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

ipw news

Web breaks and paper jams are among the rare but real problems in paper production. With each such incident, invisible damage can arise inside the press sleeve. As the latest addition of the QualiFlex family, the QView press sleeve is designed to make inside damage visible and help papermakers take action before severe failures happen. The innovative press sleeve is the predictive maintenance solution for board and packaging paper machines and complements the proven and established portfolio of Voith QualiFlex press sleeves.

Stora Enso today announced that they will stop all production and sales in Russia until further notice due to the ongoing invasion in Ukraine. Stora Enso has three corrugated packaging plants and two wood products sawmills in Russia, employing around 1,100 people. The Company will also stop all export and import to and from Russia. A mitigation plan has been activated to secure availability of input materials from other sources.

Valmet has on March 1, 2022 acquired North American-based Coldwater Seals, Inc., a global provider of consumables and services to the pulp and paper industry. Coldwater operates manufacturing facilities in the United States and Sweden. The value of the acquisition will not be disclosed.

Huhtamaki, global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, has signed a 12-year Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. NextEra Energy Resources is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. The 42-megawatt agreement for renewable energy covers approximately 30% of Huhtamaki operations’ current electricity demands in the United States and Mexico, where the company has 18 manufacturing units.

Sappi Europe will increase prices for its Graphic Paper and Board products (Coated and Uncoated Fine paper, Coated Mechanical paper and Paperboard) by approximately 8% effective on deliveries from 1 April. This is in addition to price increases implemented during Q1 2022, including the energy surcharges which will be absorbed to standard pricing also on 1 April.

Like other sectors, paper and board is bouncing back from the economic downturn brought about by Covid-19. But new trends on how we use these materials, first exacerbated by the pandemic, are now looking like more profound changes in our consumption patterns. This has caused the industry to adjust its production, discontinuing lines and investing to adapt to the change. That’s the story told by preliminary statistics for the past year, published by the in-house statistics team of Cepi, the Confederation of European Paper Industries.

Sappi Europe informs customers of further unavoidable price adjustments to its Speciality Paper grades due to the continued and unprecedented high level of raw material, chemical and logistics costs in combination with highly volatile and unpredictable energy prices. Therefore, further price increases for all Coated and Uncoated Flexible Packaging, Label and Silicone Base Papers will be applied for shipments as of 1 March 2022.

bio-fibre news

Andritz has received another order from the Hitachi Zosen Corporation in Japan to supply a 52.7-MW PowerFluid circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler on EPS basis. The boiler will be part of the biomass power plant in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, in Japan. Start-up is planned for 2025.

On 24 February Holmen acquired all shares in the part-owned wind farm Varsvik AB, located on Holmen land in Uppland. The purchase boosts Holmen’s business in renewable energy and marks a further step in terms of the company’s ambition to contribute to climate transition.

The construction of Wisdome Stockholm, a scientific experience arena, is now underway. The building at Sweden’s National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm has a pioneering design and will be a landmark object for sustainable and climate-smart construction in wood. Stora Enso is the main partner and delivers wood construction materials to Wisdome Stockholm.