Sofidel further expands its production capacity in the United States

Metsä Tissue will rebuild paper machine 5 at its Düren mill in Germany. The total investment is approximately EUR 15 million and the rebuild starts immediately. The new volumes will be available on the market during the last quarter of 2018. “We expect the demand for baking and cooking papers to continue to grow during the coming years. This investment will increase Düren mill’s paper production capacity by 10.000 tons, which will help us to secure our leading position as a global supplier of high-quality baking and cooking papers”, says Mariusz Jedrzejewski, SVP Baking & Cooking, Metsä Tissue. “We have production in Düren, Germany, and Mänttä, Finland, where we increased the production capacity in 2016. Both mills play a significant role in our Baking & Cooking business. Our products are made of fresh fibre, and the wood originates from sustainably managed Northern forests. This high-quality raw material combined with our strong production expertise result in high endurance and consistent high quality products.”

Total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 24 percent in August compared to August 2019. U.S. purchases of total printing-writing papers decreased 24 percent in August compared to the same month last year. Total printing-writing paper inventory levels remained essentially flat (+0.3 percent) when compared to July 2020. U.S. purchases of uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers in August decreased 22 percent compared to last August while the inventory level increased one percent compared to July 2020. UFS imports and exports both decreased compared to July 2019, down 20 percent and 51 percent respectively. Coated free sheet (CFS) paper shipments decreased 19 percent compared to August 2019 while the inventory level decreased one percent compared to July 2020. CFS imports and exports both decreased compared to July 2019, down 38 percent and 23 percent respectively. U.S. purchases of coated mechanical (CM) papers in August decreased 37 percent compared to last August while the inventory level remained essentially flat (+0.4 percent) compared to July 2020. CM imports decreased 40 percent while exports increased 30 percent in July 2020. Uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 51 percent compared to August 2019 while the inventory level increased two percent compared to July 2020. UM imports and exports both decreased compared to July 2019, down 34 percent and 28 percent respectively.

UPM Raflatac has achieved sustainability certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Scheme ISCC Plus at its Nancy factory in France. This certification is an addition to UPM Raflatac’s already extensive ISCC Plus certification portfolio. UPM Raflatac’s ISCC PLUS products are certified via a mass-balance approach. “Three of our factories and 14 of our distribution terminals around the world already hold the ISCC Plus certification. The new certification in Nancy is a great addition to our ISCC Plus certification portfolio. It provides a strong external proof of sustainably managed raw materials and value chains for renewable and chemically recycled products,” says Suvi Rasa, UPM Raflatac’s Sustainability Manager. UPM Raflatac aims to be the first label material company beyond fossils.