below please find a selection of the latest news from the world of pulp and paper.

ipw news

At the end of 2020, the Optima Group entered a development partnership with the technology group Voith. The objective of the alliance is to develop sustainable paper packaging solutions. It is the first time that two companies from different phases in the supply chain will be working together on developing environmentally compatible alternatives to plastic packaging.

From Simancas to Fabriano, with the aim of reconstructing “le vie della carta” (the paper routes) in Mare Nostrum, the crossroads of populations and ideas since the dawn of time. Following the first workshop held in Simancas in Spain last January, the workshop “Paper in Motion” of COST Action PIMo (People in Motion) will be in Fabriano, the paper manufacturing city par excellence.

Stora Enso has completed the conversion of its Oulu paper mill for production of packaging board. The pulp mill has been in production since mid-January and the newly converted machine is in a start-up phase. The project began in May 2019 following a decision to invest EUR 350 million, and it was completed within the budget frame. The packaging machine will now be ramped up during the first quarter and is expected to reach its designed production capacity by the end of this year.

SCA has awarded AFRY a piping engineering assignment for the Chemical Thermomechanical Pulp (CTMP) production project in Ortviken, Sweden. The assignment includes piping design of the CTMP processes, dewatering, drying and baling. The value of SCA’s investment is SEK 1.45 billion and production is expected to start at the beginning of 2023.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, launches Nautilus^® Elemental, its first recycled office paper product for the low-white segment. The new product made from 100% post-consumer waste complements the existing wide range of premium high-white recycled papers. Low-white recycled papers are particularly popular with public authorities and institutions (e.g. schools). The new paper is now available across Europe.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, announced on 22 January 2021 its plan to strengthen its position as “Europe’s leading producer” of folding boxboard by increasing production capacity.

With its advances in the development of environmentally friendly, sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions, Sappi has proven itself to be a pioneer in sustainability. To learn how the paper manufacturer is deeply revolutionizing the packaging industry and the types of challenges it has to overcome, watch the new episode of Blue Couch at 10 a.m. (CET) on Wednesday 3 February at www.sappi-bluecouch.com.

On January 10th, Sun Paper started up a new packaging production line PM 2 in Laos. As the 6th packaging paper machine that Voith supplied to Sun Paper, PM 2 started up 18 days ahead of schedule and is Sun Paper’s second paper machine outside of China. From stock on wire to paper on reel it took only 1 hour and 46 mins. The team has thus set up a new start-up record for this type of paper machine.

On January 8, the Voith supplied specialty paper machine PM 40 was successfully started up at Sun Paper’s Yanzhou site in Shandong Province, China. The new capacity will further enrich Sun Paper’s product portfolio, and help in strengthening Sun Paper’s leading position with a diversified paper business. The first roll has achieved the market standard with stable quality.

Over the course of the year, the Tissue market evolved significantly: the uncertainty of the cost of pulp, the high competitiveness of the market, and the upheavals created by the current pandemic opened up new challenges. The Körber Business Area Tissue has been able to meet the most demanding customer requirements in terms of speed, choice and technologically advanced solutions.

Metsä Group and the University of Helsinki have entered into a partnership agreement for co-operation in academic research and teaching of developing and responsible forest industry. The aim is to effectively bring together the latest scientific knowledge and business needs.

bio-fibre news

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order – in cooperation with Dieffenbacher – to supply a complete MDF plant, including a chip washing and pressurized refining system, to Nile Wood S.A.E, a subsidiary of Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKH), for their greenfield site in Sadat City, Egypt. Start-up of the new equipment is scheduled before the end of 2021.

Valmet will supply a boiler plant for district heat production to Seinäjoen Energia Oy’s Kapernaum heat plant in Seinäjoki, Finland. The new boiler will enable the company to increase the use of renewable fuels in its district heat production. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the fourth quarter 2020. The value of the order will not be disclosed. The boiler plant will be handed over to the customer in autumn 2022.

#Greensource was created in 2020 as a European-wide effort to explain how the forest-fibre industries can make the 2050 climate neutrality target a reality. Cepi, the Confederation of European Paper Industries, and EPIS, the European Pulp Industry Sector Association, kickstarted the initiative. As a natural evolution of the campaign, Pro Carton – the European Association of Carton and Cartonboard manufacturers – has joined the campaign as one of its co-leaders, bringing the perspective of the fibre-based packaging industry, a key part of the value chain.