During the night between September 5th and 6th, there was a fire in one of the buildings at BillerudKorsnäs’ production unit in Karlsborg and the production has been stopped since then. After analysing the impact of the fire, BillerudKorsnäs now expects Karlsborg to be back to full production during the week starting with Monday September 18th. "The most important thing is that no person has been injured in the fire. We have now assessed the impact of the fire and the work with making the unit ready for start of production is ongoing at high intensity. We expect full production to be reached during next week, i.e. the week starting with Monday September 18th. As it is a complex start-up after this type of event, there is some uncertainty about the exact timing", says Per Lindberg, President and CEO of BillerudKorsnäs. Click Read More below for additional detail.

WestRock is undertaking extensive efforts to identify, contain and recover from this incident quickly and securely. Upon discovering the incident, WestRock immediately began an investigation, implemented business continuity processes and initiated response containment protocols with the support of cybersecurity experts. These actions included proactively shutting down certain systems in an abundance of caution, as well as taking steps to supplement existing security monitoring, scanning and protective measures. The Company also implemented measures, including manual processes, to respond to customers’ needs. The Company is now systematically bringing its information systems back online in a controlled, phased approach. “We remain relentlessly focused on remediating this incident while continuing to safely operate our mills and converting plants,” said Steve Voorhees, chief executive officer. “I am proud of the focus and determination of the WestRock team as we manage through this incident and deliver essential products for our customers.” All of WestRock’s mills and converting locations are producing and shipping paper and packaging. The Company’s mill system production through February 4 was approximately 85,000 tons lower than plan, and the packaging converting operations are close to returning to full planned production levels.

Mercer International Inc. reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017. Operating EBITDA* in the second quarter of 2017 increased by approximately 13% to $39.1 million from $34.7 million in the same quarter of 2016 but declined from $60.2 million in the prior quarter. In the current quarter, strong operating performance was partially offset by a large planned maintenance shut along with foreign exchange losses on foreign currency balances. In the current quarter, we had 22 days of annual maintenance downtime at our pulp mills compared to 21 days in the comparative quarter and no such downtime in the prior quarter of 2017. For the second quarter of 2017, we had a net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.2 million, or $0.07 per basic and diluted share, in the comparative quarter. In the prior quarter, we had net income of $9.7 million. Click Read More below for additional details.