Canfor Closes Vida Group of Sweden Acquisition

Blanks/USA, a market leader in die cut paper technology, has unveiled a new, patent pending product line called Lift Off™; the industry's first easy-to-release, print-ready, die cut paper product. Lift Off™ improves the quality of all digitally oriented die cut products and increases efficiency during assembly. "There's nothing else on the market like it—allowing you to digitally produce dimensional or die cut substrates," said Andy Ogren, CEO. Lift Off™ products are highly innovative, breaking away from industry standard perforated formats, which often result in accidentally ripping or tearing the product and tediously slow assembly.

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) applauds the Canadian government, and in particular Minister Champagne, on the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. This agreement will benefit the Canadian forest products industry by eliminating tariffs, as well as providing clear provisions to help settle disputes and avoid unfair blocking of imports because of concerns about issues such as insects or other contaminants. For example, forest products from Canada now face:. •31% tariff to Vietnam for certain kinds of wood, going down to 0% starting Year 1 and up to 27% for paper, which will be at 0% by Year 4. •40% tariff to Malaysia for plywood and up to 25% for paper, down to 0% by Year 6. •10% tariff to Japan for wood products, going down as low as 5% in Year 1 and 0% as early as Year 11. “The CPTPP will increase Canadian forest products access to key global markets,” says CEO of FPAC, Derek Nighbor. “Growing exports will create more middle class jobs in the over 600 forest dependent communities across Canada and help the forest sector diversify its markets.” Click Read More below for additional information.

A Chinese company has abandoned its plan to build a massive paper mill in southwestern Arkansas that had already been delayed by trade tensions. Sun Paper told Gov. Asa Hutchinson and economic development officials in a letter dated Sunday that it would not move forward with its plan to build a mill in Arkadelphia, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Little Rock. The company cited “continued political friction and economic instability," and the coronavirus outbreak as reasons for walking away from the project. "With the likelihood of the project uncertain, it is also fair to allow the state of Arkansas to use its resources for other ventures that have less uncertainty in the medium term," Andrzej Bednarski, the company's international project director, said in a letter.