sector also is gravitating toward tablets and other forms of electronic news distribution. Globally, “there has been no new newsprint capacity for five years, and there is none on the books,” said Moore.

At the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) Annual Convention in mid-April, Ken Waghorne, vice president-global packaging practice at the United States-based paper consulting firm RISI, said in the 2011-2013 timeframe, global newsprint demand is anticipated to decline by 2%.

This includes a forecasted decline of 5% in Europe and 11% in North America, while Asia’s demand will increase by 4%.

Printing and writing paper is beginning to face similar circumstances, said Moore. Mills in the United States in that sector produced 32.7 million tons of product in 2004. Just eight years later, the sector is expected to produce just 20.2 million tons of paper, a decrease of 38%.

While offices in the U.S. and Western Europe are not yet “paperless,” the way companies and institutions are storing information is changing rapidly, Moore noted.

In the U.S., the federal government has mandated electronic medical record-keeping for much of the health care industry, a sector that has traditionally been a heavy user of printed forms and charts.

Other industry sectors have gravitated toward electronic record-keeping without government prompting, and the effect is evident not only in the reduced printing and writing production figures, but also in recycling plants in the United States.

“The document destruction business is slowing, primarily because we’re using less printing and writing paper [and paper records],” said Moore.

The RISI numbers presented by Waghorne reflect this, with North American demand for printing and writing paper predicted to decline by 5% from 2011 to 2013. Flat demand for printing and writing paper is predicted for Europe, while Asian demand is expected to leap by 10%.

The Better News
While recyclers in North America and Europe compete for declining tons of newsprint and office paper, two other paper industry sectors are faring better.

Waghorne’s presentation at ISRI was titled “Tissue and Packaging Become the Star Performers for the Global Paper Industry,” declaring the good news part of the paper industry story up front.

The production of containerboard and other types of paper and board used for packaging declined in Europe and North America during the 2008 and 2009 recession, but unlike news and printing grades it has rebounded along with the economy.

In the 2011-2013 timeframe examined by Waghorne, European containerboard production is expected to grow by 7% while a category RISI refers to as board/wrapping and specialty paper is expected to grow by 5%.

Similarly, North American containerboard production is forecast to grow by 5% and production in the board/wrapping and specialty paper sector is predicted to grow by 3%.

This presents good news for paper recyclers in those regions both in terms of supply and demand.

The tissue industry, while generating little that can be recycled, has become an important consumer of several grades. The “away from home” tissue sector, in particular, has helped provide domestic consuming markets for many recyclers in North America and Europe.

RISI’s forecast calls for 4% tissue production growth in North America from 2011 to 2013, 7% growth in Europe during that time and 13% growth in Asia.

Waghorne also commented that the potential for further growth in this paper sector remains enormous. While the average person in Western Europe consumes about 16 kilograms of tissue products each year, the average person in Eastern Europe, China and other parts of Asia consumes less than 5 kilograms per year.

From 2010 to 2013, RISI predicts annual tissue consumption growth of 3.6 million tonnes. China is expected to account for about 1.3 million tonnes (39%) of that growth, with Latin America adding 500,000 tonnes of tissue consumption.

“The next two years [are] expected to show good global demand growth,” Waghorne stated.

Demanding Times
While the global paper industry portrayed by Moore and Waghorne has a “Jekyll and Hyde” aspect to it, a common aspect has been a reliance on recovered fibre as feedstock.

According to Moore, in 2011, 55% of the paper produced globally was made with recovered as feedstock, a record percentage.

Recyclers in most of Europe and increasingly in North America have reaches about as far into the scrap paper stream as they can, noted Moore. “Maximum recovery is being reached in developing economies,” he stated.

“Major new recovery can only occur in the emerging economy areas,” said Moore, noting that the recovery rate in the Middle East is estimated at 37% and in Latin America at 43%. “That’s where the growth is going to come from.”

