Mayr Melnhof To Acquire Södra's Pulp Mill

Mayr Melnhof Karton to acquire Södra's Follafoss mill
Södra and Mayr Melnhof Karton have signed a Letter of Intent where Mayr Melnhof Karton intends to purchase 100 per cent of the shares in Södra Cell Folla AS and thereby take over Södra's pulp mill in Follafoss. Mayr Melnhof Karton intends to resume operations at Folla as soon as possible, hopefully early in 2013. The parties' intention is to close the deal during the first quarter of next year. Södra's pulp mill in Follafoss, Norway, has a capacity of 105,000 tpy of CTMP pulp. Södra announced its intention to divest the mill earlier this year. Mayr Melnhof, based in Vienna, is a world leader in the field of coated, recycled cartonboard and Europe's leading manufacturer of folding cartons.

Heidelberg Acquisition Prompts Healeys

Heidelberg press acquisition prompts prepress spend at Healeys:
The Ipswch-based printer, which specialises in short-run high pagination work, has installed the Heidelberg Prinect workflow system to help meet the increased output speeds the company is anticipating following the installation of a new five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL75 plus coater, that it bought at Drupa.
The machine, which replaces a five-year-old Heidelberg CD74 five-colour, is due to be installed after Christmas, while the prepress upgrade was installed last week with staff already undergoing training on the new system. Healeys' sales and marketing director Kelly Harris said the investment was needed to meet an anticipated boost in production and that the company now offered one of the best pre-media departments in the industry. Harris said that a major new contract win, which would begin in the New Year would see the company printing direct marketing materials that would require a "high spec pre-media department".

Voith To Supply New PM In Turkey

Voith to supply new PM to Modern Karton
The Turkish paper manufacturer Modern Karton has commissioned Voith to supply its new PM 5 for light-weight packaging paper for its plant in Corlu, Turkey. The PM 5 will be a particularly sustainable machine, especially as it consumes little fresh water. Using the technology supplied by Voith ensures that consumption of resources is kept as low as possible. The PM 5 is expected to start-up by the middle of 2015 at a speed of 1,500 m/min. It will have a wire width of 8,180 mm and produce around 400,000 metric tons of packaging paper with a basis weight of 70 to 160 g/m².

Verso Paper OSHA Fines

http://www.menafn.com/menafn/87d524e3-8b02-45f4-8dc6-4e11527b3864/OSHA-fines-Verso-Paper-Corp-over-2-violations?src=main
Verso Paper Corp. has been fined 39,200 by the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration for two violations found in the wake of an explosion and fire in May that killed one employee and sent four others to the hospital at its Sartell paper mill.The company paid the fine without contesting it, and OSHA has closed its investigation into the incident, said James Honerman, communications director for the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. A state Fire marshal's investigation concluded that an overheated air compressor ignited oil vapors in the compressor and in an air receiving tank, which ruptured and exploded.

 

Catalyst Unable To Close Deal On Elk Falls Site

Catalyst Paper unable to close agreement to sell Elk Falls site:
Catalyst Paper announced that the sale of its Elk Falls site in Campbell River, British Columbia to Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Incorporated did not close and the sale agreement has been terminated. The sale of the 400 acre industrial site and adjacent properties was initially expected to close on September 5, 2012. A non-refundable prepayment of a portion of the purchase price was received and the transaction timeline was extended multiple times up to the ultimate deadline of December 18, 2012. “It’s disappointing that this transaction with Pacifica could not be completed even with the extended timeline. This is a fully serviced property in an excellent location and we remain confident that the right fit between site and buyer will be found that will bring new jobs and opportunities to Campbell River,” said Kevin J. Clarke, Catalyst President and Chief Executive Officer. “In the meantime, site personnel are maintaining safety, security and environmental requirements and complying with all applicable legislation.”

SCA Efficiency Program

SCA Launches Efficiency Program at Forest Products: Against the backdrop of the prevailing economic and currency situation, SCA is introducing a comprehensive program to enhance the efficiency of its forest products operation. The program will generate annual earnings improvements of SEK 1,300m with full effect from 2015. Actions include the previously announced closures of the sawmills in Vilhelmina and Holmsund, and cutbacks at Ortviken paper mill, SCA Transforest’s terminals in Sundsvall and Umeå, and at SCA’s R&D Center. About 200 positions are affected, the majority of which have already been announced. The program includes a structured plan to reduce fixed and variable costs, income improvements by way of increased production and streamlining activities, and a changed product and market mix. This will be achieved through improved raw material yield at the sawmills, higher productivity in harvesting activities, an increased share of value-added publication papers and a larger share of container transportation.

