Metsä Board’s Kemi mill development programme completed

Net sales in the first quarter were $2,784 million compared to $2,974 million in the first quarter of 2023 reflecting higher beverage can shipments in Americas and European Beverage and favorable foreign currency of $10 million, offset by the pass through of $130 million in lower material costs and lower volumes in most other businesses. Income from operations was $245 million in the first quarter compared to $269 million in the first quarter of 2023. Segment income in the first quarter of 2024 was $308 million compared to $320 million in the prior year first quarter driven by improved results in global beverage offset by lower volumes in most other businesses and $12 million in higher corporate costs which includes $8 million of costs related to a facility fire.

Hood Container Corporation announced that it has acquired the corrugated packaging business of Sumter, SC based Sumter Packaging Corporation. This includes all of Sumter’s design, manufacturing, assembly and fulfillment operations in Sumter, SC as well as the business manufactured and serviced from the Statesville, NC facility. Benjamin DeSollar, CEO of Sumter Packaging Corporation stated, “Our roots in packaging go back over 100 years. Sumter Packaging was founded by Ed Fienning with traditions of family values, delighting our customers and being a strong community partner.

Largest producer and exporter of packaging paper and sustainable paper packaging solutions in Brazil, and the only one in the country to offer short, long and fluff fiber pulp to the market, Klabin received approval for its use in Blue Angel products – the world's first environmental label, linked to the German Ministry of the Environment and the RAL gGmbH as competent bodies. Created in 1978, the seal takes a holistic view of a product's life cycle in order to assess its sustainability. The German agency approved the PineFluff line, Klabin's fluff cellulose, for use in products that are already or may be certified by Blue Angel, such as children's diapers, adult diapers and feminine sanitary pads. PineFluff's production was designed to provide the stability, homogeneity and quality that the segment of absorbent products requires. Among its properties are low defiber energy, high absorption capacity and speed, liquid retention and uniformity. Alexandre Nicolini, director of Klabin's Pulp Business, reinforces that the adoption of sustainable processes in production is extremely important, as well as the search for partners that endorse the work carried out. “Our Company is committed to offering the market innovative solutions that add productivity and sustainability. Blue Angel attests that the product's lifecycle has less impact on the environment,” he explains.