NORPAC Plant Gets $60M Efficiency Overhaul

NORPAC, BPA, and Cowlitz PUD Partner on Largest Ever Northwest Energy Efficiency Project: Executives from Weyerhaeuser, Nippon Paper Industries, Cowlitz County Public Utility District, and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will gather today at the North Pacific Paper Corporation(NORPAC) facility to celebrate the largest industrial energy efficiency project in BPA history and one of the largest energy efficiency projects in the United States to date.
When complete, the project is expected to save 100,000,000 kilowatt-hours per year. The energy savings from the completed project will save enough energy to serve approximately 8,000 Northwest homes. The first phase of the project was completed in June 2011 and the second and final phase is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013.

http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/national/2012/08/washington-paper-plant-gets-60m.html

Two partners in the North Pacific Paper Corp., the largest newsprint and publication-paper factory in North America, are pouring $60 million into reducing the facility’s energy use by 6 percent, or 12 megawatts yearly.
The facility is usually called NORPAC, and supplies paper for newspapers in Washington and Japan, as well as for well-known books including the "Twilight" series.

Catalyst Mill Is Not Being Sold

http://www.azjournal.com/2012/08/09/mill-is-not-being-sold-says-catalyst/
Though Jahm Najafi, CEO of Najafi Cos., reportedly told The Arizona Republic he is interested in purchasing Catalyst Paper’s Snowflake mill, Catalyst is not in talks with him. Najafi’s company owns and operates Snowflake Power, which runs the biomass power boiler located on the mill property. Catalyst Paper announced July 31 the mill in Snowflake would close permanently.“We are not in talks with anyone,” said Lynn Brown, spokesperson for Catalyst Paper. She said Catalyst had exhausted every effort; including attempting to find a buyer for the mill and switching to higher grade paper production in an effort to save the facility. She said the company is now committed to making an orderly exit from the facility. She told The Tribune-News that the facilities’ building would remain and could be used in a future enterprise of some sort.“But it won’t be a paper mill,” Brown said.

Verso Sartell Shutdown Will Cost Dearly

Sartell Shutdown Will Cost Verso Dearly: Shutting down the Sartell, Minnesota paper mill will cost Verso Paper Corp. more than the entire company is worth, Verso revealed yesterday. North America's second largest maker of coated paper will need cash outlays of about $33 million, most in the current quarter, for severance, etc.

Resolute Celebrates Planting Of Trees

Resolute Forest Products celebrates the planting of 1 billion trees in Ontario:
 Resolute Forest Products Inc. celebrated the planting of one billion trees at its forestry operations in northern Ontario today. This achievement is the result of collective efforts made over the past 30 years by the company, its employees, numerous contractors and suppliers, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
“This planting ceremony speaks to our long, successful and proud Company history in northern Ontario and our unwavering commitment to forest renewal and sustainable forestry,” said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Resolute. “Forests are among the world’s only renewable resources. We are fortunate to be involved in an industry that is truly sustainable.”

Resolute Forest Products pension plans underfunded by $1.9 billion:
http://foresttalk.com/index.php/2012/08/10/resolute-forest-products-pension-plans-underfunded-by-1-9-billion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foresttalk%2FZdAe+%28ForestTalk%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Resolute Forest Products has not met the minimal solvency levels in its pension plans regulated by Quebec and Ontario’s funding relief regulations. These regulations, adopted in 2011, affect approximately 80% of Resolute Forest Product’s unfunded pension obligations.
As a result of these new regulations, Resolute Forest Products has until March 2013 to adopt corrective measures to attain the target solvency ratio within 5 years. The company needs to reduce its pension plan deficits by approximately $500 million.

Seneca Backs Third Yorkshire Printer

Seneca Investments backs third Yorkshire printer:
In January, Seneca signed a deal with Sheffield-based Whitesprint, which saw the investment specialist acquire around a 50% shareholding in the business. This was followed in February by a similar agreement with Doncaster-based print company Askews.
Intoprint UK has now become the latest investment for Seneca, which is targeting print companies in the same locality with an annual turnover of £1m-£5m that are struggling in the economic climate. The Ecclesfield-based litho and digital printer signed over a 50% stake in return for the investment.

