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We come to the end of another Pulp Rats season, our 13th. We try to capture malfeasance, of various levels, done by the humans that work in our pulp and paper mills as well as the people affiliated with those mills such as suppliers, contractors and so forth. Every year, our fearless reporter, Fos the Rat, brings these thinly disguised stories to you. We disguise them, not to protect the guilty, but to protect us from the potential of libel suits. Some of these bad characters would sue us in a minute if they had enough of a case. I want to push a little deeper as we wrap up this year.
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We live in a world full of corruption. Evil and hatred play a part in our world. Sad, I know. We have free will to make choices--to do good or bad. Ultimately, the choice is ours.
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I know someone who's heading to federal prison because he stole a couple billion dollars from the US Government. How did his journey begin? Twenty years ago he was selling Christmas trees on a corner lot, and had slightly shady business practices with his employees. Everything grew from there. Because corruption - especially when you get good at it - takes a lot of practice. If you know someone who has thoroughly cheated a company and you look into the person's past, you will find there's always a history of corruption from earlier years.
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For this month's column, I've decided to discuss how to maintain agency in a corporate environment. "Agency" is the capacity to act intentionally, make meaningful choices, and influence outcomes. Personal agency has been under assault for over a century as independent, small farm and business people have transitioned to working for "the man" - where they are told what to do, how to do it, punished for not doing it as prescribed, and subjected to systemic removal of human effort through automation and AI - that could even leave you in the cold. People continue to make that transition for the benefit of steady paychecks, benefits, and possibly a career growth path. All predictable and safe. Until it's not.
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The ability to transform an analog signal (voltage, current) to a digital numeric representation is about 100 years old. In our industry and many others, we have used this analog-to-digital conversion to take a process measurement (temperature, flow, basis weight, pressure, etc.) into a computer for use in algorithms, operator display, and reports, and send it back out again to control the process. We have been digital for a long time. Why do we continue to see articles about the "digitalization" of industry? What is new?
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The International Society of Automation (ISA) -- the leading professional society for automation -- announced that ISASecure®, a wholly owned subsidiary of ISA, is partnering with the United States National Security Agency (NSA) to develop a new certification scheme for commercial operational technology (OT) components sold by manufacturers and procured by the US government for use within National Security Systems (NSS). With a common goal of securing high criticality OT systems, the new certification scheme is intended to increase confidence in the security of commercial components.
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Love Paper, the global consumer campaign run by Two Sides, has unveiled a completely redesigned website www.lovepaper.org, an engaging new platform dedicated to celebrating the environmental, practical and creative benefits of paper, print and paper-based packaging.
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As I travel, I am always looking for someone to go to dinner with, share a barbeque sandwich lunch and so forth.
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Katie Bielecki, right, is shown receiving the Paperitalo Publications endowed scholarship from Steve Sena at the Miami University Paper Science & Engineering Foundation Meeting in 2026. Katie is a rising Junior, Chemical Engineering student. She participated in the SASI workshop during J-term (winter semester) and is interning with Smurfit Westrock in Evadale, Texas, this summer.
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The Washington Department of Ecology has issued an administrative notice of violation to Nippon Dynawave Packaging following a May 26 storage tank failure at its Longview pulp and paper mill.
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The support consists of a C$1 million non-repayable contribution and a C$19 million repayable contribution, with repayment scheduled to commence in 2031, subject to the terms of the contribution agreement.
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RYAM in Temiscaming, Quebec is closing its doors to its industrial complex next month due to the 50 percent tariff situation across the border.
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UPM remains convinced that the planned joint venture is a necessary step to secure reliable supply continuity for graphic paper customers in Europe and strengthen the resilience of the entire European graphic paper industry, and will continue to engage constructively with the Commission during the next stages of the ongoing investigation.
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The EU's competition authority is preparing a formal objection to Finnish forestry giant UPM-Kymmene and Sappi's planned joint venture in graphic paper, a deal valued at €1.42bn. Bloomberg News reported, citing sources.
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The Commerce Commission has given clearance to Kimberly-Clark Corporation to acquire 100% of the shares in Kenvue Inc. as part of a global transaction, subject to an undertaking to divest Kenvue's feminine hygiene business in New Zealand and Australia.
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"This is an immensely difficult day for the Sunshine Coast."
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Carney said his government will release more details about these retaliatory policies in the "coming days" and that the tariffs would apply to goods like steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.
