Greycon Ltd., one of the leaders in supply chain optimisation for the paper, printing, film and nonwovens industries, announces a new product for the Pulp Industry. PulpPlan is an optimisation based scheduling system.

Case studies have demonstrated the possibility of a throughput increase in the range of 2-5%, equivalent to a profitability increase in excess of €1 million pa. This is achieved by combining:

• A rich model that captures the essential aspects of the process
• A state-of-the-art non-linear optimisation engine
• A modern graphical user interface with unlimited what-if capability.

Pulp mills can use PulpPlan to improve in throughput, quality uniformity, scheduling of planned downtime, resilience against unplanned events via optimised tank scheduling, fossil fuel costs and CO₂ emissions and even operator training.

“PulpPlan is an interesting new tool to our product portfolio. This is a tool which customers will for sure find value adding. It further expands the understanding and coverage of our paper industry supply chain”, said Constantine Goulimis, CEO of Greycon Ltd.

Celulosa y Energía Punta Pereira S.A. (“CEPP”), a joint-venture company in the Montes del Plata group formed by Stora Enso and Arauco, has been notified of arbitration proceedings initiated against it by Andritz Pulp Technologies Punta Pereira S.A., a subsidiary of Andritz AG, claiming EUR 200 million. The arbitration relates to contracts for the delivery, construction, installation, commissioning and completion by Andritz of major components of the Montes del Plata pulp mill project located at Punta Pereira in Uruguay. CEPP disputes the claims brought by Andritz and will also actively pursue claims of its own against Andritz for breach by Andritz of its obligations under the contracts.

No provisions have been made concerning the arbitration proceedings.

The leading global hygiene and forest products company SCA and its Australian partner, Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), have decided to float their joint venture in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

A draft of the prospectus for the initial public offering (IPO) was today submitted to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). The listing of the joint venture Asaleo Care (formerly SCA Hygiene Australasia) on the ASX is scheduled to take place in late June or early July 2014.

SCA intends to retain a significant shareholding in Asaleo Care. The Group currently owns 50% of the company. The stock market floatation will dilute SCA’s holding in the company. SCA’s ownership is expected to be approximately 33% following the IPO.

Asaleo Care manufactures and markets consumer tissue and Away-from-Home (AfH) tissue, diapers, feminine care products and incontinence products. Leading brands include TENA, Tork, Sorbent, Libra and Treasures. In 2013, the company reported net sales of AUD 625m (approx. SEK 3.9 billion) and an operating profit of AUD 97m (approx. SEK 610m). The company has about 1,050 full-time employees.

The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) announced Patrick Willink as its new President at the CPI Council Meeting held on 22 May. 

The Group Chief Technology Officer and Director at James Cropper plc will serve as president for the next two years. 

"I'm honoured to take on the role of president of the CPI,” said Patrick Willink.   “The CPI has a vital role to play for the UK paper and associated industries within the challenging manufacturing environment we currently face.  I'm looking forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead."

CPI is the leading organisation recognised by UK Government, and the community at large, as the authoritative and effective voice of the UK paper-related industry, defending its interests and promoting its achievements and potential.  The CPI represents 70 member companies involved in the supply chain for paper, comprising recovered paper merchants, paper and board manufacturers and converters, corrugated packaging producers and makers of soft tissue papers.

Phil Wild CEO of James Cropper plc commented “I would like to congratulate Patrick on his appointment with the CPI.  As James Cropper's Chief Technology Officer I know that the commitment and guidance that he will bring to the role will ensure that the CPI will continue to be a strong voice for the industry.”

Ahlstrom, a high performance fiber-based materials company, celebrates the inauguration of its new Product & Technology Development Center in Shanghai, Minhang District, in eastern China.

Ahlstrom's new Product & Technology Development Center in Shanghai will improve the company's direct support to its customers in China with local product development. Located in the Caohejing Pujiang Hi Tech Park in Shanghai, the center is conveniently positioned near its customers in China.

"The new Shanghai product development center supports Ahlstrom's growth strategy and strengthens our presence and local market understanding. We are pleased to start long-term development work in Asia and hereby reinforce our offering for a clean and healthy environment to help our customers to stay ahead," says Jan Lång, Ahlstrom's President & CEO.

"The development work in the new center will build on our strong know-how on material science, fibers and chemistry. To more quickly address the local market needs, it is crucial to develop new products and technology close to our customers here in China," says Dr Paul H. Stenson, Executive Vice President, Technology and Strategy Development.

