Sappi boss says get used to new reality

Founded in South Africa in 1936, Sappi has paper pulp production of 3.3 million tons per annum and paper production of 6.8 million tons per annum. The company has introduced its price increase for third time this year with 8% for speciality products. A 16,400 employee company has manufacturing operations over four continents.

PW: Whats your take on Middle East market?

BW: I have been coming for the last two years to the ME, but Sappi has been in the market for the last 30 years and our policy is

Pratik Sardesai, 01 January 2011

Chinese paper companies hit with anti-dumping duties

Imports of coated fine paper (CFP) from Chinese paper mills have been slapped with provisional anti-dumping duties of up to 39.1% following an investigation by the European Commission.

The move, which resulted from a complaint by Cepifine, applies to CFP sheets (not rolls) of 70gsm to 400gsm and an ISO 2470-1 brightness of more than 84, for a provisional period of six months.

Asia Pulp and Paper's (APP) Gold East Paper (Jiangsu) and Gold Huasheng Paper (Suzhou) will face duties of 19.7% following

Staff Writer, 01 December 2010

Rumours of newsprint merger may herald European shake-up

The European newsprint market could be on the verge of a massive shake-up following reports that three of the four largest manufacturers in the sector have been discussing a merger.

Paper manufacturers Stora Enso, Holmen and Norske Skog were forced to issue statements earlier this month (2 September), after a report in Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat caused a spike in their share prices.

According to the report, the three companies were planning "the partial or complete merger" of facilities

Helen Morris, 01 November 2010

Sappi puts up coated fine paper price for the third time this year

Paper manufacturer Sappi has said it will put up the price of its coated fine papers by a minimum of 7% and its uncoated fine papers by at least 10% - the grades' third increase this year.

The increases will take place as of 1 September, following "a continuous rise in input costs" that the company said has kept profitability for the industry at "unacceptably low levels".

Sappi said energy, wood and transportation costs had also recently started to increase sharply, following the unprecedented

Helen Morris, 01 October 2010

Printec distributes 100% wood- free, FSC-certified papers in UAE

Maxnoa, the speciality paper division of Printec LLC are the sole distributors of 100% wood free speciality papers produced by the Scottish company, Tullis Russel. The FSC certified papers are currently distributed in UAE, with plans afoot to gain distributorship for the entire Middle East.

Mazen Haj Ali, managing director, Printec L.L.C. said, "This range of specialty paper is used for a wide variety of end uses including premium packaging, cards and high profile text and cover

Shilpa Jasani, 01 September 2010

Idempapers raises carbonless prices to counter higher costs

Paper manufacturer Idempapers is to raise the price of its Idem range of carbonless products.

The company's carbonless reels products will go up by up to 8% and its sheet products will rise by up to 5%, although prices will vary from one market to another.

Arnaud de Brandt, IdemPapers marketing manager, said that the current levels of sales prices "do not compensate for significant cost increases, despite previous price increases implemented this year".

Over the past 12 months, the paper industry

Helen Morris, 01 August 2010

Sappi blames pulp cost for paper price rise

Sappi Fine Paper Europe is set to put up its prices again after claiming that its last increase "barely compensated for the extraordinary increase in pulp costs".

The paper giant will increase the price of its flexible packaging, label, and release liner papers and boards by 6% as of 1 July in all European and overseas markets.

In April, Sappi raised the price of its coated fine papers by "at least 10%" and said it would stagger increases for its mechanical coated papers across the rest of the

Staff Writer, 01 July 2010

APP blasts 'abuse' after subsidy investigation launched by EU

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has denied allegations that it receives subsidies from the Chinese government, after the European Commission launched an investigation into the claims.

Stuart Andrews, APP Eu-rope's spokesman, descri-bed the allegations as "unfounded" and said the company had serious concerns over the legitimacy of the initiative.

"We will prove that our competitive advantage is the result of long-term strategic investments, state-of-the-art technology and effective processes, fully in

Helen Morris, 01 June 2010

Sappi blames latest paper price rises on 'unacceptable' margins

Sappi has said it will increase the price of its fine coated papers by "at least 10%" and will stagger increases for its mechanical coated papers across the rest of the year.

The 10% increase will apply to woodfree coated (WFC) sheets and reels for deliveries from 1 June, and is in addition to the rise of 10% for WFC sheets and reels implemented by Sappi last month (8 March).

According to the South African company, input costs have continued to rise because of pulp, chemicals and oil prices going

Helen Morris, 01 May 2010

Arctic Paper profits soar 383% as Grycksbo buyout completed

Net profit at Arctic Paper soared by more than 380%, according to the group's fourth-quarter results.

The Polish-listed company reported a turnover increase of 27.6% in Q4 2009 to PLN432.7m, coupled with a 383% rise in net profit to PLN31.1m.

EBITDA also increased by 46.9% to PLN48.1m in the last quarter of the year, while turnover for the full year increased by 42.5% to PLN1.8bn.

Meanwhile, the company also announced that its purchase of Sweden's Grycksbo Paper Holding completed on 1st

Helen Morris, 01 April 2010

Sappi: conditions in sector will improve but price hikes likely.

Paper manufacturer Sappi has said that conditions for the sector will gradually improve in 2010, but warned that pulp price increases are also likely.

The South Africa-based business made the comment in its first-quarter results, where it also announced a pre-tax loss of $72m for the fiscal quarter ended 27 December 2009.

This was down from a $36m profit in Q1 of the preceding year. Turnover rose by 36% year-on-year to $1.6bn as a result of Sappi's acquisition of M-Real's graphic papers

Helen Morris, 01 March 2010

Sappi: conditions in sector will improve but price hikes likely. 2010-03-01 369

Paper manufacturer Sappi has said that conditions for the sector will gradually improve in 2010, but warned that pulp price increases are also likely.

