On June 30, 2017, Orchids Paper Products Company entered into Amendment No. 5 to its Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2015 by and among the Company, U.S. Bank National Association and the other lenders party thereto. The Credit Agreement Amendment, among other things, struck the fixed charge coverage for the period ended June 30, 2017, thereby also waiving a requirement for a Cash Reserve, as defined in the Credit Agreement, to be funded by that date. Covenants for future periods remain unchanged from the prior amendment. Additionally, the Company agreed not to make any dividend or other distribution payment with respect to its equity unless the Company has achieved a Leverage Ratio of less than 4.0:1.0 for two consecutive fiscal quarters and no Default or Event of Default (as defined in the Credit Agreement) exists or would exist following such payment. The amount and timing of dividend payments otherwise remains subject to the judgment and approval of the Board of Directors. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Stora Enso has decided to invest EUR 45 million in a new production unit for cross laminated timber (CLT) in connection with its Gruvön Mill in Sweden. The investment will further enhance Stora Enso’s position as a global provider of high quality engineered wooden elements and as a market leader in CLT. The production is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 2019. The estimated yearly capacity of the production line will be approximately 100 000 m³ after ramp-up, subject to required approvals being in place. The investment is expected to generate annual sales of approximately EUR 50 million when run at full capacity and over time significantly exceed the Wood Products division’s profitability target, operational return on operating capital (ROOC) of 18%. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The Kotkamills group has been producing Saturating Base Kraft (laminating papers) in Tainionkoski, Imatra on Paper Machine 7 (PM 7) leased from Stora Enso Oyj since the separation of Kotkamills from Stora Enso in 2010. The operations are part of the Group’s Industrial Products segment. Stora Enso Oyj has notified Kotkamills Oy that the leasing agreement concerning Tainionkoski PM7 will be terminated in accordance with its terms to expire at the end of 2018. Click Read More below for additional detail.

UPM has signed a contract to sell forest estates to Silvestica Green Forest Finland Oy. The contract covers 6,877 hectares of forestry land located in Kajaani, Sonkajärvi and Sotkamo in Finland. In addition, the parties have signed a separate long-term wood purchase and forest management agreement. Silvestica Green Forest Finland Oy is committed to certify the estates according to FSC® and to join the UPM managed FSC group certificate (FSC C 109750). For the time being the estates are PEFCTM certified. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Silvestica Green Forest Finland Oy is owned by a Swedish company Silvestica Green Forest AB, which is an investment fund for institutional investors founded in spring 2017 by SEB, the leading Nordic financial services group. Silvestica owned companies will invest in forest estates in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries. The forests will be managed by CRK Forest Management AB with CEO Rickard Lehmann in charge of forest activities and reporting to investors. Click Read More below for additional detail.

As a leader of innovative solutions in the specialty paper industry, Expera has continued to customize its line of food packaging and processing papers with its newly launched brand Prepera™ Food Processing Papers. Expera’s Prepera™ Papers keep individual food slices neatly separate and wrapped, while easily releasing from products that have been vacuum packaged, frozen, or thawed. Offering a breadth of performance options, Expera produces layout sheets for raw and pre-cooked applications as well as paper-based solutions designed to address a variety of needs in today’s refrigerated and frozen food categories. “Prepera™ papers are used in a wide variety of applications and they have the flexibility necessary for unique and demanding applications,” said Robyn Buss, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Expera. “Whether it’s bacon layout, or an interleave application for cheese or meat, these papers are safe, sustainable, and provide the food release properties necessary for all types of performance.” Click Read More below for additional detail.

The Heinzel Group has now initiated its next strategic initiative in the packaging paper segment. This will see the installation of a second large paper machine for the production of bleached kraft papers at the Zellstoff Pöls AG location in Austria. So-called MG papers are employed for flexible packaging and demonstrate above-average market growth. Kurt Maier, the Heinzel Holding CEO: “Using the new machine, we will be able to manufacture 200,000 tonnes of MG papers annually at the Pöls location. With pulp production in Pöls being expanded at the same time, this has only marginal impact on our annual market pulp capacity of 400,000 tonnes. Following our recent investments at our Raubling and Laakirchen mills, the Pöls project represents another step forward on our packaging paper segment path.” Click Read More below for additional detail.

Do you ever wonder why there are so many different types of vinyls? If you go to the Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions website you will see that we have two specific lines of media. One is the Digital line and the other is our Screen & Cut line which includes the Supreme Wrapping films and Conform Chrome series of films. Some of you may be wondering what the difference is, so in this blog post I will give a brief explanation of each and why you would use one over another. The Screen & Cut line is our oldest product line and dates back to the time when films were only screen printed, thermal transfer printed, or plotter cut. Within this line, we have our cast opaque, metallic, ultra-metallic and translucent films. We also have intermediate and economy calendered films as well as reflective products. In the last few years, we have added our very popular Supreme Wrapping Film 900 series (SW 900) which is a 3.2 mil cast film designed for color change wraps and the Conform Chrome films, which is a 5.7 mil chrome film material, designed primarily for vehicle accents and is frequently used for wraps.

On the occasion of the re-start of Paper Excellence’s Chetwynd pulp mill, the media-shy company opened up a bit in an interview with Business in Vancouver. “Many pulp manufacturers look at the pulp industry [to be in] sunset,” Chang told the magazine. “Paper Excellence, our vision is different. We look at it as sunrise. We will be here for a century – as far as Asia continues emerging.” Paper Excellence does have the benefit of selling its pulp to APP mills, not on the open market, so it is not as vulnerable to pulp price fluctuations, Chang explained.