The new center in China employs approximately 30 people and will serve all five of our Business Areas in China: Advanced Filtration, Building and Energy, Food, Medical, and Transportation Filtration. In addition to Shanghai, Ahlstrom has four manufacturing plants and 13 sales offices in Asia, providing services throughout the region.

Tieto has successfully delivered Tieto Integrated Paper Solution TIPS Trim to Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd, a world leading paper and pulp manufacturer based in China. The project includes 18 paper machines in five locations: Dongguan, Jiangsu, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and sites in Vietnam.

TIPS Trim system integrates with Lee & Man's sales system. It offers several benefits on time and cost savings. "TIPS Trim is exactly the software to optimize the cutting plan. In most cases, TIPS Trim creates a plan to satisfy the needs of edge control, order fulfilment and mill specific requirement by click on one button," comment the users from Jiangsu and Chongqing sites. "TIPS Trim helps on controlling edge waste," emphasize the users on Dongguan site.

"We are very proud of this deal, which confirms TIPS to be a leading MES solution also outside our traditional home markets in Northern Europe. We offer a standard paper industry specific solution with rich functionalities and proven ERP integration capability. Our many references of successful deliveries in both the local and global market minimize Lee & Man's risk in the investment," says Timo Jäätvuori, Sales Director for TIPS at Tieto.

Tieto Integrated Paper Solution TIPS provides a proven real-time operations management solution by seamlessly linking planning, business operations, and production processes of a pulp and paper company. It combines the functionality and the best practices of our previous advanced Sales and MES system deliveries with over 40 years' experience and offers management of the whole order-to-cash value chain. TIPS Trim is an integral part of the solution that helps create and optimise cutting plans.

The Portucel Soporcel group, Portugal's second leading exporter, is set to increase the prices for its UWF (uncoatedwoodfree) paper products across all European markets, as from the beginning of April, mirroring the two increases already implemented by the Group this year, with complete success, in the US, Middle East, African and Asian markets and an increase in Latin America.

• Increase of 3% to 5% for April
• •Growing pressure from the industry's cost structure and historically low prices lead to plant closures in the US and in Europe

The strong pressure on the industry's cost structure, which has undermined profitability and led to the closure of several plants in the US and Europe, has made this price review inevitable, together with the fact that prices dropped by around 3% throughout 2013 alone, according to relevant benchmark indicators in Europe. It is necessary to go

back three and a half years, to summer 2010, to find prices lower than they are at present, it is also worth to underline that in more than three decades only during six periods of time real prices were actually lower than they are today.

European leader in the production of UWF paper, the Portucel Soporcel group will raise its prices in the European market for all its products by 3% to 5%, corresponding to the signs of growing demand detected in the early months of 2014. Since the start of the year, demand has consistently increased, and order books at all the Group's mills are at their highest level ever for this time of the year.

The Portucel Soporcel group markets products to 118countries under its own paper brands with a strong reputation for superior quality - Navigator, Pioneer, Inacopia, Explorer, Target, Discovery and Multioffice. The Navigator brand, in particular, is the world's best-selling office paper in the premium segment.

Valmet will supply a part of a major rebuild and some new equipment to a pulp mill of Siam Cellulose Co., Ltd. (SCL) in Thailand. The mill is located in Wangsala, Kanchanaburi province. The value of the order is around EUR 30 million. The order is included in Valmet's second quarter 2014 orders received.

The order includes an upgrade of the cooking plant and a fiber line rebuild. The new equipment delivery includes an evaporation plant, a recovery boiler, an ash leaching plant and a non-condensable gas treatment (CNCG) collection and burning system. The rebuilt plant is planned to be in operation in the beginning of 2016.

"We chose Valmet based on our earlier successful experience with the Phoenix Mill's recovery boiler performance and CompactCooking G2 technology," says Surasak Amawat, Managing Director of Siam Cellulose Co., Ltd.

"This order continues our successful cooperation with Siam Cellulose, and proves our commitment to move our customers' performance forward with fit-for-purpose and value-adding solutions", says Anil W. Purankar, Vice President, Pulp and Energy Business Line, Asia Pacific, Valmet.

Details about the order

The existing cooking plant will be converted to Compact Cooking G2 by adding an ImpBin^TM impregnation system, a decision based on the successful experience of improved pulp quality in Phoenix mill. The rebuild of the fiber line includes installation of Delta screens, wash presses, screw conveyors and medium consistency pumps.

