Global
Wausau Paper launches DublNature T&T Line
Wausau Paper has launched its new Green Seal certified, DublNature line of premium, cloth-like towel and tissue products.
It uses 100% recycled fibre on the company’s recently completed ATMOS technology-enabled paper machine at Harrodsburg, Kentucky. DublNature products are designed for comfort and functionality and provide “exceptional softness, strength, absorbency and brightness,” according to the business.
DublNature is made from high-quality 100% recycled fibres. It is targeted at businesses and institutions that want the finest quality while supporting green purchasing initiatives.
Henry C. Newell, president and chief executive, said: “This launch represents a milestone in capitalising on a first-of-a-kind technology investment, the largest capital investment in the history of our company.
“Like our engineering and construction team who delivered our Harrodsburg paper machine under budget, our product design, papermaking, converting and marketing teams are to be congratulated for delivering the new DublNature product family on a much-accelerated timeline.”
Wausau Paper offers a complete line of towel, tissue, wiper, soap and dispensing systems.
W+D launches W+D FLOWTOS
W+D has targeted the tissue and hygiene industries with the launch of its W+D FLOWTOS.
The company said it is “the industry’s most innovative 2-lane paper handkerchief production and packaging performance servo motor technology for higher dynamic response and shorter cycles”.
It has an output of up to 4,600 sheets per minute and is the fastest 2-lane handkerchief production and packaging system worldwide, according to the business.
W+D FLOWTOS is designed to let the customer customise settings to accommodate a wide range of product requirements and size variations.
It is extremely accessible, easy to load and maintain – and slashes change-over times required for the adjustment needed to produce different sizes.
SCA reports 28% increase in 1Q tissue net sales
SCA has said acquisitions, higher volumes and cost savings have contributed to its tissue division’s earnings improvement.
Between 1 January and 31 March 2013 compared with the same time a year ago, net sales for the division rose 28% to SEK 11,630m.
Higher volumes increased sales by 3% and acquisitions increased sales by 30%. Sales in emerging markets rose 17% and sales of consumer tissue rose 35% mainly as a result of acquisitions in Europe and Latin America.
Sales of AfH tissue rose 28% mainly related to the acquisition in Europe.
Chief executive Jan Johansson said the hygiene operations are showing “favourable sales growth and
improved earnings”.
He said: “The efficiency programmes in the hygiene and forest products operations are continuing according to plan.
“Consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2013 rose 20% compared with the same period a year ago.
“Operating profit excluding exchange rate effects and items affecting comparability rose 25%. The
corresponding profit for personal care and tissue rose 27% and 40%.”
Following SCA’s acquisition of Georgia- Pacific’s European tissue operation in 2012, the European Commission set conditions for divestments of consumer tissue businesses.
The European Commission has now approved all of SCA’s divestments. For the group, net sales rose 15% to SEK 22,386m while pre-tax profit increased 29% to SEK 1,941m.
Voith launches Masterjet Pro T headbox
Voith has targeted the tissue market with the launch of its new MasterJet Pro T headbox.
With this headbox, the company said “an excellent quality level with minimum energy consumption” is reached, and that it works reliably under most demanding conditions.
The company said: “All required adjustments can be set precisely and are designed for long-term stability.
“The 2- or 3-layer headbox configuration ensures excellent purity between the layers without the risk of streakiness.” With MasterJet Pro T a higher consistency of the suspension in the headbox can be achieved, without any negative impact on the paper formation.
“This way energy is saved both in the approach flow system as well as in the former section. The headbox requires low maintenance and allows easy access for cleaning.”
Additionally, OnQ ModuleJet actuator technology can be installed for the best possible basis weight cross profiles.
Flexlink launches X65 conveyor platform
Flexlink has launched the X65 conveyor platform, which the company said offers twice the strength compared to today’s standards and “triples user value”.
It offers “a high flexibility in line design as well as an easily reconfigurable and small footprint”.
With the increased strength the amount of conveyors is also reduced.
Göran Abbestam, product manager at Flexlink said: “The doubled conveyor strength has a dramatic effect on the service life and maintenance intervals of systems installed.
“In addition, the layouts can be made simpler as fewer drives and transfers are required for a given layout due to the increased maximum conveyor length.
“To the user, this has a substantial, positive impact with less complexity and a lower cost of installation.”
The new conveyor can help tissue companies reduce the total cost of ownership by setting new standards in strength, speed, cost of installation and maintenance and energy consumption.
He added: “The new conveyor system reduces engineering time and rampup time also ensuring a trouble-free operation.
“The double strength, patented chain design allows high capacity, longer service life and a lower number of drive units.”
It also has lower energy consumption with reduced system friction due to unique and exact design of all sliding surfaces and applying of latest drive technology with high efficiency drive units as standard.
