Australia’s white paper industry is dead, leaving rural communities to pick through the pulp (theguardian.com)

Overview • Record-high 2020 reported operating income of $727 million; adjusted operating income of $735 million; shareholder net income of $544 million, or $4.35 per share • Fourth quarter of 2020 reported operating income of $420 million; adjusted operating income of $321 million; shareholder net income of $336 million, or $2.68 per share • Net debt of $270 million at December 31, 2020, improvement of $256 million from prior quarter; available liquidity of $1.4 billion; net debt to capitalization of 9.3% at December 31, 2020 • Cumulative cash deposits of $594 million on countervailing and anti-dumping duties at December 31, 2020

Kruger Products officially inaugurated its Sherbrooke Tissue Plant, which was commissioned in 2021, and also broke ground at its expansion project where another tissue plant will be built on a site adjacent to the Sherbrooke Plant by 2024. This second project, which represents further investments of $351.5 million, will deliver on the Company’s vision to make Sherbrooke a major premium-quality tissue product manufacturing hub in North America, featuring Canada’s most advanced and best-performing TAD tissue machine. In total, the Company will have invested nearly $1 billion in the Estrie Region since 2018. The Sherbrooke Plant’s inauguration and the ground breaking of the expansion project took place in the presence of Mr. Joseph Kruger II, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Kruger Inc.; François Legault, Premier of Québec; Pierre Fitzgibbon, Québec Minister of Economy and Innovation; Geneviève Hébert, Member for Saint-François and Deputy Government Whip; Évelyne Beaudin, Mayor of Sherbrooke; Dino Bianco, Chief Executive Officer, Kruger Products L.P.; and Patrice Bégin, General Manager, Kruger Products Sherbrooke Plant.

Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, is participating in the Piloting Alternatives for Plastics project, a global initiative to help develop the next generation of fiber-based materials to replace plastics used in food packaging, filters, hygiene products and other goods. Solenis is joining more than 50 other companies in the technical consortium, including major packaging and paper manufacturers, led by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). During the 30-month project, the group will work to identify materials and manufacturing methods best suited for full-scale development. The goal is to reduce the time it takes to move projects from initial laboratory results into commercial production.