May 2016 - Midland Paper

Europe’s largest manufacturer of coniferous plywood, UPM Pellos mills exceeded 10 million cubic meter’s in total production

UPM Plywood's Pellos mills have crossed a significant milestone of 10 million cubic meters in all-time total production. The achievement is unique in Europe and rare also in the world scale. The operation that began in 1964 as a small chipboard factory has expanded over the decades to comprise three plywood mills forming a world-class plywood production unit. "Pellos mills are clearly one of our main production units. They account for about half of our total production capacity, and practically all of the spruce plywood production", says Mika Kekki, Vice President, Production & Operations at UPM Plywood. "The competition in the coniferous plywood is very tough. Still, Pellos mills have managed to establish themselves as the leading supplier to the European market. This is thanks to the strong-minded development work and highly qualified personnel. In addition to technical development, working methods at the mills have been actively developed locally in co-operation with the staff, "continues Kekki.

UPM Changshu PM 3 marks a new milestone in China

The UPM Changshu Paper Machine 3 has been carefully designed, from construction to operation and product offering, to meet and exceed the demands and expectations of the market, the society, the environment and the wellbeing and safety of UPM employees. The new paper machine has started production in December 2015. With the new machine the product portfolio of Changshu mill extends to labelling materials and other specialty products. The demand in these segments are forecasted to grow globally, but especially in the Asia-Pacific region. “In UPM Changshu we will focus on value added, advanced paper products for growing segments in China and worldwide. On this site, we are also introducing totally new, innovative manufacturing technology – not only for China, but for the paper industry worldwide,” said President and CEO Jussi Pesonen in his opening speech. The PM3 production line and process are very flexible. The line offers a wide range of products from uncoated wood-free papers to advanced specialty products. The swing concept of PM3 greatly improves the efficiency of paper production and reduces energy consumption.

Norske Skog and Halden municipality agree on property taxes and port areas

Norske Skog and Halden municipality have agreed a settlement for the valuation of the mill assets at Norske Skog Saugbrugs in Halden. For years there has been an ongoing dispute both within and outside the criminal justice system between Norske Skog and Halden municipality over the size of the property tax. The parties have today signed an agreement whereby the tax base is agreed for coming years and for a settlement of previous years. As part of the settlement agreement, the parties agree to change the agreement related to the development of the southern port area of Sauøya to Norske Skog Saugbrugs. The parties have agreed upon the principles for tax valuations of the assets from 2015 and beyond. The tax basis from 2015 and beyond will be NOK 1.7 billion. Norske Skog Saugbrugs will until the next tax valuation in 2019, pay NOK 12.0 million annually in property taxes to Halden municipality. Norske Skog Saugbrugs has paid NOK 15.6 million annually in property taxes. Norske Skog Saugbrugs will be refunded NOK 8.6 million in excess property taxes paid for prior years.

EFI Launches a Revolutionary Single-Pass Inkjet Press for High-Speed Corrugated Board Production

At the drupa 2016 tradeshow, global industrial LED inkjet technology leader Electronics For Imaging today announced its biggest inkjet product development to date: the new EFI™ Nozomi single-pass LED technology, which can reach speeds up to 75 linear meters (246 linear feet) per minute. In addition to its speeds, the new technology announced today gives users the benefit of a low acquisition price with significant total cost of ownership advantages. This breakthrough innovation appears in one of the first digital inkjet presses designed from the ground up to establish new standards of productivity and innovation in corrugated packaging. The 1.8m-wide EFI Nozomi C18000 inkjet press will help corrugated manufacturers and brands access a wide color gamut and broader design options in corrugated board work with fast turnaround times, all while maintaining low production costs. The sheetfed, digital packaging press has run speeds up to 8,100 m2 / hour and can print on boards up to 1.8mx3m in size. Users will gain superior versatility thanks to a double-lane printing feature that enables full utilization of the press's speed and width and increases throughput up to 9,000 80cmx60cm boards per hour. The press's LED imaging capabilities provide brilliant, accurate color imaging on just about any board substrate, including traditional Kemi, model, bleach and kraft materials.

