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

ipw news

The global Felix Schoeller Group is announcing plans to invest in a manufacturing operation for Release Liners at their Pulaski, New York facility. Based on the unique integration into paper making, extrusion coating and siliconizing, Felix Schoeller Release Liners are well-known in the self-adhesive graphics, tape, and industrial markets.

International technology Group Andritz has received an order from Visy Pulp & Paper for a 243,000 m3 chip handling and storage system, including a Stacker Reclaimer RST360, for its Tumut mill in New South Wales, Australia.

As world mono-material plastic packaging film consumption is forecast to grow during 2020–25 at an annual average rate of 3.9% to 26.03 million tonnes ($70.9 billion)¹, AR Packaging is meeting the challenge by launching Ecoflex^® - its 100% recyclable mono polyethylene film for thermoforming that provides a sustainable alternative to PA-based materials, whilst fully meeting OPRL guidelines.

The Papresa Paper Mill in northern Spain produces newsprint paper and packaging paper from recycled paper. Mainly supplying newspaper publishers, together with other commercial printing, Papresa’s production capacity of 375,000 tons of paper is delivered by three paper machines and two de-inking plants.

Valmet will offer a recovery boiler upgrade service to Lee & Man Pulp Manufacturing Limited’s Chongqing mill in China. The project is scheduled to be finished in the second quarter of 2022. The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the third quarter 2021. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

Michael Ertl (54) will take over as head of the Inorganic Pigments (IPG) business unit at Lanxess with immediate effect. He will be responsible for the specialty chemicals company’s global business with inorganic color pigments, which are used primarily in the construction industry. Ertl succeeds Holger Hueppeler (53), who heads the newly formed Flavors & Fragrances (F&F) business unit at Lanxess following the successfully completed acquisition of Emerald Kalama Chemical.

Measuring device manufacturer Emtec Electronic is pleased to announce that its TSA Tissue Softness Analyzer is the subject of a recently released Tappi Technical Information Paper (TIP). The peer-reviewed technical specification document investigates the specialized measuring instrument for tissue paper that is able to simulate the sensory properties of the human hand when touching tissue paper products.

Valmet will supply a semi-chemical pulp (SCP) line to Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd, Chongqing in China. The technology deliveries by Valmet will begin in 2022 and the start-up is planned for 2023. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the second quarter 2021.The value of the order will not be disclosed. However, a project of this size and scope is typically valued at around EUR 10-20 million.

After a successful first rebuild stage of PM 5 in Oberkirch – with the installation of the Voith SpeedSizer film press and contactless qDryPro Compact high-performance drying system – specialty paper manufacturer Koehler Paper has confirmed its confidence in Voith. Koehler has selected the full-line supplier to deliver the second modernization stage, focusing on the much-proven NipcoFlex shoe press.

Huhtamaki has achieved an important technology breakthrough in developing next generation sustainable tube laminates. Working in partnership with LyondellBasell, Plastuni Lisses (Groupe Somater) and Groupe Rocher, Huhtamaki is launching a tube laminate with more than 40% recycled content from renewable based plastics.

bio-fibre news

Worldwide, production of recovered fibre fell from just over 250 million tonnes in 2018 to less than 244 million tonnes in 2019. However, global production of paper and board using recovered fibres held steady at just below 211 million tonnes.

Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring Ltd has made an equity investment in Innomost Ltd, a startup converting forest industry side streams into high-value bioactive products.

AR Packaging was awarded for two applications of the innovative fibre-based barrier container in collaboration with Club Coffee and Perfetti Van Melle.