The South Africa-based business made the comment in its first-quarter results, where it also announced a pre-tax loss of $72m for the fiscal quarter ended 27 December 2009.

This was down from a $36m profit in Q1 of the preceding year. Turnover rose by 36% year-on-year to $1.6bn as a result of Sappi's acquisition of M-Real's graphic papers

Helen Morris, 01 March 2010

UPM to develop MRF at Shotton plant to boost recycled output

Paper giant UPM is to invest $27.39m in the development of a materials recovery facility (MRF) at its Shotton paper mill in North Wales.

The facility will sort dry recyclables, such as plastic bottles, cardboard, newspapers, magazines and metals, and enable the mill to source high-quality paper from co-mingled sources. Construction on the site will start immediately and is estimated to be completed by January 2011.

Once up and running at full capacity, the plant will employ up to 160 staff to

Helen Morris, 01 February 2010

Facing recession, Sappi will be closing Kangas mill in Finland

Sappi Fine Paper Europe is to permanently shut down its Kangas paper mill in Finland in order to address the impact of the global recession.

The mechanical coated paper mill has been in operation for 137 years and employs 150 staff.

So far, 30 staff has left with a pension agreement, while four will transfer within the company. The remaining staff will be made redundant.

Berry Wiersum, chief executive of Sappi Fine Paper Europe, said: “We recognise this is a difficult decision

Helen Morris, 01 January 2010

UPM posts €64m third-quarter profit following restructuring

Paper giant UPM has recorded a third-quarter pre-tax profit of €64m following a year of restructuring initiatives and production curtailment.

The figure is up on a loss of €90m recorded at the same time a year earlier. However, for the first three months, it recorded a pre-tax loss of €124m.

Sales for the third quarter of 2009 were €1.9bn – down 19% on the €2.3bn recorded for the period in 2008.

The Finland-based manufacturer blamed the weaker profitability

Helen Morris, 01 December 2009

Construction on Tullis biomass plant starts after $335m deal

Papermaker Tullis Russell has signed a $335m deal with energy operator RWE Npower Renewables to supply heat and electricity to the Scottish paper mill from its new biomass-fuelled co-generation plant.

Construction work on the site will begin immediately and the Combined Heat
and Power (CHP) facility, which replaces an existing coal-fired plant at the Fife site, is expected to be operational by 2012.

Some $13.5m support has also been secured from the Scottish government for the project

Helen Morris, 01 November 2009

Paper manufacturer and colour theorist create new application

Neenah Paper has partnered with USA’s colour theorist Dewey Sadka to create a proprietary application to let users build custom colour palettes and view them on their iPods and iPhones.

The application – called Think Ink – uses the scientifically validated Dewey Color System and allows users to explore the psychological meanings of colour, ink and paper combinations from the aforementioned handheld devices.

According to chief executive at Papers Worldwide, Ashita

Staff Writer, 01 September 2009

Report says e-paper is on the rise but still has disadvantages

E-paper’s use is increasing due to its paper-like properties of portability, flexibility and legibility, but it still has disadvantages to overcome before its adoption will become widespread, according to a report from Gartner.

“E-paper has some barriers to overcome before gaining credibility with the mainstream market,” said Gartner senior research director SJ Chae. “However it is generating a great deal of interest and we expect adoption to increase steadily over

Staff Writer, 01 July 2009

APP rebuts ‘irresponsible’ charge over Indonesian logging activity

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has denied allegations that it plans to carry out a large-scale logging operation in a natural forest area of Indonesia

Five groups working in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (BTNP), including the Sumatran Tiger Conservation and Protection Foundation and WWF Indonesia, said they had discovered a joint venture with APP and Sinar Mas Group (SMG).

WWF claimed the two companies had been given licence to clear a large area of natural forest, home to indigenous tribes

Staff Writer, 01 June 2009

Mitsubishi HiTech cuts 121 jobs at German site

Mitsubishi HiTec Paper has said it is to cut 121 positions at its Bielefeld site in Germany and invest €1.6million ($2.1m) in energy-saving measures to boost production efficiency.

The specialist paper manufacturer said it was on schedule with a cost reduction and restructuring programme at its Bielefeld site, which it said would affect 121 jobs.

The company has simultaneously announced a broad range of investments to optimise energy consumption for cold generation at
the site

Staff Writer, 01 May 2009

Paper division sold in management buyout

Arjowiggins has said it will sell its loss-making carbonless paper division in a management buyout led by an as yet unnamed existing member of staff.

The paper manufacturer said it has received interest from a number of parties for the business, which recorded revenue of €200million ($269.7m) last year, around 10% of the group’s total sales.

A far-reaching transformation plan was launched for the carbonless business in November last year. In the UK, this included the closure of

Staff Writer, 01 April 2009

Paper prices slump due to ‘uncertain’ market

Paper prices have seen a marked decrease - with some distributors saying the current pricing level for printing and writing paper is almost 45% lower than the same time last year.

Mepco Gulf managing director, Fadi Baakhlini said paper prices had begun to fall after October last year.
“The uncertainty in the market and its psychological effect is what has contributed to the problem,” he said.

According to Baakhlini, there was a “strong demand” during the first

Staff Writer, 01 March 2009

Heat transfer papers for desktops 2009-02-01 22

New heat transfer papers for the desktop digital printing of images for clothing made of poly, blends and other synthetic fibres have been launched.
 The papers, called JET-PRO for Active Wear Heat Transfer Paper, was developed by Neenah Paper for light fabrics with high levels of synthetic fibre and are apparently suited to the athletic wear market.
The papers are ink jet printable and, according to the company, do not crack or form a film.
Synthetic fibres have typically needed

Staff Writer, 01 February 2009