Supply strains are causing some papermakers to consider switching to virgin fibre in some cases. Moore cited containerboard producers in the U. S. as candidates to consider this switch. “If OCC supply is strained, containerboard makers in the Southeastern United States are likely to ramp up wood-based kraft pulp production.”

China has become the world’s foremost producer of paper and, as Moore noted, it is a nation with an absence of forest resources. (As is India, a nation producing far less paper than China but one that is growing as an export destination for recyclers in Europe and North America.)

This steady demand has caused pricing to trade in a high range during most of the past 12 years, and when there is a price downturn, recovery has usually followed within a few months.

“I don’t see any substantial downturn in the price of recovered paper coming up—not like the three-year cycles of the 1990s,” said Moore. “The world depends on it too much.”

source:Recycling Today Global Edition

Catalyst Paper Corporation announced that the company did not receive the necessary creditor approval for its amended plan of arrangement under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Approval of not less than 66 2/3% of the principal amount of each creditor class voting on the plan is required. Although 99.5% of the principal amount of the secured creditor class voted in favour of the plan, only 64% of the principal amount of the unsecured creditor class voted in favour of the plan at meetings held today in Richmond, BC. Details of the voting results including votes on a class-by-class basis are available at www.catalystpaper.com/restructuring.

Since the amended plan of arrangement was not approved at the meetings, Catalyst Paper is required to commence a sale transaction in accordance with certain court-approved sale and investor solicitation procedures (SISP) as described in the Management Proxy Circular delivered to Catalyst Paper’s creditors in advance of the meetings.

“Today's creditors' vote makes it clear for stakeholders that our path to emerge from protection will be through a sales process initiated by a stalking horse bid from secured noteholders. Our objective remains unchanged and that's to put our company on better financial footing to enable us to compete vigorously and to adapt as necessary to the continuing changes in the markets for our products,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Clarke. “Stakeholders can be assured that as milestones in the sales process are met, issues resolved and decisions reached, we will continue to provide timely updates on developments and progress.”

The company’s debtor-in possession (DIP) financing continues to be available to the company and, combined with the company’s operating revenue, is expected to continue to provide sufficient liquidity to meet ongoing obligations to employees and suppliers and ensure that normal operations continue during the sale process.

The SISP outlines the procedures and timelines for soliciting bids to purchase all or substantially all of the assets of Catalyst Paper or to make an investment in the business and operations of Catalyst Paper. The SISP also contemplates that Catalyst Paper will enter into a stalking horse purchase agreement (the Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement) with holders of Catalyst Paper’s First Lien Notes for the purchase of all or substantially all of the company’s assets on a going concern basis. In the event that Catalyst Paper does not receive or accept a qualified bid, pursuant to the SISP the company must terminate the SISP and within three business days of such termination, must file an application with the court seeking approval of a sale transaction under the Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement, which agreement has been finalized and approved by the court.

The SISP will be implemented as follows:

(a) an initial offering summary and confidentiality agreement will be distributed to known potential bidders within two days;

(b) potential bidders will submit certain information and an executed confidentiality agreement within 14 days (the Potential Bidder Deadline);

(c) the determination of which potential bidders are qualified bidders will occur within five days after such bidders have delivered their materials;

(d) qualified bidders will submit a non-binding indication of interest within 35 days following the Potential Bidder Deadline (the Phase 1 Bid Deadline);

(e) the non-binding indication of interest will be assessed within five days of the Phase 1 Bid Deadline;

(f) provided the non-binding indication of interest has been determined to likely be consummated, the bidder will submit a purchase bid or investment bid no later than 21 days from the Phase 1 Bid Deadline (the Phase 2 Bid Deadline);

(g) the purchase bid or investment bid will be assessed within the 5 days following the Phase 2 Bid Deadline; and

(h) in the event that there is more than one acceptable purchase bid or investment bid, an auction will be conducted within three days of the Phase 2 Bid Deadline.

Further Information and Monitor Contact Information

Additional information concerning the restructuring is contained on the Monitor’s website, which is available at http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/car/catalyst-paper-corporation/index.jhtml.

