Displaying items by tag: Buckeye Technologies

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that it has made the repairs on the #1 specialty pulp machine that was damaged on June 17, due to the significant failure of a steam drum on the #2 fluff pulp machine. Structural damage to the paper machine building has been addressed and the specialty machine will begin start up today. Both paper machines have been idled since Sunday evening June 17, when the incident occurred.

There were no injuries to any personnel and there wasn’t a fire. A team at the plant, including contractor resources and structural engineers, continue the investigation to determine the root cause of the drum failure. All drums are being inspected prior to the startup based on the early findings of the comprehensive failure analysis.

With the paper machine building secure, workers have begun the plans and repairs for the #2 paper machine where Buckeye produces all of their fluff pulp. Because the drum failure was on this machine, most of the damage was limited to one area of the paper machine. While it is too early in the repairs and planning to provide a firm timeline, we will provide an estimate early next week. The timeline depends on procurement of materials and the amount of work to repair and replace drums, pedestals and sole plates.

Insurance company representatives have been on site helping assess the damage. We expect our property damage and business interruption insurance will cover most of the property damage and business interruption losses in excess of our $2 million deductible. Our 4th quarter earnings will be impacted by more than this amount as we will not be able to recognize the business interruption insurance benefit until the insurance claim is settled, which will result in a benefit to income in fiscal year 2013.

Buckeye Chief Executive Officer John Crowe stated, “A successful restart of the specialty machine has been a high priority after personnel safety. We are using preliminary findings from the comprehensive failure analysis and plan to inspect all drums prior to returning them to service. That has been completed for the specialty machine that we are returning to operations today. Getting back to normal operations on the specialty machine is important to our specialty customers. We will work around the clock to return the #2 paper machine to operations and are making arrangements with all customers to minimize the impact of the outage on their business.”

Mr. Crowe went on to say, “I am extremely proud and impressed with the teamwork I have observed from Buckeye’s employees, our onsite contractor, venders, and customers. We also, are using the downtime opportunity to complete scheduled maintenance items that will come off our downtime planning list and this will help us avoid downtime in the future.”

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that it has completed the sale of its Brazilian subsidiary Buckeye Americana Ltda. to Vicunha Participacoes S.A. Net cash proceeds from the sale were $6.4 million. The Company ceased production of cotton cellulose pulp at the Americana, Brazil facility in December 2011, but had continued to operate its waste water treatment facility for the shared industrial site.

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that on Sunday, June 17, Buckeye’s Florida wood cellulose fibers facility near Perry, Florida, experienced a significant failure of a steam drum on the number 2 paper machine causing damage to multiple drums and structural damage to the paper machine building and structure. Fortunately, there were no injuries to any personnel working in the area. Following the incident, which occurred about 5:20 p.m. EDT, the plant was shut down in an orderly manner. A team at the plant, including contractor resources and structural engineers, immediately began an investigation to determine the root cause of the drum failure. While it is too early to know the extent or timing to return the plant to normal operations, Buckeye management will have more details on the incident later in the week and will provide updates on plans for resuming production.

Buckeye resources are working with all stakeholders including customers, suppliers and employees to manage and minimize the impact of this outage to the supply chain and to operations.

Buckeye Chief Executive Officer John Crowe stated, “Buckeye can and will repair the damage to the number 2 machine and the building. The safety of people is our highest priority, and we are thankful there were no injuries in this significant incident.”

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that Buckeye Florida has achieved forestry certifications from three internationally recognized organizations that promote responsibly managed forests: the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

The purpose of these certifications is to ensure that companies which use forest resources meet society’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Buckeye received the certifications after a rigorous year-long process of developing documents, manuals, and procedures to guide fiber procurement and track fiber chain of custody.

The certification to the FSC standard is for Chain of Custody. The SFI certifications are for the SFI Standard 2010-2014 and for SFI Chain of Custody. The certification to the PEFC standard is for Chain of Custody.

Howard Drew, Buckeye’s Vice President, Wood Cellulose Manufacturing, said the certifications are an extension of the company’s long-standing policy of practicing sustainable forestry. “Buckeye is committed to monitoring and reviewing its sustainable forestry programs and to continually improving and broadening the practice of sustainable forestry. These independent, third party certifications reflect our commitment to meeting customer demand for products that are derived from forest fiber that is legally harvested and well-managed.”

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany, and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that its Foley Plant in Perry, Florida, which manufactures specialty wood cellulose and fluff pulp, is returning to normal operation following a power failure and electrical surge that occurred last Friday, February 17. The power failure was triggered by a malfunction in a high voltage electrical line and subsequent transformer failure in its power house. This resulted in the unplanned, complete shutdown of the facility. Power has been fully restored to the facility, and one of the plant’s two production lines resumed operation at normal rates on Sunday. Company officials are targeting for the second line to resume normal operation on Wednesday, February 22.

 

Buckeye Chairman and CEO John B. Crowe said, "While this is an unfortunate event, I appreciate the efforts of our employees and contractors with a rapid and around the clock effort to return the plant to normal operations. Resources have performed in a safe manner to identify the damaged equipment and make the necessary repairs. We are working with all of our customers and anticipate no major customer issues from this event. The Foley Plant remains in a sold out position and we believe current inventory levels are adequate to cover the production losses for the near term. Our highest priority is to safely return the plant to full operation.”

