Millwise

Södra Cell’s Värö mill faced a number of challenges during an expansion project unlike any other in the industry. The results? The mill is now hitting its targets and offering more choice for customers. MARK RUSHTON In 2014, Swedish market pulp giant Södra Cell decided to make big investments at all three of its mills—Värö, Mörrum, and Mönsterås— as part ...

CEPI’s new director general, Sylvain Lhôte, has come from outside of pulp and paper and is already deeply impressed with this great industry. Paper360° Senior Editor Europe Mark Rushton spoke to him recently at CEPI’s Brussels headquarters. MARK RUSHTON The Confederation of European Paper industries (CEPI) has been working hard on behalf of the industry—particularly in lobbying on the major ...

MARKO JÄMSÉN Gratkorn, a small suburb of Graz, is a picturesque and historic setting in the gentle Styrian landscape of southern Austria, on the river Mur. Paper has been produced at Gratkorn for more than four centuries, with the first records of printing and paper manufacturing in the 16th century. Fast-forward to the 20th century, and this historic region marked ...

An interview with Walter Schalka, CEO, Suzano MARINA FALEIROS Return to investors, diversification, and empowerment. These are the three main weapons used by Brazilian pulp and paper producer Suzano’s CEO, Walter Schalka, to boost the company’s results since he joined Suzano in late 2012. Since then, Suzano has doubled its revenues to US$3.1 billion and quadrupled EBITDA to US$1.3 billion. ...

The PPI Awards are the only global awards recognizing and celebrating achievement in the pulp and paper industry. MARK RUSHTON The PPI Awards competition is now in its eighth year, and in that short space of time the event has become one of the most important dates on the pulp and paper calendar. This year, industry professionals from all over ...

MARTY KOEPENICK Known for making Incada premium folding boxboard, powered by steam and power solely from its biofuel boiler since 2013, Iggesund Workington also has a passion for reducing energy consumption. “Every time we use less energy in the mill, we have more to sell onto the UK national grid,” says Ian Black, head of pulp and power. “That’s why ...

  This once-niche market is growing, thanks to new products and new materials that offer properties traditional wood fibers can’t match. We interviewed members of TAPPI’s Nonwood Fiber Committee to learn more. JAN BOTTIGLIERI Ask most people what paper is made from and they’ll tell you “trees.” Yet, while wood fiber is certainly the dominant furnish for today’s global pulp ...

This state-of-the-art pilot plant welcomes all industry stakeholders—suppliers, R&D institutions, and universities, as well as producers. MARK RUSHTON What may be the world’s most modern pilot plant for tissue recently opened in Graz, Austria. Paper360° was given the opportunity to speak to Klaus Gissing, the man in charge of the new research center serving the global tissue industry. The PrimeLineTIAC—Tissue ...

It took a phoenix to let an eagle soar again. GRAEME RODDEN Greek mythology describes the phoenix as the bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn; typically the phoenix rises from the ashes. In this story, the phoenix is an eagle—American Eagle Paper Mills, Tyrone, PA. It began Project Phoenix in 2013 to “reinvent the mill’s critical infrastructures by primarily ...

ZENAIDE PERES To support the development and growth of the paper and pulp industry, while securing positive returns on invested capital—that is the vision of Suzano CEO Walter Schalka, who recently won RISI’s Latin American CEO of the Year Award for an unprecedented third consecutive time. According to Schalka, his management model focuses on dialogue and teamwork. For him, all ...