Siemens has received an order for a total of 50 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 115 megawatts (MW) for the El Arrayán wind power plant in Chile. This wind project will be developed as a joint venture between Pattern Energy and AEI. Furthermore, the mining division of Antofagasta plc, which is the parent company of Minera Los Pelambres, the power offtaker, has purchased an equity stake in the El Arrayán project. The scope of supply encompasses delivery, installation and commissioning of 50 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines with a power rating of 2,3 MW and a rotor diameter of 101 meters, including a five-year service and maintenance contract. Installation of the project is scheduled to begin in spring 2013, with commissioning of the wind power plant planned for early 2014.

"The El Arrayán wind power plant marks our market entry in Chile. This project also proves that we are well positioned on the global wind markets with our product portfolio. It is our goal to grow our presence in this region", said Felix Ferlemann, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power Division. The Global Wind Energy Council concluded that Chile has good wind resources from the northern deserts to the extreme South and estimates the country's wind energy potential to be around 40 Gigawatt (GW).

The El Arrayán Wind Farm is located approximately 400 kilometers north of Santiago on the coast of the Coquimbo IV Region. Once completed, it will be the largest wind project in Chile and provide clean and renewable energy to power the equivalent of up to 200,000 average households.

Other Siemens wind orders in South America include three projects with a combined capacity of nearly 300 megawatts (MW) in Brazil, which will be installed in 2012 and 2013. These contracts were secured during the last two years. The 2.3 wind turbines are the workhorses of Siemens` portfolio. At the end of 2011 more than 3,700 units were installed globally.

Wind Power is part of Siemens' Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2011, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about €30 billion, making Siemens one of the world's largest suppliers of ecofriendly technologies. In the same period, our products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by nearly 320 million tons, an amount equal to the total annual CO₂ emissions of Berlin, Delhi, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo.

Plans call for investment of up to $1 billion by 2017 to expand business operations

Siemens plans to expand its presence in the important growth market Brazil – setting the course for sustainable long-term growth in the country. The company intends to invest up to 1$ billion over the next five years with the aim of strengthening and expanding its business in Brazil. Investment will span the entire Siemens portfolio – comprising the Energy, Industry, Infrastructure & Cities, and Healthcare Sectors – with a special focus on localizing production and services as well as driving research and development. It also includes the necessary capital for business expansion. "We've been doing business in Brazil for more than 100 years, and we've never been more confident about its future. That's why we're investing here," noted Peter Y. Solmssen, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. Siemens intends to double its revenue in Brazil by 2017. "Our portfolio is geared to the country's requirements, and we're investing continuously in order to build up our capabilities," stated Paulo Stark, CEO of Siemens Brazil.

Siemens Brazil has invested about $700 million in capital expenditures and research and development in the country over the last ten years, opening eight new factories and generating 4,000 new jobs. In fiscal 2011, Siemens had some 10,000 employees and revenue of approximately $2.8 billion in Brazil.

One of the world's fastest-growing major economies, Brazil is rapidly emerging as a global economic powerhouse. "As its economy grows more complex, Brazil will require a more diverse range of products. That's why we're planning to expand our activities in areas that will be vital for the sustainable growth of the Brazilian economy," remarked Solmssen.

A large part of the planned investment will focus on future-oriented energy markets. This year, for example, Siemens will open a new research and development center in Rio de Janeiro which is geared to the oil and gas industry. The company intends to hire at least 200 highly qualified researchers and engineers to work on solutions that enhance efficiency and reliability across the oil and gas value chain.

Siemens will invest initially about $60 million to build up its brand new factory in Brazil. The factory will produce high and low voltage motors and generators for the domestic market and also for export. The initiative is aligned with the company’s strategy for energy efficient products and solutions. The production plant should be inaugurated in 2014 and when fully operational it is expected to generate around 300 direct jobs.

