• Italian paper machinery manufacturer Recard has reported orders for a complete
new tissue machine in Bangladesh and two rewinders for producers in Lucca,
Italy. In Bangladesh, the company is to install a complete Crescent Former machine
and a complete slitting rewinder of 1500 m/min and trim width of 2200 mm.
Start-up is foreseen for June 2010. At Cartiera Ausonia in Porcari (Lucca -Italy)
Recard is to install a new 1200 m/min rewinder. Start-up is foreseen for the
end of January 2010. The paper mill is owned by Marco Carrrara, which has several
paper mills and converting lines in Lucca. Delicarta in Porcari (Lucca) is expected
to start up a new Recard slitter rewinder with a speed of 1500 m/min before
the end of January.
• On 17 November, members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1478 at the
South Glens Falls mill of SCA Tissue North America ratified a labour contract
that constitutes a master labour agreement applicable to union workers at
all SCA Tissue operations. By ratifying the contract, employees at the location
gain access to a SCA/USW national framework for wages and benefits, exact
terms of which were not disclosed. The contract also includes an agreement to
collaborate on productivity improvements and on the creation of a joint health
and wellness committee. The pact, which will run for four years when the current
agreement expires in July 2010, was praised by company and union spokesmen as
reflecting the cooperative approach both parties have taken in labour negotiations.
• Pöyry's new vision is to become "the global thought leader in engineering
balanced sustainability for a complex world", the company says. The company
intends to be an agenda setter in this respect in the sectors it serves. It
is to realign its business structure in line with the new vision. At the same
time, Pöyry announces its management team effective 1 January 2010. The new
vision is driven by the major challenges that Pöyry's clients will face. Urbanization
and population growth, shift in economic balance, environmental degradation
and redirection of technological innovation will have a major impact on global
demand and clients' businesses. Pöyry sees growth opportunities created by these
drivers and therefore directs its service offerings and business structure accordingly.
Pöyry targets at accelerating profitable growth organically and through acquisitions
aligned with its vision.
• SCA has launched Zewa Aktiv-Wisch-Tuch in Germany and Plenty Active Wipe in
the Benelux. “Just moisten the paper towels with water and remove dirt quickly
and easily without having to add a cleaner,” the company says. “The tissue is
notably tearr e s i s t a n t e v e n moistened, and effective against honey,
jam, oil, grease and other kind of dirt in your kitchen, bath room and the rest
of your home (e.g. sinks, floors, walls, gardening tools etc.). “Moreover they
are biologically degradable and dermatologically tested. The product is available
in a re-sealable 40-wipe box. You can choose between fresh- and citrus fragrance." SCA
is planning a launch in more countries.
• Nalco has opened a new R&D centre in Campinas, Brazil, serving Latin America.
Strategically located near top Brazilian universities, the $2 million facility
will serve water, process and energy customers throughout the region.“Brazil
is one of the 10 largest economies in the world, making it a key growth market
for Nalco and a cornerstone of our BRIC+ (Brazil, Russia, India, China and the
Middle East) strategy,” said Erik Fyrwald, Nalco Chairman and CEO. “Despite
a poor global economy, we are investing in critical areas that will drive our
future success as the world’s economy turns up.” The new laboratory will support
customers in the paper industry, among others, working in concert with the company’s
research centres in the USA.
• Södra has announced a $30/ton price increase for softwood pulps. The new price
is $830/ton. The price increase is valid from 1 January 2010. "The pulp
market is robust. Stocks remain at a historically low level and demand has remained
strong", said Ulf Edman, president of Södra Cell International.
• On 23 December, Metso announced that it has acquired 98% of all the shares
and votes in Tamfelt (including shares already owned by Metso). All of the stock
options were tendered in the share exchange offer. The offer period in the share
exchange offer by Metso Corporation for all issued and outstanding shares and
stock options of Tamfelt expired on 18 December 2009. Metso’s intention is to
acquire all the shares of Tamfelt. As it has already acquired more than 90%
of all the shares and votes conferred by them, Metso will present to Tamfelt
shareholders a redemption demand in accordance with the Finnish Companies Act.
Accordingly, those shares which have not been exchanged in the share exchange
offer will be redeemed in the manner prescribed in the Finnish Companies Act.
• LPC Group is to invest £40 million in a second tissue paper mill next to its
existing site in Hamilton, Leicester, according to the Leicester Mercury newspaper.
The paper reported on 16 November that the company needs the new mill to meet
soaring demand for its products. It is currently importing paper from Germany
to make toilet tissue and kitchen rolls. The company is primarily a producer
of supermarket brands for all the major retail chains. Sales of private label
goods have surged in the past 15 months or so as consumers have switched to
lower-cost brands. According to the newspaper, an LPC spokesman said: "It
was a trend that was ongoing anyway. The recession has accelerated this, which
is why there is such a demand." He said the new mill would need planning
consent, but said the company was confident of securing it. Salim Tejani, LPC
project director, said: "Building an additional paper mill near to our
other plants in Leicester ensures we can import less paper into the UK, which
reduces our carbon footprint, and continue the drive to further improve service
to our customers."
• A federal judge in New York dismissed a $250 million lawsuit brought by a
member of the family that once was a key owner of American Tissue (ATI), who
claimed that Cellu Tissue purchased one of the former firm's mills for far under
the claimed value of the complex. The lawsuit centred on Cellu Tissue's $5.8
million acquisition of the Neenah, WI, mill. The lawsuit was filed by Mahin
Gabayzadeh and claimed the mill was worth about $125 million. On 15 September,
the federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, Cellu Tissue said. ATI was owned by
the Elghanayan and Gabayzadeh families before going bankrupt. Mehdi Gabayzadeh,
the firm's CEO, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in 2006 after being
convicted S H O R T I S S U E S in 2005 of a $300 million fraud to save ATI
from bankruptcy. News from RISI
• National Tissue Company recently partnered Appleton Mfg Division to help reduce
the risk of on-site injuries to workers moving large rolls of tissue. With the
innovative Appleton HDLR (Heavy Duty Large Roller), National Tissue is able
to provide employees with a safe and efficient method for transporting oversized
rolls. This reduction in injury risk has helped the company to lower overhead
costs associated with work injuries, allowing it to provide a product at competitive
rates. “The HDLR has provided our staff with a safe and easy way to transport
large rolls without injury. The roll mover takes a quite daunting and potentially
dangerous task and turns it into one of ease. Our employees love them and they
have truly helped to boost our on-site safety,” explains Mike Graverson, President
of National Tissue Company.
• Rainer Rauch, former Sales Manager Central Europe of BTG Instruments, has
been appointed Head of Sales Europe. In this role he will assume full responsibility
for leading the sales and service across Europe, Middle- East, Russia and South
Africa. He will organize the sales and service network crossnationally and focus
on a customer friendly sales and service approach. Key account management is
also a very important responsibility.