Former Marathon Pulp Mill Sale May Be Imminent

Sale of former Marathon Pulp mill may be imminent: Green Investment Group Inc. of Illinois, USA is interested in taking over the former Marathon Pulp mill in Marathon, Ontario. Marathon Pulp closed in February 2009 and declared bankruptcy shortly after. The Marathon Pulp site is known to be contaminated.  There were multiple chemical spills in 2009 and 2010 after the mill had closed, including a chemical plume on Lake Superior. The responsibility over the cleanup of the site was debated in court for 2 years.  Tembec, as co-owner of the mill, was found responsible for all known and unknown environmental issues, including the remediation. Another former owner, Ball Packaging, was responsible for paying for a sand cap that was placed on contaminated sediment in the harbour.
To sell the property to Green Investment Group Inc., the Ontario Ministry of the Environment will have to approve the sale, and allow the environmental responsibility to be passed from Tembec to the new owner.

AF&PA Nov '12 Recovered Fiber Statistics

American Forest & Paper Association Releases November 2012 Recovered Fiber Monthly Statistics Report: According to the report, total U.S. industry consumption of recovered paper in November was 2.36 million tons, 5 percent lower than in October 2012. Inventories increased for most grades. Year-to-date total consumption in 2012 is 4 percent lower than during the same period last year. U.S. exports of recovered paper showed strong gains across all grades, except for High Grade Deinking. Corrugated exports increased to levels not seen since April 2011. Year-to-date exports of recovered paper in 2012 are 6 percent lower than during the same period in 2011.

AF&PA Releases Nov 2012 Paperboard Stats

American Forest & Paper Association Releases November 2012 Paperboard Statistics Report: Total boxboard production increased by 2.1 percent compared to November 2011 and increased 1.7 percent from last month. Unbleached Kraft Boxboard production increased over the same month last year and increased compared to last month. Total Solid Bleached Boxboard & Liner production increased compared to November 2011 and increased compared to last month. The production of Recycled Boxboard increased compared to November 2011 but decreased when compared to last month.

AF&PA Nov '12 Containerboard Stats

American Forest & Paper Association Releases November 2012 Containerboard Statistics Report: The American Forest & Paper Association released its November 2012 U. S. Containerboard Statistics Report today. Containerboard production fell 1.5 percent over October 2012 but rose 1 percent over the same month last year. However, the month-over-month average daily production increased 1.7 percent. The containerboard operating rate for November 2012 gained 0.6 points over October 2012, from 96.3 percent to 96.9 percent.

Kodak Completes $525M Patent Sale

Kodak Announces the Sale of Its Digital Imaging Patents for $525 Million: Eastman Kodak has completed a series of agreements that successfully monetizes its digital imaging patents. Kodak’s monetization of intellectual property assets further builds on its momentum toward a successful emergence in the first half of 2013. Under the agreements, Kodak will receive approximately $525 million, a portion of which will be paid by a group of 12 intellectual property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corp. Each licensee will receive rights with respect to the digital imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents. Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses. According to published reports, Google, Apple and RIM are among the 12 patent licensees.

Netpage's App Raises Hope For Mags

Netpage's Digital Twin could be a boost for printed magazines:
Netpage's app, branded Digital Twin, has not only generated a buzz in the advertising world but also raised hopes of a traditional magazine revival. The patented platform enables smartphones users to download a digital replica of the Netpage-enabled printed page to their mobile device. The user moves the phone over the surface of the page, and the Digital Twin appears in the screen and tracks with the page, creating a 'glass-bottomed boat effect,' between the printed page and the user's smartphone, the company said. The technology formally launched in the US with Esquire's December issue and not only lets consumers store and save content on social media, it also lets them purchase items highlighted in the Esquire simply by moving their smartphone over the page and clicking "buy". Right now the only way to get the free Netpage app is by downloading from the iTunes Store and Morris was mum on whether the app could eventually be built into smartphones and other devices. But at least on the surface, there appears to be little downside to commercial printing from this technology, because it will not require any new press equipment to Netpage-enable a magazine or catalog. "One of the biggest advantages that we provide, in fact, is that we don't require any special coding, or watermarking on the printed page," Morris said. "Netpage doesn't impact the printing process in any way, which is something publishers prefer to avoid, since it requires additional time, costs and effort."

Mobile Ad Spending Tops $4B In '12

US Mobile Ad Spending Tops $4B in 2012: The effectiveness of mobile advertising is still being debated, but media buyers are already going all-in while also increasing their presence on the Web. Mobile ad spending grew 180 percent to top $4 billion in 2012, according to the latest estimates from digital marketing research firm eMarketer. At the same time, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC US report Internet ad revenues totaled $9.3 billion for the third quarter.