Siemens is also expanding its capabilities in the forward-looking smart grid market. In April, the company opened its first R&D center focused on developing smart grid solutions in Curitiba. Siemens is in the process to acquire a Brazilian Smart Grid company, a leading provider of smart metering and related services, this specialist company offers software and services designed to prevent non-technical losses (NTL) of power during distribution.

Siemens will also invest $30 million to expand its business in the Healthcare Sector in Brazil. Underscoring the Sector's strong commitment to Brazil, this investment will enable local imaging manufacturing and supply chain to be established in Joinville (in the state of Santa Catarina) – with the aim of better serving local market needs. 

Siemens has been active in Brazil since 1867. Throughout the past century, the company played a key role in building and modernizing the country's infrastructure. As a result, Siemens equipment and systems currently generate 50 percent of the country's electricity, provide 30 percent of all digital diagnostics imaging and can be found in over 65 percent of all the offshore oil drilling projects implemented over the past ten years. This solid position has enabled the company to achieve sustainable growth and expand its business volume over the last five years.

A lot is happening, both locally and elsewhere in the world, which is having an impact on Södra. In a large company, rapid changes do sometimes take place in terms of both organisation and production. Gunilla Saltin, temporarily holding the position of CEO of the Södra Group, explains:

We have made a number of rapid changes of late, but now we have reached the point where we want to be, to allow us to focus on the right things and face the future.

Historically, the pulp market has always been sensitive to economic conditions. Bad times mean less advertising, less printed information and less packaging. At present, we can see that Europe, Södra Cell's domestic market, is hesitant. A number of major economies are experiencing problems. Furthermore, electronic media are taking over in many instances and replacing paper as a carrier of information. All this means that we are facing an unprecedented combination in Europe of a hesitant market combined with structural change.

Despite this, both long and short fibre pulp prices have increased since the start of the year. Asia has China, with its stable economic development and an increasing need for paper pulp. Prices in China have also increased, although they remain lower than in Europe. Our overall assessment is that Södra Cell has every chance this year of meeting its return requirement of 10%.

Södra Cell launched two new products last year, Durapulp, and textile pulp at Mörrum. When we asked for investment funding for this product, we thought we would need three years in which to achieve full production from both a marketing and a production standpoint. Production has gone better than expected and customers are showing a lot of interest. They perceive Södra to be a stable, long-term supplier with a good environmental profile and a quality product based on raw material from sustainable forestry. A month or so ago, we decided to produce only textile pulp on one of the Mörrum lines. The change went more quickly than we envisaged, and so we are already at the point that we thought we would reach in three years.

Looking ahead, Södra is now into the final sprint for the current strategy period, which will be completed in 2014. We have a number of strategic targets that we have to have met by then:

Our pulp production must be fossil-free. This means that we will not be using any oil for normal operations. This is the right thing to do, regardless of whether or not you believe carbon dioxide helps to bring about climate change. We are being cautious with a scarce resource which can be used for better purposes, and we are saving money: squeezing out those last few drops of oil is an expensive enterprise!

Another target is for us to implement an established productivity culture. What does this involve? It goes without saying that we should continue doing what we were doing before, but doing it better now, working together and systematically coming up with new solutions. We have been working in this way since 2000, so our target is very much in sight. But a culture is something that we have to cherish and develop if we are not to lose it, and this is our priority just at the moment. Productivity involves working with development. Of course, anything which does not develop will be superseded. Development will involve us working on changing and improving the products we have at present and finding new product options. Södra Interiör is something of a role model in this regard. It is constantly coming up with new products in order to maintain an attractive product range.

Södra Skog has faced a number of challenges of late. Production at our pulp mills has not been as envisaged, and we have large stocks of pulp wood. Acquiring raw materials for the sawmills has been a challenge, and so market premiums have been introduced in some areas. Despite this, the situation is not satisfactory. Increased domestic hardwood supplies, monitoring of the transfers of ownership and pre-commercial thinnings are all focal points for forestry operations over the coming period.

The uncertainty in the global economy is also apparent at Södra Interiör. Sales volumes to date this year have been lower than anticipated. Profitability at the hardwood sawmills continues to be something of a challenge. As far as products are concerned, solid flooring with a new surface treatment and new parquet floor ranges are being launched.

