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The PM40 closed Friday, 28 October 2022, at 4880.

Get the latest PM40 updates by listening to the weekly Nips show and the PM40 Daily Show on Pulp & Paper Radio International.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate Avery Dennison and Rayonier.

The PM40 closed 28 October 2022 up 3.4% from the 29 October 2021 level.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

What is my second favorite thing after making paper? Lavish efforts on maintenance. You should know that by now. The economy is in the tank, and nearly universally, paper has hit a soft spot. For those of you who used the excuse in the good times that "we'll do more maintenance when things slow down" that time has come.

Within the next three years, Solenis plans to hire 46 people to work in Greenville, including lab technicians, scientists and research supervisors.

Valmet will supply an Advantage DCT 100TS tissue production machine to Papel San Francisco in Mexico. The new machine will be installed at the company's mill in Mexicali and the start-up is planned for the first half of 2024.

Valmet and Mercer Stendal have signed an agreement to modernize valves at Mercer's pulp mill in Arneburg, Germany. The project will bring significant energy savings and reduce CO2 emissions. The delivery includes 800 intelligent Neles NDX valve controllers and 500 Neles B1 pneumatic actuators.

Kimberly-Clark is marking the 150th anniversary of the company's first product sold and celebrating its ongoing leadership in category defining innovation that led the company to create five of the categories it competes in, and introduce products and technologies that make a difference in the lives of billions of people each day.

Committed to bringing to market innovative solutions that increase productivity and sustainability, Klabin announces the launch of PineFluff eXcel, a fluff pulp made from a mix of fibers (eucalyptus hardwood pulp and pine softwood pulp) targeting the hygiene products market (baby and adult diapers, sanitary pads, pet mats, etc.).

Mondi, a global leader in sustainable packaging and paper, has helped Reckitt on its sustainability journey by designing new paper-based packaging for the company's market-leading Finish dishwasher tablets.

Duro®, a Novolex® brand, has earned the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certification for numerous products in its Dubl Life® line of paper bags and sacks. The products are among the first on the market to receive this leading certification, further expanding the portfolio of certified compostable products offered by Novolex.

Packaging is essential to our capacity to deliver wholesome, premium food and beverages to people all over the world, but we are convinced that this cannot be done at the expense of the environment.

The commercialisation of Stora Enso's lignin-based innovations is progressing. In October 2022, we signed a Letter of Intent with Beyonder, a Norwegian energy storage technology company. The Letter of Intent covers optimisation of properties and commercial deliveries of lignin-based anode material for batteries after industrial-scale production has started.

Canfor Pulp Products Inc. is announcing a temporary curtailment of its Intercontinental Pulp Mill due to the lack of available economic fibre.

Interfor announced plans to reduce its lumber production output in the fourth quarter of 2022 by approximately 200 million board feet, or 17% of quarterly capacity, as current economic conditions and market uncertainty have led to reduced lumber demand.

By the end of this year, after Paper Excellence indefinitely shuts down its paper mill in Crofton, B.C. will have lost 58% of its paper production capacity and 13% of its pulp mill capacity, according to David Elstone of the Spar Tree Group.

Georgia-Pacific, in partnership with global venture firm and startup accelerator gener8tor, has kicked off its third 1915 Studios gBETA accelerator program. Welcoming four new startup companies to its fall cohort, Georgia-Pacific's 1915 Studios enables the success of early-stage startups that supply innovative sustainability solutions.

SCA and Holmen have agreed to conduct a feasibility study regarding a potential new jointly owned sawmill in Rundvik, Nordmaling municipality in Västerbotten. A new sawmill in Norrland with high production capacity would increase the value of forest assets in the long term.

Graphic Packaging International would pay a $99,270 fine and be required to make process changes at its paper factory over alleged air quality violations, under an order proposed by state of Michigan environmental regulators and announced this week.

Armed and hooded individuals have set fire to the Oldenburg Camp, on Arauco's forestry land in the commune of La Unión, in the Araucanía region of southern Chile.

Employees at the Graphic Packaging paper mill in Cass County went under lockdown the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 18 after a man drove his vehicle through the security gate.

The paper machine is expected to start up production in 2025 and reach full capacity in 2027.

The $50 million investment for the new drum pulper added 100 new jobs and will help expand North Pacific Paper Company's ability to make packaging paper from recycled wastepaper, said NORPAC CEO Craig Anneberg. The paper mill now employs 500 people total.