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Earlier this month, the USDA Forest Service announced over $105 million in funding for a range of projects that support the forest industry.
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The decision will remove approximately 380,000 metric tons of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp from the market annually. The announcement will affect approximately 400 employees.
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A storage tank ruptured and caught fire at Stora Enso's Kaukopää industrial site in Imatra, southeastern Finland, early on August 18, with around 50 cubic metres of tall oil spilling onto the site and some entering nearby Lake Saimaa.
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Mercer International Inc. has disclosed "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern over the next 12 months, citing upcoming debt maturities, an expected covenant breach and weak operating results amid challenging pulp and wood-product markets.
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In addition, the new case names as defendants current CEO Robbert Rietbroek and all eight of the other sitting board members, plus one board member who retired in June.
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Fulton Systems, pulp and paper industry steam and condensate system specialists, is the OEM serving North America for over 100 years, and is the mill steam and condensate recovery system provider. The Fulton Systems' steam and condensate systems are engineered to optimize the energy transfer from the boiler to the dryer, re-use the spent steam, and maximize the condensate recovery. The system design include the required controls, thermocompressors, liquid recovery tanks, condensers, pumps, final control devises, and syphons.
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The distribution center will stock Sabert's broad range of molded fiber pulp, paper, and plastic food packaging solutions. This will support a wide range of customer needs.
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Essity has entered into an agreement to acquire Kenvue's feminine care business in Brazil, including the market-leading brands Carefree, Sempre Livre and o.b. The purchase price amounts to USD 284m (approximately SEK 2.7bn) on a cash and debt-free basis.
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Giannolo joined Sonoco in 2019 and prior to this new appointment was Vice President of Commercial for Sonoco's Consumer Packaging EMEA/APAC business.
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Company starts removing wreckage of the 900,000-gallon white liquor tank and plans to install temporary tanks to restart the mill.
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A union leader at Woodland Pulp in Baileyville says he lobbied four different superintendents for personal monitors that could have detected the deadly hydrogen sulfide leak that killed 20-year-old intern Kasie Malcolm and 26-year-old engineer Allen Hornberger on January 27.
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The report highlights PHP's activities and accomplishments through 2025, underscoring the company's continued dedication to safety, sustainability, and long-term value for its customers, partners, employees, and the broader Nova Scotia community.
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Acquisition adds specialist nutritional supplement, OTC, consumer health and beauty packaging capabilities as well as deepens Truvant's support for health, wellness and beauty brands.
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The increase is in direct response to the continued inflationary pressures on the business and will take effect for all shipments made on or after September 15, 2026.
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Sealed Air, a global leader in protective packaging, has expanded its paper cushioning portfolio with the introduction of the SEALED AIR® brand ProPad® Mini, a compact system that extends the company's scalable protective packaging strategy to space-constrained fulfillment operations.
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Ahlstrom, a global leader in fiber-based specialty materials, today announced the commercial release of Grease-Gard® PLUS and Grease-Gard® PRO, two new products of the Grease-Gard® family designed to expand the offering of high-performance grease-resistant papers for the North American quick service restaurant (QSR) and food service market.
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Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, marking the 20th consecutive year the company has been recognized for its strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
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Eighteen years after signing their first agreement, Sofidel and WWF Italy renew one of the longest-standing partnerships in the history of WWF Italy, in a year when both organizations celebrate the 60th anniversary of their founding. The renewed partnership focuses on three areas of collaboration: climate and energy transition, responsible forest sourcing, and stakeholder awareness.
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The report highlights the company's progress across four corporate responsibility pillars: Forests, Planet, People, and Practices. These pillars focus on managing forests sustainably, minimizing environmental impacts, focusing on Team Members and safety, and prioritizing strong governance practices.
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The achievement makes Charlotte Atlantic's first facility to be TRUE-certified to the Gold level, building on four existing TRUE-certified facilities in Dallas, Texas; Sturgis, Michigan; Greensboro (Spring Garden St.), North Carolina; and Greenville, South Carolina.
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Holmen, a Swedish forest and industrial products company, reported second-quarter operating profit of SEK 689 million, down from SEK 807 million a year earlier and SEK 827 million in the first quarter.
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If you are looking for goods and services in the pulp and paper industry, you need to check out the Paperitalo Directory!
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This partial redemption is consistent with the Corporation's ongoing capital allocation and debt management strategy and will be funded with available liquidity.