 

The Company indicated that it presently is unable to fully quantify the financial impact of the event. However, depending on the timing of returning to full production, the Company estimates that the financial impact of the outage, excluding the effect of any insurance proceeds, could be in the range of a $5 to $6 million reduction in pretax operating income, most of which would impact the quarter ending March 31. The Company reported that it has property loss and business interruption insurance with a single $2 million deductible and believes based on discussions with its insurance broker that this event is a covered loss.

 

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany, and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) has announced that John B. Crowe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will participate in the Credit Suisse Global Paper & Packaging Conference in New York City on Wednesday, February 22, 2012, at 2:05 p.m. (ET).

 

A live audio webcast of Mr. Crowe's remarks and a copy of presentation materials will be accessible at www.bkitech.com. To access the webcast, follow the link to the Credit Suisse Global Paper & Packaging Conference.

 

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

 

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the assets and ongoing operations of its Merfin Systems converting business to National Tissue Company, LLC. Merfin Systems, located in King, North Carolina, is a converter of towels, tissue and napkins which it sells along with proprietary paper product dispensers into the away from home market. It sells these products through selected distributors concentrated in the eastern U.S. and Canada. National Tissue is a privately owned converter located in Cudahy, Wisconsin. National Tissue markets and sells its broad product line primarily through small and mid-sized distributors located in the Midwest.

National Tissue’s President, Mike Graverson, said, “Merfin is an excellent fit and will complement National Tissue’s core business. Merfin brings their proprietary dispensing systems and other product extensions to our basic offering. Adding a second and expandable operating location is a big step in our strategic roadmap.”

Buckeye’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Crowe said, “We are pleased that our employees in King are now partnered with a strategic industry player. While it has not been a core business for Buckeye, we have been pleased with our 15 year ownership of Merfin Systems. We believe this opens up new horizons for this fine company, and enables Buckeye to deploy the proceeds into its strategic operations.”

“We expect to incur non-cash goodwill and fixed asset impairment charges of about $4 million in the October-December 2011 quarter. The sale along with associated liquidation of working capital is expected to generate approximately $6 million in cash.”

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany, Canada, and Brazil. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting the Company’s operations, financing, markets, products, services and prices, and other factors. For further information on factors which could impact the Company and the statements contained herein, please refer to public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Uncompetitive cost position necessitates closure

Potential generation of a $20 million cash benefit

Redeploy resources to higher return business opportunities

Expect $2.4 million restructuring costs and non-cash impairment charge of $49 million

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced the closure of its Americana, Brazil cotton linter pulp production line. The company will work closely with its customers to continue to meet their needs from its Memphis, Tennesseefacility.

Buckeye's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Crowe said, “This closure has become necessary due to the facility’s uncompetitive cost position for the products it makes. This is primarily driven by the high cost of its cotton linter raw material supply. It is unfortunate that this closure will result in the termination of employment for approximately 60 dedicated employees. We have owned and operated the facility since 2000, and we value and appreciate the many contributions of the organization over the past 12 years. Buckeye will continue to operate the waste water treatment facility for the shared industrial site while we continue discussions with interested parties for the sale of the facility.

We expect to incur about $2.4 million in restructuring expenses in calendar 2012 and a non-cash asset impairment charge of about $49 million in the October-December 2011 quarter. The closure is expected to generate an approximate $20 million cash benefit, primarily due to tax benefits related to the investment loss, assuming we are able to utilize all of our potential cellulosic biofuel credits by June 2016. Any additional cash benefit will be dependent on the final outcome of the facility sale process.”

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany, Canada, and Brazil. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting the Company’s operations, financing, markets, products, services and prices, and other factors. For further information on factors which could impact the Company and the statements contained herein, please refer to public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has scheduled a conference call for Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Central (11:00 Eastern) to discuss second quarter 2012 results.

 

All interested parties are invited to listen to the call live or tape delayed via the website www.streetevents.com or via the Company’s website homepage at www.bkitech.com. Supplemental material for this call will be available on these websites. The replay will be archived on these websites through February 25, 2012.

 

In addition, persons interested in listening by telephone may dial in at (888) 287-5563 within the United States. International callers should dial (719) 325-2436. Participants should call no later than 9:50 a.m. CT.

 

To listen to the telephone replay of the call, dial (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820. The passcode is 4455225. This replay will be available until 1:00 p.m. CT February 8, 2012.

 

A press release will be issued via Business Wire after the market closes on January 24. If you do not receive a copy of this release, please contact Shirley Spears at (901) 320-8125.

 

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors approved funding to increase the high-end specialty wood pulp capacity by 42,000 tons at its Buckeye Florida "Foley" operation. The cost of the project is expected to be approximately $79 million with an anticipated rate of return of 15% to 20%. Engineering and design work is nearing completion, and construction is expected to begin in January 2012 with project startup planned for December 2012. This investment will be funded by cash flow from operations.

Expands high-end specialty capacity by 42,000 tons
Supports strategic customers' growth
Returns well above cost of capital

Buckeye's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Crowe said, "This specialty expansion project will provide much needed high-purity specialty volume for strategic customers in all of our high-end markets including casings, tire cord, ethers, filtration, micro-crystalline cellulose, and acetate. Additionally, this will improve our overall plant product mix from 42% specialty wood pulp to just over 50% specialty wood pulp while maintaining the Foley plant's existing total capacity at 465,000 tons per year. This is the type of high-return organic growth opportunity that we will continue to target as we allocate our free cash flow to its highest and best use. We believe this project will provide excellent value to our customers and our shareholders."

SOURCE: Buckeye Technologies Inc.