RR Donnelley Showcases Its Suite of End-to-End Solutions for Internet Retailers at IRCE 2016

R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company (Nasdaq:RRD), a global leader in communication and supply chain offerings for internet retailers, announces that it will showcase its expansive portfolio of solutions at the annual Internet Retailers Conference and Exhibition event, June 7-9 at McCormick Place West in Chicago, Illinois. RR Donnelley's spectrum of logistics services provides consistent delivery experiences that can turn everyday consumers into lifelong customers. Advanced tracking reports, down to package level, help identify trends and reveal process efficiencies. The company also can help unlock new levels of real-time transparency deep into the delivery supply chain with Printed Electronics and RFID products, arming clients with the data necessary to take action and address the improper handling of products.

Monthly Statistics of the European Graphic Papers Industry

Total Eurpopean shipments of Graphic Papers in March 2016 were down 5.2% vs. March 2015 and are down 5.1% year-to-date. Total Eurpopean shipments of Newsprint in March 2016 were down 4.4% vs. March 2015 and are down 4.4% year-to-date. Total Eurpopean shipments of SC-Magazine in March 2016 were UP 0.3% vs. March 2015 and are UP 1.9% year-to-date. Total Eurpopean shipments of Coated Mechanical Reels in March 2016 were down 7.9% vs. March 2015 and are down 8.0% year-to-date. Total Eurpopean shipments of Uncoated Mechanical (Improved & others) in March 2016 were down 7.0% vs. March 2015 and are down 9.2% year-to-date. Total Eurpopean shipments of Coated Woodfree in March 2016 were down 6.3% vs. March 2015 and are down 4.9% year-to-date. Total Eurpopean shipments of Uncoated Woodfree in March 2016 were down 5.0% vs. March 2015 and are down 5.8% year-to-date.

Adobe Launches PDF Print Engine 4 for Next-Generation Print Production

Adobe today announced the availability of the fourth version of Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE 4), Adobe’s high-speed, high-fidelity print platform used by the leading print equipment manufacturers, and running in more than 150,000 print operations around the world. As the fastest and most reliable PDF rendering technology, APPE 4 will deliver new performance efficiencies and breakthrough color features to extend Adobe’s market-leading print technology. APPE 4 will enable printers to increase workflow efficiency and capitalize on the profit potential of new innovations. Print operations are embracing the best practices of connected manufacturing – “Industry 4.0” – while inkjet and nano technologies are being rapidly adopted in packaging, labeling, textile, signage, ceramics, photography, publishing and personalized direct mail. Adobe has worked to advance these segments, partnering with leading manufacturers of digital presses, wide format printers and Digital Front Ends (DFEs). The launch of APPE 4 marks a decade of success for Print Engine. Today, hundreds of different products are powered by APPE – from digital production presses and label presses, to wide format inkjet printers, to platesetters for traditional printing (offset/flexo/gravure).

Brent crude lower on strong Middle East oil output

May 31, 2016
Midland Paperclips
Misc

Brent crude prices fell on Tuesday on rising output from the Middle East and ahead of an OPEC meeting on Thursday, while U.S. crude edged higher as the summer driving season began. Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were down 26 cents at $49.50 a barrel by 1056 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 traded 9 cents higher at $49.42 a barrel. Iraq will supply 5 million barrels of extra crude to its international oil company partners in June, industry sources familiar with the issue said, joining other Middle East producers by lifting market share.

The Death of Out-of-Print Titles Is Near

You’ve been hearing it a lot lately: Print-on-demand is changing publishing. Advances in technologies have brought reduced turnaround times, lower costs, higher quality, and less risk. As a result, businesses focused on print-on-demand are emerging, including independent, on-demand-focused publishers that serve both traditional book models and a changing vanity publishing marketplace. One group that’s often left out of discussions around the changing marketplace: established publishers. However, print-on-demand capabilities are a positive development established publishers. Publishers often have large, slow-moving backlists and many out of print titles that have strong, if small, followings. In the past, this has proven an obstacle to customers buying books they want, except at secondhand shops, whose revenue the publisher never sees. Short-run production of out-of-print and backlist titles for customers adds a revenue stream and can build author and customer good will.

Office Depot Announces $100 Million Stock Repurchase Program

Office Depot, Inc. today announced that the Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $100 million of its outstanding common stock. The stock repurchase authorization, which is effective immediately, permits the company to repurchase stock from time-to-time through a combination of open market repurchases, privately negotiated transactions, 10b5-1 trading plans, accelerated stock repurchase transactions and/or other derivative transactions. The program, which extends for a period of 12 months, may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The exact number and timing of share repurchases will depend on market conditions and other factors, and will be funded through existing liquidity.