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Paperitalo Publications interviewed Naomi Halphen, and we asked her a few questions about her experiences at Georgia Tech.
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Kelsey Mosqueda is a senior in the UW program. Kelsey is graduating this spring with her Bioresource Science & Engineering degree and will be working at International Paper in Springfield, Oregon. We asked her about her experiences at the University of Washington.
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Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with Ethan Fisher, a graduating senior in the program, and we asked him a few questions about his experiences at UWSP.
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The Western Michigan University Paper Technology Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporation founded by industry leaders in 1958. The mission of the corporation has been and continues to be to support the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University. Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with Aimee Lambert, who is a graduating senior in the program. We asked her a few questions about her experiences at Western Michigan.
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The Paper Science & Engineering Foundation at Miami University was founded in 1960 through the donations of several local paper mills and corporations who wanted to ensure the education of future paper engineers. The foundation continues to actively work with students in the paper science and engineering program at Miami University. Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with senior Avery Hendl. We asked her a few questions about her experiences at Miami.
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Abby Hickman shares her experiences at N.C. State.
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The University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation leads a partnership between the University of Maine, the Pulp and Paper industry and aspiring engineering students. Its role is to recruit, support and prepare talented engineering students to become the next great leaders in the pulp and paper industry, while also helping to meet the workforce needs of the industry, specifically in chemical, civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering. Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with senior Kenzie Karpinski. We asked her a few questions about her experiences at UMaine.
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At the University of Minnesota, the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering (BBE) program prepares students to solve real-world problems with practical, sustainable solutions. It brings together biological sciences, engineering principles, and technology to address society's growing demands for material, food, and energy using renewable resources. Cameron Borner is a student in the program, and he shares some of his experiences at Minnesota.
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The purpose of the TALOtech groups on LinkedIn is to provide a convenient forum for people working within the manufacturing part of this industry to share technical and operating related dialog to promote safe and competitive operations.
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Your contributions are welcome in this department, regardless of point of view. A few criteria--if you send us a copyrighted piece, also provide a permission to publish statement from the owner. We will not publish overtly political pieces or anonymous pieces.
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Click here to listen to our latest episodes!
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We welcome Myles Cohen, founder of Circular Ventures, LLC, to discuss the volatility in the OCC/wastepaper market, plus trends in the recovered fiber and sustainable packaging markets.
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Frustrated when you search for "pulp" and come up with "John Travolta"? This should help:
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Valmet is appointing Max Luedtke as head of the Pulp, Energy and Circularity business area and a member of the group executive team as of September 1, according to a press release.
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Stephan most recently served as COO of Amcor Global Flexible Packaging Solutions, where he oversaw global manufacturing, R&D, and commercial functions, including sales, marketing, and product management for over 200 manufacturing sites across more than 35 countries with 40K employees.
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The responsibility for the role of Senior Vice President Commercial will be assumed by Christoffer Bull, who is already a member of the Corporate Management through his position as Senior Vice President Business Development.
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He is currently responsible for the sale of Saugbrugs' magazine paper grades and is a well-known contact for customers across several European markets.
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Accomplished legal executive and global litigator brings proven track record of enterprise risk management and strategic leadership to support Kimberly-Clark's next chapter of growth.
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Award recognizes Georgia-Pacific's senior vice president of CPG Marketing & Customer Experience for driving business growth, marketing innovation and industry leadership.
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Current VP of Sales, Jim Lieskovan, has been appointed President effective August 1, 2026, and Larry Day will continue in his role as CEO through his retirement in January 2027.
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Key Container Corporation ("Key Container"), a leading corrugated box manufacturer in New England, announced the formation of its advisory board, bringing together four packaging industry experts to provide strategic guidance that will help the company better meet evolving customer needs while supporting its next phase of growth.
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Suzano announced on August 4, 2026 that Executive Vice President Aires Galhardo will resign effective August 28 after more than 21 years of service.
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The recruitment process for his successor will be initiated immediately.
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Prior to FWPA, Leighton held senior leadership roles with Norske Skog Australasia, including Regional President, where he was responsible for large-scale manufacturing, forestry, energy, and bio-product operations across multiple sites, and also served as General Manager Strategy and Business Development at Ingham's Group.
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Thomas joins Huhtamaki from TC Transcontinental, where he served as CEO and, prior to that, as President, TC Transcontinental Packaging Division since 2019.
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Bowers brings more than 20 years of experience.