Global BSK producer stock decline leads one-day drop, as BHK overhang could hit May BEK $30/tonne hikes
A seasonal bounce in demand and a two days-of-supply reduction in bleached softwood kraft (BSK) stock led overall worldwide chemical market pulp producer inventory to decline by one day in March.
The inventory total closed at 35 days of supply, the Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC) has reported.
But different from softwood’s supply position, producer inventories of bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) were above balanced at 41 days-of-supply at the end of March and buyers are expected to mount an aggressive pushback against $30/tonne hikes that Latin American producers proposed for 1 May in key global markets, according to contacts.
Global BSK producer inventories closed March at 29 days-of-supply, down the two days from a revised 31 days of stock. The 29 days returned stocks into the range of 28-30 days that most producers and analysts consider balanced.
A contact at a major northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) producer who reported implementing the $930/ tonne list price this month in the USA said: “Our order volumes are very good
this month and demand has been quite good.”
Tissue demand impact. Year-to-date pulp sales to North America totaled 658,000 tonnes, up 8.3% vs yearago results “in part due to new tissue capacity,” the PPPC said. Since last September, four virgin- and deinked pulp-fibred tissue paper machines started up in the USA.
Kimberly-Clark recently reported about a $15 million higher cost paid for market pulp in the first quarter 2013 (vs first quarter 2012). K-C president and chief executive Tom Falk told analysts on a conference call that the firm expected additional commodity costs of $150 million to $250 million in 2013 – with two-thirds of that additional cost for buying pulp.
North American shipments posted bigger gains in March, up 10% from March 2012 and up 14.8% sequentially. The newly ramped up tissue machines buoyed demand for NBSK and bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK), according to producer sources.
Worldwide shipments of BSK totaled 1.964 million tonnes in March, up 8.5% sequentially and up 2.3% from year-ago results of 1.920 million tonnes, according to PPPC data. Year-to-date, BSK deliveries of 5.571 million tonnes were down 0.3% from the same period in 2012.
While April’s NBSK price increase went through relatively easily domestically, a proposed $30/tonne global hike from BEK producers Fibria and Suzano is bound to face spirited resistance from US buyers who’ve bristled atlower prices offshore and the high reported BHK inventories. The firms separately announced 1 May list prices at $900/tonne in North America, $850/tonne in Europe, and $750/ tonne in Asia.
The PPPC revised February overall inventories to 36 days-of-supply, up from 35 days originally reported, with BSK revised up one day and BHK to 41 days-of-supply (up from 39). March BHK producer stocks closed at 41 days-of-supply, flat from the February’s revised total. That’s a level widely considered above balanced.
A small poll of analyst sources on 26 April said the one day-of-supply drop in overall producer stocks corresponded to an estimated 125,000-tonne decrease. Based on the PPPC’s February raw inventory of 4.340 million tonnes, that would put March’s closing level at an estimated 4.215 million tonnes.
‘Hardwood inventory disappointing.’ Deutsche Bank analyst Josh Milberg called the BHK stock results “disappointing,” adding, “we think they suggest a more challenging environment for implementing the May $30 global BEK price hike even taking into account somewhat better than expected Chinese volumes.”
March PPPC data also showed a 14.5% rise in global BHK shipments monthover- month, with 1.827 million tonnes flat from year-ago results of 1.824 million tonnes. A rebound in shipments to China, where overall deliveries of 954,000 tonnes was up 9.7% vs 870,000 tonnes in February, contributed to the BHK shipment rise. Arauco sets flat BSK in China. At least three producers recently announced their May prices in China. Arauco and Ilim separately announced flat prices on bleached radiata pine and Russian BSK, respectively, while Tembec on Friday announced an increase on high-yield pulp.
Arauco announced flat May prices on its bleached radiata pine (BKP) and unbleached kraft (UKP) in China, at $690/ tonne net and $620 net, respectively. Ilim’s Russian BSK price was to remain at $680 net CFR to major ports, while the China/ Manzhouli border would be $650 net.
While Arauco’s flat BKP and UKP were slated flat, the firm told customers its BEK list price would rise $30/tonne to $750. That’s the same list in China Fibria and Suzano announced previouslyfor 1 May (P&PW, 5 April).
Tembec out on BTCMP. Tembec, meantime, said its “high-freeness” aspen 80 high-yield pulp, also called bleached chemi-thermomechanical (BCTMP), would be $590/tonne in China effective 1 May.
Tembec did not state how much the increase would be, but BCTMP producer sources recently said demand was increasing for hardwood BCTMP in part because Asian buyers have sought tonnes as they resist BHK price increases. News from RISI (www.risiinfo.com)
