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

ipw news

Mondi is rolling out a comprehensive portfolio of corrugated packaging solutions for the online grocery market across Central Europe. Using its experience in eCommerce packaging, Mondi has created clever new solutions for the diverse needs of grocery retailers who can now deliver a variety of goods, from perishable food to wine bottles in fit-for-purpose packaging.

With a visionary design study, technology group Voith is creating the paper production line of the future. The design particularly focuses on improved efficiency and ease of maintenance. As a full-line supplier, the company has considered all aspects of the paper production process for an integrated concept.

Valmet will deliver equipment and services for a rebuild of the hard wood pulp line at Holmen's Iggesund mill in Sweden. The rebuild will cut variable costs and improve production stability. The work will be implemented during the second half of 2022.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, announced on 27 July 2021 an investment of EUR 210 million in increasing folding boxboard capacity at its Husum mill in Sweden. The company is responding to growing demand for sustainably produced packaging materials that support the circular economy. The investment strengthens Metsä Board's position as a producer of folding boxboard in Europe.

The paper and board industry continued to be very busy in April and so recovered paper demand also remained at a very high level for the lower, medium and high grades. The month again brought price increases for the medium grades and for imported, high-strength qualities whereas the lower grades stabilized at a high level.

By Reinhold Schmidt (Recycling Karla Schmidt).

Sappi Europe announces a price increase for Transjet, Basejet and Inkjet grades by 8-12 % valid for deliveries from 1 September 2021. The unprecedented and ongoing rise of raw material costs, particularly pulp, chemicals and energy in combination with extremely high freight rates makes price adjustments unavoidable.

International technology Group Andritz has received an order from ST Paper to supply a new tissue machine for its recently acquired site in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. Start-up is planned for the end of 2022.

Huhtamaki, global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, and Syntegon, the German processing and packaging technology provider, announce a „breakthrough innovation“ for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. Push Tab^® paper, the first paper-based tablet packaging, is made from renewable FSC™ certified paper and is designed to meet the stringent safety requirements of regulated pharmaceutical packaging.

The agenda has been released for Specialty Papers US 2021, coming to Milwaukee, WI, and being featured online, November 2-3, 2021. P3 / ipw will be supporting association and media partner of the event.

Valmet will supply a boiler upgrade and a flue gas cleaning system to Stora Enso’s Anjala-Ingerois sites in Finland. The goal of the investment is to reduce the emissions and to ensure flexible use of different fuel mixtures in heat production, as well as to achieve better boiler performance and higher boiler efficiency.

Voith wins this year’s AI Champions Award in the ‘large enterprise’ category for its newly developed AI application OnView.DigitalEye. This innovation allows the quality of recovered paper to be analyzed at the stock preparation stage, one process step before paper production.

ABB has won a first order for its recently-launched Sheet Break Performanceas part of a major digital transformation project at PT. Riau Andalan Kertas mill (RAK) in Indonesia, part of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited.

Beaver Paper Group, manufacturer of sublimation media and sewn paper products, announced a general price increase of 8-12% across its global portfolio of products. The new price increase will be effective September 1, 2021.

Sappi Europe announces a price increase for all its Paperboard and Containerboard grades by 8 – 12% valid for deliveries from 1 September 2021.

The partnership, that follows a comprehensive feasibility study, sees the introduction of a large-scale carton repulping line at Stora Enso’s Ostroleka production unit in Poland. The line will triple the annual recycling capacity of used beverage cartons in Poland from 25 000 to 75 000 tonnes. This will allow recycling of the entire volume of beverage cartons sold in the country and the ones coming from neighbouring countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Unilever, together with Mondi, have developed a new high barrier paper-based packaging material for Unilever’s Colman’s dry Meal Maker and Sauces range by reducing plastic, increasing paper content, and consequently ensuring recyclability in the existing UK paper waste stream.

In June, Norske Skog commissioned the technology group Voith to rebuild the PM 1 production line for the future production of recycled packaging paper. In addition to the extensive rebuild of the PM 1, Voith will supply a new BlueLine stock preparation system and efficiency-enhancing services.

Toscotec has received an order from Sappi to supply a TT SYD Steel Yankee Dryer to their mill in Stanger, South Africa. The TT SYD was delivered in record time only 20 weeks after the order. The start-up is planned for the third quarter of 2021.

Valmet will supply a conversion from paper machine to fluff pulp drying machine at Daio Paper Corporation’s Mishima mill in Japan. The delivery will include new machinery, rebuilds and automation in the pulp drying line and reel system in the existing paper machine PM15.

The ongoing rise of raw material costs, particularly pulp, chemicals and energy in combination with extremely high freight rates due to global logistic constraints make further price adjustments unavoidable. Therefore price increases for all Coated and Uncoated Flexible Packaging and Silicone Base Papers will be applied by 1 October.