Stora Enso invests EUR 23 million in the Varkaus containerboard site. The aim of the investment is to increase the flexibility of the product range available for customers and to grow the site’s total capacity by approximately 10%. This will also increase the use of recycled fiber in the production in addition to fresh wood fiber. The Varkaus site produces unbleached softwood pulp and high-quality brown and white top containerboard for corrugated board, i.e. kraftliners. In addition to unbleached softwood pulp, the paper mill currently uses about one third of the total board packaging recycled in Finland as its raw material. The investment will further increase the use of recycled fiber in the site.

Mondi is investing in innovative technologies to increase FunctionalBarrier Paper capacity in order to meet the growing demand for sustainable paper-based packaging solutions. Mondi's range of FunctionalBarrier Paper offers tailored barrier properties that reduce the amount of plastic used in packaging, supporting the development of a circular economy. The range is being supported with an investment in a new extruder at Mondi Coating Štĕtí (Czech Republic). This will comprise the construction of a production building which will house state-of-the-art machinery such as an extrusion coater and a slitting machine. Production is expected to start in 2024. In addition, investment is currently underway at Mondi Jülich (Germany) with the rebuild of an existing coater. Two new dispersion coating stations will improve barrier properties by ensuring good coverage on the base paper.

International Paper announced the permanent closure of the company's Red River containerboard mill in Campti, La., recycling plant in Phoenix, Az., box plant in Hazleton, Pa., and sheet feeder facility in St. Louis, Mo. All facilities will cease operations by the end of April 2025. The Red River containerboard mill closure is expected to reduce the company's containerboard capacity by approximately 800,000 tons on an annualized basis. In total, 495 hourly employees and 179 salaried employees will be affected. The company will work to minimize the impact on employees by using attrition, retirements and current vacancies at other International Paper locations. Team members at these locations will receive outplacement assistance, access to mental health support resources and where possible, severance benefits. "The decision to close any facility is difficult because of the impact on our team members, their families and the surrounding communities," said Tom Hamic, executive vice president and president, North American Packaging Solutions, International Paper. "We greatly appreciate the contributions from our departing team members and will do all we can to support them."