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Semach currently serves as president and CEO of Sealed Air Corp., a global packaging solutions company known for brands such as Cryovac and Bubble Wrap. He was named president and CEO in February 2025 after joining the company as chief financial officer in 2023.
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Nygren has been serving as interim Vice President since March 2026 and will now assume the role on a permanent basis.
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Ryan Yost appointed Division President, Global Flexible Packaging Solutions; Kate Pearlman appointed Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Treasury
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The Management Board of Arctic Paper S.A. ("the Company") herewith informs that on 18th of May 2026 due to the expiry of the term of office of the Management Board on 29 May 2026, the Supervisory Board of the Company appointed the Management Board of the Company for a new three-year term of office with an unchanged composition
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The Management Board of Arctic Paper S.A. ("the Company") herewith informs that on 18th of May 2026 due to the expiry of the term of office of the Management Board on 29 May 2026, the Supervisory Board of the Company appointed the Management Board of the Company for a new three-year term of office with an unchanged composition
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After 38 years of contributions to the company, Sheila Weidman, senior vice president of communications, government and public affairs, has decided to retire effective June 5.
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Georgia-Pacific announced that Nick Trainer has been named vice president, market sales of GP PRO. In this role, Trainer will lead market sales strategy and execution, strengthen customer partnerships, and drive growth across the business.
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The start-up is scheduled for fall of 2027.
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Delivering Advanced Heat Protection, Smarter Controls and Simplified Hydraulics for Severe‑Duty Fleets
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The transaction is expected to close on October 1, 2026.
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First printer in the US to protect its luxury brand packaging customers against counterfeiting and ensures the authenticity of premium products
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It is the annual meeting point for the tissue paper industry in Latin America, based on the key pillars of connecting with industry leaders, spreading knowledge, and enhancing business opportunities.
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Greenply Speciality Panels will install a complete pressurized refining system at its MDF production facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, according to the technology supplier Andritz.
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Xuong Giang Paper has successfully commissioned its new TM16 tissue production line at its mill in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam, supported by an advanced stock preparation system supplied by ANDRITZ.
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The scope of supply covers control of paper temperature, moisture balance, total moisture and warp through an interface with the corrugator's existing heating elements.
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Comact, a global leader in high-performance OEM wood-processing technologies, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Checkmate Precision Cutting Tools, a manufacturer and service provider of bandsaws, circular saws, industrial knives, and complete saw shop solutions with operations across New Zealand and Australia.
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New Koenig & Bauer presses are equipped with the latest automation and integrated AI that expect to yield a 40% increase in efficiency and capacity
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AFT (Aikawa Fiber Technologies) is pleased to announce the successful completion of a pulping process rebuild and screening upgrade at the Papiro Sarda S.r.l. mill in Sardegna, Italy, further strengthening a long-standing partnership between the two companies.
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With this project, Palm is responding to the structural decline in demand for newsprint.
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A continued project for energy saving
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Pia Aaltonen-Forsell joins Valmet from the role of Chief Financial Officer at Finnair.
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Commissioning is planned for November 2028.
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The transaction is expected to further strengthen ABB's focus on electrification and automation and expand its Automation business area's offering for large and complex infrastructure and industries.
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DS Smith has successfully started up an ANDRITZ stock preparation line and reject treatment system at its mill in Porcari, Italy, including Europe's largest FibreFlow drum pulper.
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Start-up is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027.
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Seven-year run of top-tier performance includes four Platinum ratings since 2020.
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Delivering Advanced Heat Protection, Smarter Controls and Simplified Hydraulics for Severe‑Duty Fleets
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Start-up is scheduled for the first half of 2027.
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Eneco will replace the secondary superheater in the Bio Golden Raand CFB boiler, with delivery and installation scheduled March 2027.
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The start-up is scheduled for fall of 2027.
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Held at Innofibre in Trois-Rivières, a research and technology development center serving the pulp and paper industry, the seminar was led by four specialists from Kadant.
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Suzano will modernize five electrostatic precipitators at its Aracruz mill in Espírito Santo, upgrading recovery boilers A and C with SIR technology.
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Intelligent automation and robotics unlock new finishing opportunities optimizing the entire post-press production chain.
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In spray-drying applications, including powder production, within hygienic processing industries, incomplete cleaning of hard-to-reach surfaces can lead to contamination risks, product loss, and costly downtime. To address these challenges, Alfa Laval today announces the launch of the Controlled Rotating Retractors, designed to effectively remove residues and contaminants from ducts, pipes, tanks, and enclosed areas.
