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

ipw news

Huhtamaki has taken a significant first step in China towards its global sustainability ambitions by installing and commissioning its first solar panel arrays at its factories in Guangzhou and Shanghai and successfully connecting these to the electricity grid on January 1, 2022.

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, received the Cradle to Cradle certification at Bronze level for its uncoated fine papers produced in its mills in Austria, Slovakia and Russia. Mondi is thus the “first to offer an extensive uncoated fine paper portfolio” as Cradle to Cradle Certified^® meeting the high standards and demanding requirements of this certification scheme which marks the step from a linear to a circular economy.

In the autumn of 2021, Metsä Group launched a ten-year programme to support regionally effective development projects that are carried out outside commercial Finnish forests and support biodiversity and the state of waters. The projects may relate to bird waters and wetlands, watercourse routes, small waters and coastal environments, pollinator habitats or new water protection methods.

Asian paper producer Sun Paper recently successfully started up PM 2 at its site in Beihai in Southeast China. The new line in visionary industrial design now produces high-quality white folding boxboard with a basis weight of 170 to 350 gsm and a wire width of 8,900 mm. With a design speed of 1,400 m/min, the planned annual capacity is over 1 million tons of paper.

Andritz has successfully completed all the performance test runs for the PrimeLineCompact tissue production line delivered on turnkey basis to MG Tec Industry for its mill in Dej, Romania. Dorin Mocan, CEO of MG Tec Industry, says: “Together with Andritz, we have started up our new tissue production line successfully and are proud of the perfect end-product quality. Based on this success, we have placed a repeat order with the same scope of supply and are looking forward to its installation.”

Last year, Sappi engaged global data analytics consultancy Kantar to survey more than 1,200 marketing specialists and take the temperature of what's important in marketing as the world shifts into a post-pandemic era. Focusing on five European countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK) plus the US, the survey provides key data and valuable insights for what lies ahead in modern marketing.

The Board of Directors of Metsä Group’s parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative has in its constituent meeting decided that Jussi Linnaranta M.Sc. (Agriculture and Forestry) continues as the Chair of the Board of Directors. Timo Saukkonen M.Sc. (Agriculture and Forestry) continues as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.

Valmet introduces the Valmet Fiber Furnish Control application package for board and papermakers to stabilize refiner operation for maximized production efficiency with ensured furnish quality. Based on real time measurements of multiple fiber properties and freeness, the control features advanced feedback and feedforward solutions together with model predictive control.

Voith has achieved an ambitious sustainability goal: As of the beginning of 2022, the company has successfully reduced the CO₂ emissions at all its sites to “net zero”. Therefore, the Group’s operations will be climate neutral from January onwards.

Sappi is launching the Parade Label SG, a one-side coated face stock label paper that excels in terms of properties such as printability, opacity and stiffness, as well as with its many options for further processing.

On 02^nd and 03^rd March, the PTS Conference “Paper & Board for Food Contact” will give an overview of new regulations and trends for fibre-based food packaging with an interesting program, recognized experts and speakers. The conference will start with a keynote regarding current trends in fibre-based food packaging of the company pacoon and their CEOs Peter Désilets and Volker Muche. Based on current trends, the first session “Regulatory Trends” will provide answers and an overview of new regulations.

bio-fibre news

Valmet will deliver automation to the Baltics’ first biogas plant fired with household and commercial biowaste. Built by BioWOIMA Finland Oy in Tallinn, Estonia, it will produce biomethane for the natural gas network and fuel for compressed natural gas-powered vehicles. Biofertilizer for land improvement is also produced as a by-product.

The Andritz biomass-fired PowerFluid circulating fluidized bed boiler with flue gas cleaning system delivered to Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding for the biomass power plant in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, has been in commercial operation since December 2020 – after fulfilling all performance guarantee parameters in November 2020 as planned. The Ichihara plant reached the end of the warranty period in December 2021.