Lane Bryant Campaign Returns to Print

A Print Focus Returns in Lane Bryant Campaign: Lane Bryant, the women’s plus-size fashion retailer, is introducing a $10 million advertising and marketing campaign to make its clothing and lingerie more relevant to current and prospective customers. The campaign features new print advertising; a revamped Website and social media outreach; and in-store and direct marketing initiatives.
This clothing appears in print advertising, a new medium for the retailer, which has not done extensive magazine advertising since 2007. Ms. Crystal said Lane Bryant was turning to the print medium now because its target customer is “engaged with print.        

Canadian Mags Turn to Fed Gov For Help

Canadian Magazines Turn to Federal Government for Help with a Digital Revolution: Canadian magazine publishers want taxpayers to help them reinvent themselves, asking the federal government for money to develop digital products they hope will compensate for falling print subscriptions. The trade association that represents Canadian publishers has been quietly lobbying federal officials in an attempt to win funding to develop multimedia-rich digital editions that go beyond the capabilities of print.

US Paper Companies Eyeing India For Growth

Deloitte: U.S. Paper Companies Eyeing India for Growth: India is quickly becoming an attractive new market for the American pulp and paper industry, according to "Turning the page on India's paper industry: A new chapter in investment potential and growth," a new report from Deloitte. India's paper industry is expected to grow at six to seven percent year over year, with the packaging industry poised to grow at 22 to 25 percent annually," said John Dixon, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "India has 15 percent of the world's population, but consumes less than two percent of the world's paper. Meeting the growing demand will likely require a correspondingly significant investment in both new machines and upgrading of existing facilities."

German Recycled Graphic Paper Prices Down

http://www.euwid-paper.com/news/singlenews/archive/2012/august/Artikel/recycled-graphic-paper-prices-inch-down-in-germany.html
Market participants report downward pressure on German prices for recycled graphic paper due to softening demand. The current weak economic climate in many mature and developing European economies is also having an effect on the German market for recycled graphic paper. While market participants in certain niches still report smooth sailing, the majority of recycled graphic paper producers complained of sales problems and softening capacity utilisation rates. Slight price cuts could already been detected for recycled office paper in the second quarter of the year. Now coated paper grades are also facing the same downward trend. In recent weeks, recycled LWC has been subject to the same price reductions seen for standard paper, EUWID respondents explained.

Nippon Sees Profit Drop

http://www.np-g.com/e/ir/presentation120809.pdf
Nippon's  net income for the April to June period reached ¥399 million ($5 million), a decline of 75% from the ¥1.6 billion yen profit turned in the same period last year. As profits showed a marked drop, its sales were slightly up half a percent from the April-June period last year.

Orient Paper Announces Q2 2012 Results

Orient Paper Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2012 Results: Orient Paper, Inc. a leading manufacturer and distributor of diversified paper products in northern China, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012.
Highlights: Revenue declined 14.5% year-over-year to $35.5 million
Gross profit was $5.8 million with gross margin of 16.3%
Operating income declined 37.0% year-over-year to $5.0 million
Net income was $3.6 million, or $0.20 per fully diluted share

Ilim Increases Production In Russia

Ilim Group Increases Production Output in Northwest Russia: From January to June 2012 Koryazhma Mill (Arkhangelsk Oblast) increased its production volume by 2%, as compared to the similar period of the previous year. Production output totaled 543,000 tons, including 189,000 tons of market pulp. The increase amounts to 7% against production output in the first six months of 2011. The Mill produced 118,000 tons of paper, which is 10% above the production output for the similar period of the last year. This includes 43,000 tons of sack paper, 57,000 tons of offset paper, and 18,000 tons of wallpaper.