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

ipw news

At the beginning of January, the PM 7 of Grupo Gondi, one of Mexico's largest paper manufactures, was successfully commissioned at the new Papel y Empaques mill in Monterrey. The paper machine is set to produce 400,000 tons of high-performance light weight recycled containerboard annually with Voith's leading technology.

Europap Tezol Kagit will boost capacity with a Toscotec-supplied AHEAD 2.2S tissue machine at its integrated production base in Mersin, Turkey. This is a repeat order for Toscotec who already supplied a TT SYD steel Yankee dryer installed on their PM1 in 2012. The new line is scheduled for start-up in mid-2022.

Mondi is launching two new paper-based bags for German pet food producer Interquell, delivering both “consumer convenience and sustainability benefits”.

Metsä Tissue has selected Valmet as the supplier of an extensive rebuild of their tissue machine PM 10, including control system, at the Mänttä mill in Finland. The investment is part of their Future Mill program with the target to improve the mill’s energy and production efficiency and increase its production capacity. It will also allow for improving product quality, according to consumer customers’ expectations.

In close cooperation with its customer Jiangsu Bohui Paper Industry, international technology group ANDRITZ recently achieved a milestone in high-consistency (HC) refining by processing a peak capacity of 1,300 admt/d of local hardwood chips per day and achieving sustainable production of 1,150 admt/d at the mill in Dafeng, China.

The decrease in consumption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic continues to place strong pressure on prices. In combination with cost increases in paper production and transport this has continued to lead to unsustainable profitability levels, especially felt in overseas markets. Due to this Sappi is to further increase prices for the entire Fine Paper range by a minimum of US$ 50/ton as of February production and March shipments for all overseas markets.

Papresa, a producer of newsprint in Southern Europe, selected Voith to deliver a complete stock preparation system for its mill in Rentería, Spain. As a full-line supplier, Voith will provide the full scope BlueLine OCC system that is scheduled for start-up in the last quarter of 2021, with a total capacity of 700 tons/day. The scope of supply is completed by a multi-year service agreement for services and consumables.

The PulPaper event will be rescheduled to the spring of 2022. The decision is due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic situation and travel restrictions. This spring, however, a new online Virtual pre-PulPaper event is organized on Thursday 29 April 2021.

Sappi will introduce new barrier coating technology for functional paper packaging at its speciality mill in Alfeld, Germany, strengthening its position as a global provider of sustainable paper packaging solutions.

The Bavarian Kelheim Fibres GmbH has become the first viscose fibre manufacturer worldwide to receive EMAS certification.

Decreasing profitability combined with large, sudden cost increases, both in raw materials and logistics, make a price increase unavoidable. Consequently, Sappi have announced an increase of 8-10% in all European markets to be implemented at the latest by the 1^st of March 2021. This increase will be made on Woodfree Coated and Woodfree Uncoated sheets and reels.

Emtec’s invention, the TSA Tissue Softness Analyzer, provides a simple, quick, and reliable way to get objective measurements of the haptic properties of tissue paper. In this year’s Tissue Conference, hosted by Tissue Analytica in collaboration with NC State University and TAPPI, emtec gives a virtual presentation on the TSA’s measuring concept, possible applications, and customer success stories.

On Thursay, Sappi Maastricht and the Belvédère Wijkontwikkelingsmaatschappij (Neighborhood Development Company,  WOM) of the Municipality of Maastricht have signed an agreement that will finalize the sale of the southwestern part of the Maastricht paper mill site to the WOM. The sale and subsequent purchase of this land creates a win-win situation for both parties as well as to the local area and will have no negative impact on employment at the Sappi site.

bio-fibre news

ITE Østerhus specialises in electrical engineering, automation and digitalisation for industrial customers. The company's largest market areas are smelting plants and process- and food industries. Østerhus focus on a wide range of projects of various sizes and complexities. The company delivers integrated solutions including the entire hierarchy of hardware equipment, panel production, automation, system integrations and digital solutions.