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

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ipw news

The data and inventory management of products and consumables involves a considerable amount of administrative work. The new digital asset management tool OnCare.pmPortal by Voith now offers paper manufacturers an optimum alternative for increasing both the transparency of product data and the efficiency of the procurement system, while also facilitating the planning of maintenance periods and downtimes and increasing plant availability. Thanks to a direct connection to the Voith Paper Webshop, registered components can be reordered quickly, easily and without any risk of confusion.

Giovacchino Giurlani is the new Managing Director of the Fold Division of Körbers Business Area Tissue. He has an in-depth knowledge of the tissue market and technologies. After graduating in Electronic Engineering at the University of Pisa, he began his professional career at Fabio Perini S.p.A. - a company that was already part of the Körber Group at that time - where he was in charge of sales as Area Sales Manager, and design in the role of Production Mechanical Technical Manager.

Global packaging and paper group Mondi is launching a range of new paper-based release liners which are created using recycled and light-weight materials and provide a more sustainable solution for a range of applications.

Despite the slowing down of the European economy and the sanitary restrictions, most of the mills ran without disruptions in 2020; even if some operated at reduced speed because of lower levels of demand.

Voith and the nonwoven fabric expert Truetzschler Nonwovens have delivered a new system for specialty paper production to the Spanish paper factory Papel Aralar. In December, the PM 5 successfully started up and is now stably producing adult and baby wet wipes that are completely plastic-free, flushable and biodegradable, a characteristic that conventional wet wipes do not have. With the recent investment, Aralar now has two WLS lines with a total production capacity of 45,000 tons/year.

Mondi has successfully developed a new recyclable functional barrier paper range. Designed with protection in mind, this range of certified recyclable barrier paper solutions is fully integrated across Mondi’s value chain - from paper production to the barrier application - and can run on existing filling lines for form-fill-and-seal (FFS) applications.

End of January 2021 the new coating kitchen at Sappi Condino/Italy, supplied by GAW technologies Graz/Austria, was successfully started-up. The Condino Mill (Trentino area) was founded in 1964 and became a Sappi mill in 2018. It employs 130 people and produces up to 60,000 tons of paper per annum. Paper grades include glassine (silicone base paper) and supercalendered, uncoated flexible packaging papers.

The Board of Directors of Wetend Technologies Ltd has invited Jussi Matula as the company's new CEO as of February 1, 2021. He succeeds the current CEO Jouni Matula.

Mr. Petri Paukkunen (B.Sc., Eng.) has been appointed Area President, Asia Pacific Area at Valmet as of April 1, 2021. Petri Paukkunen is currently employed as Vice President, Board and Paper Mills business unit (BU) in Valmet’s Paper business line. He will be a member of Valmet’s Executive Team and report to President and CEO Pasi Laine.

Valmet launches a redesigned Valmet Blade Consistency Measurement (Valmet SP) for pulp and paper producers. With the latest technology, new user interface, and patented internal detection principle, the transmitter continues to offer reliable, accurate, and cost-efficient consistency measurement for all applications.

bio-fibre news

Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, has made the investment decision to build a new bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland. The value of the investment is EUR 1.6 billion and it is the “largest investment ever made by the Finnish forest industry in Finland”. The construction phase will take approximately two and a half years, and the mill will be completed during the third quarter of 2023.

Stora Enso has decided to permanently close its US-based Virdia operations during 2021. Virdia was acquired in 2014 and has focused on conversion of cellulosic biomass from sugar cane bagasse into refined sugars. The operations have consisted of a research centre in Danville, Virginia and a demo plant in Raceland, Louisiana, which will both be closed.