inland’s forest industry could be forced to reduce capacity again as rising raw material costs and weaker market conditions weigh on profitability. That assessment comes from Juha Varis, senior portfolio manager at S-Bank, who warned in the Talousaamu programme that the sector faces mounting pressure. The warning comes amid a more challenging environment for pulp and paper producers. Wood prices remain elevated while demand for several forest industry products has developed more weakly than expected, increasing investor expectations that production cuts may follow. Stora Enso CEO Hans Sohlström commented on the situation in the same programme, noting that the company’s Finnish pulp production is integrated with its paperboard operations, which affects overall profitability assessments. UPM CEO Massimo Reynal gave a similar view in an interview with Kauppalehti. He said the situation is challenging for forest companies across the northern hemisphere. – If the situation continues in the same way going forward, it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine that mill closures would not occur. This is not a matter of opinion, but a fact, he told the newspaper.

The proposed transaction includes Georgia-Pacific’s operations located in Steinfurt, Germany, along with sales offices located in France and Italy. The Steinfurt facility produces high-quality airlaid products for the table-top, wipes, hygiene, food pad, and other nonwoven materials markets, competing in the marketplace with nonwoven technologies and substrates, as well as other materials focused primarily on consumer based end-use applications. The Steinfurt facility is a state-of-the-art, 32,000-metric-ton-capacity manufacturing facility that employs approximately 220 people. In 2017, the Business generated net sales of $99 million and EBITDA of $18 million. The Company expects to realize synergies in excess of approximately $6 million per year within three years, and expects to incur one-time costs of approximately $7 million for transaction fees and integration. Click Read More below for additional information.

Public Utility District No. 1 of Pend Oreille County General Manager Colin Willenbrock issued the following statement regarding the indefinite idling of Ponderay Newsprint Company: “Ponderay Newsprint has long been an outstanding employer and community partner in the Pend Oreille valley. While recent news of the mill being indefinitely idled has long been anticipated, it still hits us hard to know this chapter in our community’s story may be coming to a close. We will be creating a page on our website for customers – including PNC employees who live in Pend Oreille County – to learn about energy assistance programs, financial resources, and other helpful information as we make this transition together.