American Media Partners On New Platform

American Media, PixelMags Partner on New Newsstand: American Media is partnering with digital distributor PixelMags on a new "all-you-can-eat" subscription platform, Readr. The publisher's four flagship titles (Shape, Men's Fitness, Star and OK) will be made available on the tablet app. American Media, who does not use PixelMags for its digital edition conversions, joins Active Interest Media and Source Interlink who have each agreed to make their content available on Readr in the last several weeks. All told, the platform has about 130 participating publishers so far.
While traditional monthly or annual subscriptions are also available, Readr offers an all-access option akin to Netflix, says American Media manager of tablet production Chris Tarrow. Similar to the more exclusive Next Issue Media catalog, users can pay a fee to access a full catalog of magazines instead of specifying their content on a title-by-title basis.

Södra And Other Pulp Increases

Södra will raise the price of its softwood pulp in Europe to US$840.00/tonne, effective January 1st 2013.

Al-Pac announced that it is increasing prices in January of NBHK pulp for NA to US$785.00/tonne and China to US$630.00/tonne. In addition its NBSK in NA will increase to US$900.00/tonne.

Canfor announced it is increasing prices January 1st in NA of NBSK to US$900.00/tonne and in Europe to $840.00/tonne.

Rottneros will increase effective January 1, 2013 its prices on NBSK to US$840.00/tonne

Stora Invests In PulpEye Analyzer

Stora Enso Skoghall Invests in PulpEye Online Analyzer with DotEye Module for Quality Control in CTMP mill: (Sweden) Skoghall Mill installs a PulpEye with fiber, shive, CSF and the new DotEye module. The DotEye module has in a short time been installed in several mills for pulp quality control. PulpEye replaces three old PQM inline analyzers. The PulpEye analyzer will be used for advanced close loop control of the CTMP refiners. PulpEye is based on latest technology and automatically performs accurate measurements at high frequency, which is a necessity to monitor and control the key quality characteristics of the pulp. The result is lower production costs and a more consistent quality.

SCA Divests Pub Paper Mill In Austria

SCA Divests Publication Paper Mill in Laakirchen:  SCA is divesting its Austrian publication paper mill in Laakirchen to Heinzel Group. In conjunction with the divestment, SCA and Heinzel Group have concluded a sales cooperation agreement. In 2011 Laakirchen reported totaled sales of EUR 335m and had just over 500 employees. The annual capacity amounts to more than 500,000 tons. The initial purchase consideration is EUR 100m with a possible maximum additional purchase price of EUR 100m based on a two-year profit-sharing model. In conjunction with the transaction, an impairment of EUR 50m has been recognized, which will be charged to profit in the fourth quarter of 2012. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2013 following approval by the relevant authorities.

Fortress Launches 1st Durasafe Paper

Fortress Paper launches first Durasafe paper-polymer-paper composite banknote for Morocco made at mill in Germany: Fortress Paper Ltd. is pleased to announce the launch of the world's first banknote printed on the Company's new Durasafe substrate, an innovative paper-polymer-paper composite produced at its Landqart mill. With the issuance of the new Moroccan 25 Dirhams scheduled for this month, Bank al Maghrib, Morocco's central bank, will become the first in the world to issue a banknote printed on Durasafe®.

The thread, like the watermark, is embedded inside the banknote yet visible behind a one-sided polymer window. It also has a fully transparent polymer window embossed with the King's royal crest.

Catalyst Accepts Bid For Snowflake Mill Assets

Catalyst Paper Accepts Bid for Snowflake Mill Assets: Catalyst Paper announced that it has accepted, subject to US Court approval, a binding bid from an acquisition vehicle organized by Hackman Capital and its affiliates to purchase the assets of the closed Snowflake facility and the shares of Apache Railway for US$13,460,000 and other non-monetary consideration. The buyer intends to continue to operate the Apache Railway as a going concern, and the transaction is supported by the Town of Snowflake and various local interests. "We are pleased that this transaction has progressed efficiently and that the community's interests have been considered through the process and in the successful bid," said President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Clarke. "While paper manufacturing is part of Snowflake's past, this transaction puts the asset on a path to a new future that can continue to bring value to the region."

Resolute To Dismantle Sawmill

Resolute plans to dismantle Oakhill sawmill: CKBW, of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, is reporting that Resolute Forest Products is planning to dismantle the Oakhill sawmill that was not included in the land and asset sale to the province of Nova Scotia. Resolute will dismantle the sawmill and move the equipment out of the province to serve other operations within the company. The Oakhill sawmill has been idled since Bowater Mersey was shut down in June.100 people worked at the sawmill.