Major Announcements

Henrik Ehrnrooth was elected as Chair, and Kim Wahl as Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of UPM-Kymmene Corporation at the Board of Directors' constitutive meeting that took place following the Annual General Meeting.

Kari Jordan (Chair), Håkan Buskhe and Reima Rytsölä were elected members of the People and Culture Committee. Christiane Kuehne (Chair), Helena Hedblom and Richard Nilsson were elected members of the Sustainability and Ethics Committee.

Roaring Spring is officially saying goodbye to the Appvion papermill which closed in 2021. 300 people lost their jobs when it closed. Being founded in 1866, the papermill was part of the community being one of the largest employers in the area.

Silvernail joins IP from KKR & Co., Inc., a global investment firm, where he served as an executive advisor. Silvernail also served as the Chairman and CEO of Madison Industries, one of the world's largest privately held companies.

Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, announced today that after nine years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ron Delia has informed the Board of Directors of his decision to retire from the Company and step down from the Board for health reasons, effective April 15, 2024.

The pre-engineering has now been completed and Metsä Board has decided not to proceed with the investment in the Kaskinen folding boxboard mill.

ND Paper says it is making some changes to its mill in Rumford due to "challenging market conditions."

Mondi, which produces sustainable packaging such as paper wrappers and envelopes, finalized its purchase of the pulp and paper mill last month for $5 million.

Mercer Mass Timber, a subsidiary of Mercer International Inc., announced the launch of its mass timber erection division: Mercer Mass Timber Construction Services.

The new Mumbai terminal, operational since February, will soon see the addition of another slitting machine. Its strategic central location extends UPM Raflatac's reach across the country.

Through this expansion project, which received investments totaling $14.5 million and created 16 jobs, Kruger Products commissioned a new facial tissue converting line at its Richelieu Plant in November 2023. The additional equipment will increase the production of facial tissue by 25%.

Mercer International Inc. announced that Jimmy Lee is stepping down as Executive Chairman and director of the Company for personal health reasons.

Her appointment increases the percentage of women directors on Interfor's Board, to 30%.

Antti Jääskeläinen, Executive Vice President, UPM Raflatac, will be leaving UPM to assume the role of President and CEO in the Finnish logistics and distribution company Posti Group Oyj. He will continue with his duties in UPM until the end of July 2024.

Digital speed limitation for timber trucks works well on stretches with a lot of infrastructure, and haulage companies show great commitment to safer timber transports.

The company said it "restarted the previously idled A62 paper machine in 2021 at a time when our North American customer base needed additional supply of uncoated freesheet paper," but now "demand for these products has reached a level that no longer requires this production capacity."

The appointment is effective immediately.

The paper and packaging company says its corrugated medium mill in Trenton, Ont., that is currently idled will not restart operations, while converting plants in Belleville, Ont., and Newtown, Conn., will close by May 31.

Interfor announced that it will indefinitely curtail its sawmill operations in Philomath, Oregon. This curtailment is in response to persistent high log costs in the region and ongoing weak lumber market conditions.

The addition of automated, state-of-the art thermoforming equipment at Amcor's world-class healthcare manufacturing plant in Oshkosh, Wisconsin will support increasing demand from customers in the medical, pharmaceutical, and consumer health sectors.

The state-of-the-art facility, which came online in Q4 2023, adds new capacity to the company's water-based adhesive manufacturing. This becomes the third location in the Greif Adhesives Group network, along with Kernersville, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Texas.

A company spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the decision to close the plant came after an evaluation of the company's portfolio.

Graphic Packaging International plans to close its facility at 800 Westinghouse Blvd. on March 31, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) recently filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The closing will result in 112 layoffs starting March 11.

UPM Raflatac plans to open a new state-of-the-art slitting and distribution terminal in the Toronto, Canada metropolitan area. The new facility will improve service and quality to UPM Raflatac's customers in Eastern Canada and Northeastern U.S., while strengthening relationships in the region.

WestRock plans to close its Lexington facility and lay off 153 workers later this year, according to a filing with the N.C. Department of Commerce. The cuts will begin on March 18, according to the filing.