The market conditions for sawn timber products are tough. Weak economic development in many countries is resulting in low construction rates. Market conditions contributed to a very weak result of SEK -307 million last year, and profitability has not improved over the first four months of the year. The accumulated result for the period January to April stands at SEK -108 million. In a situation such as this, it is natural for the CEO to throw open his or her position and hand over to someone else. We need to focus on the profitability of the sawmills. Håkan Svensson, the Acting CEO of Södra Timber, has put together a team of people to work on increasing income and reducing costs.

Södra Timber and Södra Interiör share a number of customers. As part of the efforts to increase revenues, Håkan has worked in cooperation with Ulf Edman (the new CEO of Södra Interiör) to launch a joint sales organisation. This will make things easier for customers who want to buy from both Södra Timber and Södra Interiör, so allowing us to be perceived as a more attractive supplier and giving us the opportunity for additional sales. Sales, sales, sales - that's the name of the game.

We have a successful productivity programme in place at all Södra units, and Södra Timber is no exception to this. But now that we have been seeing negative results for such a long time, extraordinary efforts are required. We are mustering all our available resources so as to completely screen all expenses at all sawmills and propose measures in order of priority, all under Håkan's management. Stoppages will not reduce expenses. Therefore, we have reversed the decision we made to implement stoppages in the summer.

We now have an organisation in place which is working hard to focus on the most important thing: reversing the trend at Södra Timber.

The Annual General Meeting of Alfa Laval AB was held at Färs & Frosta Sparbank Arena in Lund, Sweden, on Monday, April 23rd. Some 350 shareholders attended the meeting under the chairmanship of Anders Narvinger.

This is an unofficial translation of the Swedish notice. In case of any discrepancies between the Swedish notice and this English translation, the Swedish notice shall prevail.        

At the meeting, Lars Renström, President and CEO, concluded on the development in 2011, a year which started off with a strong growth in demand, resulting in a record high order intake in the third quarter. The increasing macroeconomic uncertainty that characterized both Europe and the US during the summer, however, began to have an impact in the autumn, causing certain customers to adopt a cautious attitude toward new investments. This development had a wider impact in the fourth quarter. Despite an initial decline, 2011 turned out a very good year, with order intake totaling SEK 28.7 billion, up 20 percent compared with 2010. Revenues amounted to SEK 28.6 billion, up 16 percent. The operating income increased significantly in absolute terms and the operating margin was 18.5 percent.

Lars Renström’s entire speech can be found on:”www.alfalaval.com/investors”.

The income statements and balance sheets of both the parent company and the Group were adopted, together with the Board’s proposal for distribution of surplus. The proposed dividend of SEK 3:25 per share was approved. Furthermore, the board’s proposal for authorization to, at one or more occasions prior to the next Annual General Meeting, buy back up to five percent of the outstanding shares in the Company, was adopted.

As Board members Gunilla Berg, Björn Hägglund, Ulla Litzén, Anders Narvinger, Arne Frank, Finn Rausing, Jörn Rausing and Lars Renström were re-elected. Anders Narvinger was appointed Chairman of the Board. Furthermore the nominating committee’s proposal regarding auditors was adopted. Authorized public accountant Staffan Landén was re-elected and Håkan Olsson Reising was newly elected as ordinary auditors the coming year. Authorized public accountants Johan Thuresson and Karoline Tedevall were newly elected as deputy auditors.

The AGM decided the remuneration to the Board of Directors for 2012 in line with the proposal from the Nomination Committee. Remuneration should be SEK 3,850,000, an increase from SEK 3,650,000 in 2011. Additional remuneration will be paid for work performed in the committees of the board.

Furthermore it adopted a resolution on the guidelines for compensation to senior management, including fixed compensation and long and short term variable compensation.

The Annual General Meeting approved discharge from liability for members of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director.

Complete proposals can be found on www.alfalaval.com.