The new evaporation plant will replace the existing plant and support the need for increased pulp production. The new RECOX recovery boiler is a repeat order from SCG Paper and will replace the existing boiler and increase the pulp production capacity. The new ash leaching system will help the mill to maintain low levels of potassium (K) and chloride (Cl).

About Siam Cellulose Co., Ltd. (SCL)

Siam Cellulose is a subsidiary of SCG Paper and a leading producer of eucalyptus based pulp. SCG Paper is the largest integrated paper and corrugated containers producer in ASEAN.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered a stop to a multi-million-dollar pulp making plant in the southern province of Long An over its troubled operations, fueled by material disputes with local jute growers, the provincial People’s Committee announced Tuesday.

The Phuong Nam pulp mill in Long An Province, located in southern Vietnam

Phuong Nam pulp mill was constructed by Tracodi, a subsidiary of the Transport Ministry-run CIENCO 6, under a VND2 trillion (US$94.34 million) investment funded by the state budget.

The facility broke ground in March 2006 in Long An, around 60km west of Ho Chi Minh City, and was put into operation a year later at a capacity of producing 100,000 tons of paper pulp from jute plants per year.

But the mill had been producing well below its full capacity until 2009, when its operations were suspended for many reasons, including the conflicts with jute growers and machinery breakdowns.

The plant went back into service in 2012, with a new production line installed. Long An authorities also zoned 10,000 hectare land plots to grow jute plants to supply raw materials to the pulp mill.

But the new machinery repeatedly malfunctioned while the plant could only manage to source 1,000 hectares of jute plants for its production.

In 2013, when jute growers had already started their new crops, the plant operator abruptly announced that it would stop sourcing materials from them.

The Prime Minister has thus decided to pull the plug on the crippled factory, seven years after the troubles began.

The People’s Committee of Long An will have to cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance to work out a solution to sell or liquidate the facility and submit a report to the premier by the end of next month, Nguyen Thanh Nguyen, deputy chairman of the committee, said.

“In principle, we will try to find a suitable buyer for the plant to prevent waste,” Thanh said, adding the plant still plays a role of boosting agricultural economy in the province.

Losing confidence

It was hoped that the pulp mill would give a boost to the agricultural development in Long An, where most of the agricultural land is more suitable to grow jute plants than paddy.

In 2007 the province’s agriculture department launched a program encouraging growers to replace their paddy fields with jute plants to serve the Phuong Nam factory.

The area of jute plants thus jumped from 3,100 hectares to more than 10,000 hectares.

But the plant and jute growers got into a dispute in their very first transaction as farmers complained that their products were purchased at dirt cheap prices.

Despite intervention from authorities, the conflict remained unresolved as the pulp mill refused to increase purchase price.

“While the plant was expected to bring in economic benefits for the province, it turned out to be a wasteful investment while the farmer’s confidence was rocked,” said an official from the agriculture department.

Unique High-Filler Technology Provides Significant Cost Savings in Reduced Fiber Consumption by Increasing PCC Filler Usage

Minerals Technologies Inc., (NYSE: MTX) has announced that it has signed a commercial agreement with a major North American paper company to provide Fulfill® E-325, a new, high-filler technology, at a paper mill in the United States. This is Minerals Technologies' fourth commercial agreement for the technology in North America.

The Fulfill®E-325 series allows papermakers to increase loading levels of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), replacing higher cost pulp, and increasing PCC usage without compromising paper quality or performance. The advancement of this new technology confirms the commercial progress of the Fulfill® brand, which offers papermakers a variety of efficient, flexible solutions that decreases dependency on natural fiber and reduces costs.

"We are very pleased that this major papermaker, which has chosen to remain unnamed for competitive reasons, has adopted our new FulFill® technology at one of its major paper mills," said Joseph C. Muscari, chairman and chief executive officer of Minerals Technologies. "The 16 commercial agreements we have with papermakers around the world for this technology exemplify our commitment to advance our technology leadership to support papermakers throughout our global satellite network." 

PCC is a specialty pigment for filling and coating high-quality paper. By substituting Minerals Technologies' PCC for more expensive wood fiber, customers are able to produce brighter, higher quality paper at lower cost. In 1986, Minerals Technologies originated the satellite concept for making and delivering PCC on-site at paper mills and the concept was a major factor in revolutionizing papermaking in North America. Today, the company has 58 satellite plants in operation or under construction around the world and continues to lead the industry with consistent quality and technical innovation.