Paper Excellence Canada Voted One Of Corporate Knights’ Best 50 Corporate Citizens

Ahlstrom expands WallStar® Digital, it’s 100% PVC-free nonwoven portfolio for wallcovering, delivering exceptional digital print quality and limitless creative potential. In addition to WallStar® Digital Wallcover, the range now includes three new segments: Easy, Advance and Essential. Engineered for all digital printing technologies, they offer various advantages like rich textures, outstanding durability, ease of application, and responsibly sourced materials. This expansion reinforces Ahlstrom’s commitment to providing innovative solutions that address the growing need for safe, sustainable and high-performance materials. Ahlstrom’s new WallStar® Digital EASY offers an extensive range of pre-pasted and self-adhesive nonwovens. Both options ensure a quick, clean, and hassle-free installation, making wall decoration much easier.

Pixelle Specialty Solutions Holding LLC announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Pixelle was formed in 2018 by Lindsay Goldberg, a private investment firm that focuses on partnering with families, founders and management teams seeking to actively build their businesses. Pixelle has built an industry-leading four-mill specialty paper platform with mills in Chillicothe, OH; Jay, ME; Spring Grove, PA; and Stevens Point, WI. Collectively the mills operate 11 paper machines and produce more than one million tons of paper annually. Timothy Hess, Pixelle’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Together with Lindsay Goldberg, Pixelle has developed a broad, innovative portfolio of industry leading brands across the specialty papers and sustainable packaging markets. In under four years, we have transformed Pixelle into the leading specialty-focused paper producer in North America through three strategic acquisitions and successful implementation of a continuous improvement program. We thank Lindsay Goldberg for their partnership and look forward to our next chapter with H.I.G. Capital.”

Solenis is working with a North American tissue maker to deliver continuous process improvement with autonomous chemistry control through its secure OPTIX™ Applied Intelligence artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Developed with ProcessMiner™, a leading AI platform, Solenis’ adaptive analytics system accurately learns complex variable relationships in pulp and paper manufacturing processes and yields a digital measure of product quality. Autonomous manufacturing using AI with machine learning allows for improved product quality, optimized use of raw materials and reduced water and energy consumption. Deployed at St. Croix Tissue in Baileyville, Maine, OPTIX recently enabled the mill to accomplish something that was previously impossible. Using a closed-loop controller in conjunction with OPTIX quality parameter predictions, the mill was able to control its strength chemistry autonomously to ensure optimal chemical feed and adhere to target parameters.