The conciliator has announced that the conciliation between UPM Communication Papers and Paperworkers’ Union has been interrupted, as the parties’ views are still far apart. At the same time, the conciliator announced that the conciliation in UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Raflatac and UPM Biofuels continues. For UPM Pulp the conciliator has already submitted a settlement proposal. Unlike before, the Paperworkers’ Union is now ready to finalise agreements for UPM’s different businesses non-simultaneously. This means that UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Raflatac, and UPM Biofuels prepare to find solutions on the same schedule as UPM Pulp, which is expected to state its position on the settlement proposal by April 14, 2022. Next meetings between UPM Communication Papers and the Paperworkers’ Union have not been scheduled.

After several months of laboratory work by the Research and Development team in Bordeaux France, Tembec has developed a very high viscosity cellulose grade. Just days ago, the production of this new grade, called Biofloc XV20, took place at the Tartas Specialty Cellulose mill in France. It is a tremendous success because a new world record for viscosity of a wood pulp was achieved. Tembec, the world leader in specialty cellulose for use in the production of cellulose ethers, responded to the needs of its main customers. “This new product can now compete directly with cotton linter pulp and opens new opportunities for our customers,” said Christian Ribeyrolle, Executive Vice President of the Specialty Cellulose Group. “Our customers in this segment needed a replacement for cotton linter pulp by a product which is less affected by market cycles but is of equivalent quality. Biofloc XV20 is now part of our product portfolio.” Click Read More below for additional detail.

Koehler has joined the World BioEconomy Circle, a communication platform for stakeholders who have dedicated themselves to the subject of the bioeconomy. The objective of the BioEconomy Circle is to enable discussion of and improve on the latest developments, ideas, and visions in the circular bioeconomy, and to facilitate mutual learning. The BioEconomy Circle has grown substantially since it was introduced by the World BioEconomy Forum™, which was founded in 2018 by Jukka Kantola. The forum brings together a global community of stakeholders, who can use the platform to find out about a broad range of events and other activities in the field of the bioeconomy. It was set up in response to the increasing importance of this field.