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

ipw news

Metsä Group has started a planning process with the City of Äänekoski with the aim of expanding the production of mechanical wood products at the Äänekoski mill site in the future. A detailed plan is being applied for as an industrial area for the Henttalanmäki area south of the existing mill site. The area currently has a general plan in force and it is mainly owned by Metsä Fibre, a part of Metsä Group.

Neles is introducing a new versatile butterfly valve product range that enables easy valve configuration for an extensive range of applications in all process industries. With its proven technology and functionality, the product range offers superior process efficiency with a minimized environmental footprint. The new range combines 45 years of experience from thousands of customer applications into one, versatile solution.

Sappi Europe announces a price increase for all its woodfree coated and woodfree uncoated paper grades by 7 – 10 % effective 1. June 2021 for all markets in Europe. This is in addition to the previously announced and implemented increases.

Toscotec has launched the new generation design of its shoe press TT NextPress, featuring superior drying performances and energy savings, resulting from R&D activities in cooperation with Voith. TT NextPress delivers a stable after-press dryness rate of more than 47% on a tissue line operating above 2,000 mpm speed. This dryness level ensures a substantial reduction of energy consumption, as the Yankee and the hoods use significantly less thermal energy to complete the paper drying process.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order from Nine Dragons Paper Industries to supply two complete OCC lines with a capacity of 2,000 bdmt/d each to their mills in China. Start-up is scheduled for the second and fourth quarter of 2022, respectively.

ABB has been selected by Sappi Limited to support a major digital transformation project across its global manufacturing footprint in Europe, North America, and South Africa. The rollout of ABB’s Ability™ Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for pulp and paper will be a key focus in the digital transformation across Sappi’s entire production fleet. The project has begun and will extend over several years.

On Tuesday, Cepi presented the third edition of its project REINVEST2050, an overview of how the pulp and paper industry is living up to its commitment to actively reduce carbon emissions and support the climate neutrality objective. REINVEST2050 is a biannual project of the industry to report on our emission reduction commitment by showcasing real-life examples of investments in carbon-saving technologies across Europe.

Ulrika Lilja, Executive Vice President, Communications and Marketing, has decided to leave her position at Stora Enso. After eight years in the company, she will assume the role as Head of Group Marketing and Communications at SEB, a northern European bank, where she will also be a member of the company’s Group Executive Committee. She will join SEB at the latest in November 2021.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order from Shanying Paper (Guangdong) to supply the approach flow-, fiber recovery-, and broke handling systems for two board production lines to its mill in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China. Start-up is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.

Sappi has for many years had a diverse portfolio of label papers, with great quality and customer service ensuring reliability of production and supply. Now, the company has also recently started producing label papers at its flagship site in Gratkorn, further expanding its capacity in this field.

Stora Enso has signed an agreement to divest its Sachsen Mill located in Eilenburg, Germany, to the Swiss-based family-owned company Model Group. Sachsen Mill has an annual production capacity of 310 000 tonnes of newsprint specialty paper based on recycled paper.

The production of paper and cardboard from Varel is now certified by TÜV according to the ISO 22000 standard, which is important for the food industry. This means that the demanding hygiene management of PKV production, which has already been certified, meets a new standard that is recognised worldwide in the industry.

bio-fibre news

SWAPP^® with an extra P for paper is a range of fibre-based packaging materials from BillerudKorsnäs to enable transition from plastic to paper and meet new consumer demands through better sustainability performance for people and the planet.

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has released its 2020 Annual Report that highlights key recycling industry developments and data as well as the organization’s activities on behalf of its membership. The report is launched during the opening address delivered by BIR President Tom Bird at the start of the 2021 online World Recycling Convention & Exhibition aimed at keeping the BIR membership and the wider recycling community informed during this prolonged period of business and economic uncertainty.

Huhtamaki, a global manufacturer of sustainable packaging solutions, is setting up a new manufacturing unit in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to serve its existing and new egg packaging customers in the KwaZulu-Natal area with a broad range of locally produced packaging solutions. The new facility will be located close to one of South Africa’s main export ports, enabling competitive exports of egg packaging for customers across East Africa.