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

On behalf of the editorial staff I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

ipw news

International technology Group ANDRITZ has successfully started up the PrimeLineCOMPACT tissue production line delivered to Xuan Mai Paper Co. Ltd. for its mill in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Sappi announced that Marco Eikelenboom (53), currently Vice President Marketing & Sales, Graphic Papers at Sappi Europe, has been appointed as CEO of Sappi Europe as from 1 April 2021. Marco Eikelenboom succeeds Berry Wiersum (65), a 40-year veteran of the industry in Europe, who will retire at the end of March 2021. Berry Wiersum joined Sappi as CEO of Sappi Europe, a position he held for 14 years.

BASF and Swedish packaging manufacturer BillerudKorsnäs have cooperated to develop a home-compostable paper laminate for flexible packaging. The multi-layer film consists of three basic components: BillerudKorsnäs‘ paper ConFlex^® Silk, a sealing layer made of BASF’s certified home compostable and partly bio-based biopolymer ecovio^® and BASF’s water-based adhesive Epotal^® Eco 3675 X which joins the film to the paper.

Mondi, global packaging and paper manufacturer, will open its new state-of-the-art paper bags plant in Cartagena, Colombia in January 2021. It will be Mondi’s first operation in South America, reinforcing the group’s strength as a global paper bags supplier with a wide local footprint. The new plant will enable Mondi to improve and grow its services to better serve customers in the region.

Voith Paper, supplier of strategic solutions for paper manufacturers worldwide, has been commissioned by Oji Papéis Especiais (Oji Specialty Papers) to modernize its PM 2 and Coater PC 3 installed at the papermaker’s mill in Piracicaba, a country city in the state of São Paulo. The project also includes the rebuild and transfer of a VariPlus winder from the company’s Tomioka mill in Japan.

ABB has upgraded its industry-leading L&W Felt Moisture and Felt Permeability Meters with new software, unlocking new features that improve their value for paper mill customers as a key process measurement solution to optimize press section performance.

Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, a report by Italian Member of the European Parliament Carlo Calenda (S&D – Envi Committee).

Sappi Europe has been promoting the development of sustainable packaging solutions for a number of years and has positioned itself as a “driver of innovation” in the industry. What is the secret of the global paper manufacturer’s success and what new and improved developments can we look forward to? Sappi will share the details on the latest episode of Blue Couch at 10 a.m. (CET) on Wednesday, 2 December (www.sappi-bluecouch.com).

ANDRITZ Novimpianti, a member of the international ANDRITZ Group, has received an order from Kartogroup España S.L. to supply a PrimeDry Steel Yankee as well as air and energy systems for their Burriana mill, Spain.

Drewsen Spezialpapiere has successfully implemented the second step of a 2-stage rebuild-concept to PM5, with an upgrade of the pre-drying section which has made a significant step towards improving over-all productivity.

On Nov. 20th, Sun Paper, one of the biggest players in China’s paper industry and Voith’s long-term partner, has successfully started up the XcelLine graphic paper machine PM 39 at its Yanzhou site in Shandong province, China. With joint efforts of Sun Paper and Voith, the project was completed two weeks earlier than scheduled, and after the start-up, the production is stable with qualified paper rolled out. PM 39 is the 10th Voith-supplied production line operating at Sun Paper.

bio-fibre news

Stora Enso is investing EUR 14 million to build a granulation and packing plant for lignin, allowing easier packing and handling of lignin compared to powder and wet form. According to Stora Enso’s strategy, lignin is one of the key innovation areas for delivering growth on new applications, such as energy storage, binders and carbon fiber. The granulation plant will be located at Stora Enso’s Sunila Mill in Finland.

In response to industry developments driven by the international sustainability agenda as well as changing consumer behaviour, AFRY is placing even greater strategic focus on Bioindustry as one of its core focus areas. With a strong forest industry heritage, AFRY will leverage its wide range of offerings to provide a holistic set of services across management consulting, engineering, projects, operations and digital solutions.