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

ipw news

In an effort to address ongoing cost inflation Sappi Europe will increase prices for its Fine Paper grades by 7-10% from January 2024. This increase is necessary to maintain viability of Sappi’s business, the actual amount will depend on the product and market circumstances.

Brazilian pulp producer Suzano selected international technology group Andritz to provide modular maintenance services for its new mill being built in Ribas do Rio Pardo, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The five-year contract covers several maintenance modules for all process islands and equipment of the new mill, which is scheduled to start up by June 2024. The modules comprise lubrication as well as predictive and inspection maintenance services, including vibration and thermographic analysis of electrical and mechanical equipment.

At the end of October, Voith successfully started up Asia Symbol's BM 13 at Rugao, 180 km north of Shanghai, China. The state-of-the-art machine is 8.16 m wide with a design speed of 1,400 m/min and an annual capacity of around one million tons. It mainly produces high-quality white folding boxboard in the basis weight range of 170 to 400 gsm.

Demand for more greener packaging is aligning with innovation in industrial applications to future drive sales of specialty papers, according to the latest Smithers research. Data from its new study – The Future of Specialty Papers to 2028 – show production of these engineered premium paper grades will reach 26.52 million tons in 2023, up from 24.23 million tons in 2018.

Graphic paper manufacturer Les Papeteries de Clairefontaine started up PM6 after a dryer section rebuild supplied by Toscotec at its Etival Clairefontaine mill in France. The machine produces graphic paper in the basis weight range from 60 to 100 gsm. The project was focused on PM6’s pre-dryer section for which Toscotec supplied TT SteelDryers designed for an operating steam pressure of 10 barg, as well as an upgrade of the machine frame. The associated services included the complete erection with supervision, commissioning, and start-up assistance.

Ten UPM Raflatac adhesives for logistics and e-commerce paper labels have been certified as recyclable in the paper and board-based packaging stream by the applied research and services institute Papiertechnische Stiftung (PTS) in 2023. These adhesives are intended for large volume solutions, providing customers with the added benefit of recycling-compatible, verified labeling solutions without requiring any product changes.

Jujo Thermal selected ABB to upgrade its drive control system at its mill in Kauttua, Finland, for improved runnability and efficiency. ABB’s scope of delivery included the provision and commissioning of the upgrade package for the existing PM2 drive control system and new drives. Jujo Thermal is a supplier of durable, direct thermal papers for labels, tickets, tags and point-of-sales use. It also generates one-side coated self-adhesive label stock and has a production volume reaching 72,000 tons per year.

Jessica Nordin is taking up the role as new Director of Sustainability at Södra with responsibility for leading and developing Södra’s overall sustainability agenda moving forward. A major focus will lie on strengthening efforts and knowledge concerning biodiversity and sustainable forestry, which are important topics for Södra.

Voith is supplementing its proven Pluralis family with new Pluralis Hot Stock (HS) refiner fillings. Representing a significant advancement in refining technology, they are specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements of pulp mills and to minimize resource consumption. In addition, Pluralis HS refiner fillings can significantly improve paper quality, energy efficiency and overall pulp mill performance.

bio-fibre news

More than 150 people joined in Brussels and online to celebrate the 3-year anniversary of 4evergreen at a conference recognising the alliance’s achievements so far and exploring how to maximise industry uptake of 4evergreen’s circularity toolbox.

Södra’s venture in a new advanced technique for better seedling survival was recently field tested with promising results. Södra’s ambition with the in-house developed BraSatt 01 planting machine is to accelerate technical advances in forest regeneration, which could potentially lead to considerable improvements for forestry.