Stora Enso has decided to invest approximately EUR 1 billion to convert the remaining idle paper machine at the Group's Oulu site in Finland into a high-volume consumer board production line. The investment supports the Group's growth strategy in renewable packaging by providing new volume for growing packaging segments. Production on the converted machine is estimated to start in early 2025.

UPM said the $2.72 billion eucalyptus pulp mill located in Paso de los Toros would grow its pulp business by more than 50%.

The Eldorado deal has been on hold for five years. It was signed in September 2017 but never concluded due to the parties' disagreement over the closing.

The deadline for selling a historic Aberdeen paper mill, which went into administration with the loss of more than 300 jobs, has passed.

Brazilian pulp and paper producer Klabin SA said Friday it has agreed to sell tracts of forest property for 230 million reais, the equivalent of $44 million.

The Paper Excellence Group and Resolute Forest Products Inc. announced their intention to sell Resolute's Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill to further facilitate the regulatory review process.

The main asset included in the Transaction consists on a tissue production plant, located in the municipality of Mogi das Cruzes, in the State of São Paulo, with an annual production capacity of approximately 130 thousand tons.

Later this year, Paper Excellence had planned to shut down its papermill operations in Crofton, but maintain its pulp mill operations. But now the company says it will shut down the pulp mill as well, at least temporarily, after Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC) Local 2 served a 72-hour strike notice.

ST Paper purchased the mill May 13, 2021, with plans to begin producing tissue paper, Wargin said. Over the last year, up to 75 union tradespeople have worked to construct the new machine within the mill, which will produce bath tissue, napkin and towel grades of paper.

Rengo Co., Ltd. announces that its consolidated subsidiaries, Kato Danboru Co., Ltd.'s Noda Plant and Sanwa Danboru Co., Ltd., have decided to cease operation of their outdated corrugators and remove them at the end of September 2022.

So what's happening with OCC prices these days

Asia Pacific Resources International Limited ("APRIL") has officially launched the Andalan Lestari Waste Bank ('BSAL') in Riau Complex in Pangkalan Kerinci in October 2022. APRIL is a member of the Singapore-headquartered RGE group of companies founded by Sukanto Tanoto.

Zero waste to landfill - that is one of Mercer's set 2030 Aspirational Goals.

Our forests are healthy and diverse ecosystems that we manage with a long-term mindset. We recognize the importance of maintaining biodiversity both for the health of our forests and the broader ecosystems in which they exist.

Climate change is affecting forest ecosystems worldwide, causing shifts in the distribution, abundance, productivity, and health of trees. Rayonier's commitment to sustainable forest management requires that we understand both the physical and transition risks posed by climate change to our business, the ecosystems we manage, and society in general.

Smurfit Kappa's Townsend Hook paper mill in the UK has introduced a new state-of-the art drying process innovation to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

Michael Doss, President and CEO of Graphic Packaging International and Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Board of Directors, is pleased to welcome two new members to the SFI Board of Directors, Ms. Annica Bresky, President and CEO, Stora Enso, and Dr. Tracy Farrell, Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) North America Office, and CEO of IUCN-US.

Across different industries and value chains, mainstreaming actions on biodiversity and driving common standards is crucial to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

Sylvamo, the world's paper company, is announcing a $3 million expanded partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to further its commitment to forest conservation and restoration. The initiative is part of Sylvamo's environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and 2030 goals.

Boise Cascade's Building Materials Distribution (BMD) division announced the acquisition of 4.67 acres of land adjacent to its Albuquerque, New Mexico branch.

Conifex Timber Inc. continues working with its engineers and contractors to resume operations at its power plant in Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada, for which necessary repairs have been faced with global supply chain issues impacting replacement parts.

Fernandina Beach employees at the Westrock Paper Mill protested Monday morning as contract negotiations continued.

Up to 50 or 60 firefighters on the scene.

G-P promises to pay employees for at least 60 days, in accordance with state law.

Global and Corporate Spokesperson Seth Kursman said the warehouse that caught fire Oct. 6 -- a space the company leases from KK Integrated Logistics where recyclable bales of paper are stored to produce bleached kraft (RBK) pulp -- and adjacent offices are a complete loss.

Weyerhaeuser Company announced the successful resolution of a work stoppage involving members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union in Oregon and Washington. Weyerhaeuser has approximately 1,200 employees who are members of IAM, including employees in the company's Wood Products and Timberlands organizations, and the approval of a new contract will result in the restoration of operations at all sites.