Mondi has started up new production lines for melt-blown nonwoven fabric and medical face masks at its site in Gronau, Germany to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Mondi Gronau has over 50 years of experience in the production and processing of films, nonwovens and elastic components for hygiene products. Last year Mondi announced it would start up production lines to produce both the important base material, melt-blown nonwoven fabric, as well as the medical face mask themselves. With the new lines, Mondi is building up a local value chain in Germany to address the needs of the pandemic. The fully integrated production with two highly automated high-speed machines allows the output of 700 high-quality medical face masks per minute. This is approximately seven times higher than the standard face mask production line and will produce at least one million medical grade masks a day. The masks are certified as a medical product by the German Johner Institute as well as meeting the German standards OEKO-TEX and Dermatest.

“AF&PA looks forward to working with the Administration and Congress on important infrastructure investment proposals, many of which are included in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. Modernizing our nation’s infrastructure and investing in manufacturing jobs will be welcome improvements for the U.S. forest products industry, which employs approximately 950,000 individuals and manufactures nearly $300 billion in products annually. “However, AF&PA cannot support the tax increases put forth in the Made in America Tax Plan. These increases would adversely impact U.S. manufacturing and put jobs at risk during a fragile economic recovery. This aspect of the proposal would significantly upset global competitiveness while undermining the promises of the American Jobs Plan."

Jari Voutilainen has been appointed Metsä Group's Senior Vice President, Sourcing and Logistics as of October 1, 2021. He reports to President and CEO Ilkka Hämälä. Voutilainen has worked at Metsä Group since 2013. He moves to his new role from the position of Metsä Group's SVP, Corporate Affairs. Prior to that, he served as SVP, Logistics. Jarmo Toikka, who has been responsible for Metsä Group's sourcing since 2009 and also for logistics since 2018, has been appointed SVP, Business Process Development. In his new role, he reports to Metsä Group’s EVP, Strategy Sari Pajari-Sederholm.