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As a result of last year's acquisition, Toscotec remains the sole, exclusive, and legal owner of all rights related to the "Recard" brand, including but not limited to know-how, technical documentation, patents, trademarks, designs, and any other intangible assets associated with the former Recard technology.
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Severn will now be integrated into the Flow Control business area.
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The campaign will run from July 1 through August 9.
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The solution enables high-capacity, fast production of high-quality, three-dimensional fiber-based packaging, offering packaging producers a competitive end-to-end solution to meet the increasing demand for sustainable alternatives to plastic.
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Three tailored variants available to meet customer requirements in refining applications.
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Valmet launches new Valmet Advantage NTTe technology that enables the production of a completely new type of tissue paper with exceptional softness and a distinctive textured appearance.
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Once operational, the paper machine is expected to become Asia's largest extensible bag paper production line.
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Tero Kokko to assume the position of President & CEO Voith Paper effective October 1, 2026.
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The digital transformation at Södra's pulp mills has been ongoing for many years.
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Solenis, a leading global provider of water treatment, process and hygiene solutions, has entered into a strategic agreement with Dow as an approved service provider within Dow's Coolant Care Network for Data Centers.
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The company stated that the conflict has had a larger negative impact on its financial performance during the Q2 than previously expected.
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The development is based on long-term collaboration with Metsä Group's innovation company Metsä Spring, which began in 2020.
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Lenzing is scheduled to take over the delivery during the first quarter of 2027.
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The Saiccor mill is located south of the port of Durban and has capacity of 890,000 tons of dissolving wood pulp, mainly for viscose staple fibre used in clothing and textiles.
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Voith has launched EcoCal HiBulk, a new calendering solution designed to help board producers reduce fiber consumption while maintaining surface quality and mechanical strength.
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Developed for systems utilizing bale pulpers and refining, MaxBarrier provides a robust physical barrier that removes heavy debris and contaminants before they can reach sensitive downstream equipment such as refiners.
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While the contract value remains undisclosed, installation is scheduled to take place during a major maintenance shutdown in February 2027.
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DuPont announced that its Board of Directors has approved a reverse stock split of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share, at a ratio of 1-for-3 as well as a reduction in the number of authorized shares of its common stock by a corresponding ratio (the "Reverse Stock Split").
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Startup of the new cooler is scheduled for the Q4 2027.
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Kadant Solutions, a division of Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI), announced the launch of the AccuChange™ blade holder, a roll cleaning innovation developed to reduce downtime, increase consistency, and improve safety for manufacturers processing challenging materials.
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Globally, Kemira will reduce an estimated 123 positions across its operating countries, lower than the original estimate of a maximum of 150 positions.
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Valmet and Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, have announced a collaboration to integrate, optimize and offer electrically driven carbon capture solutions for the pulp and paper industry.
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The start-up is scheduled for spring of 2027.
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Start-up is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026.
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With more than 35 years of experience in the global pulp and paper industry, Andrew Hall brings expertise spanning capital project development and execution, process engineering, mill operations, business consulting, and strategic planning.
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The rebuild is designed to increase production capacity by approximately 60%.
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The investment is expected to reduce emissions, enhance performance, and extend maintenance intervals for the mill's recovery boiler.
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The 2026 designees are U.S. private companies that have demonstrated excellence in strategic planning and execution, a commitment to their people, as well as maintaining financial performance and governance.
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With MaxPulping, AFT further strengthens its presence across the papermaking process by offering a complete pulping solution that includes core equipment, wear parts, and related services.
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Start-up is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.
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Start‑up planned for Q4 2027
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Their arrival marks a significant step in strengthening Allnorth's technical leadership and execution capabilities as the company continues to expand its footprint in the pulp and paper industry across North America.
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Permission granted for reprinting, as long as this entire column is reprinted without modification or truncation.
"Nip Impressions" is a registered trademark (USPTO Reg. No. 2985097) of Talo Analytic International, Inc.
"Light Green Machine" is a registered trademark (USPTO Reg. No. 4216680) of Talo Analytic International, Inc.
Be safe, and we will talk next week,
Steve Roush
Vice President, Publisher and Editor
Paperitalo Publications
The Home of your Prospects (TM)
Paperitalo Publications LLC
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