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BRAZIL CanadianOXY's chemicals operating group, CXY Chemicals, has acquired a 35,000 ton/yr sodium chlorate plant and a 32,000 ton/yr chlor-alkali unit from the Brazilian pulp producer, Aracruz. The chemical plants are located next to Aracruz's pulp mill in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo. CanadianOXY sees the acquisition as an opportunity to meet the expected growth in demand for pulp bleaching chemicals in Brazil and Latin America, while enhancing its relationship with Aracruz.
CANADA Abitibi-Consolidated has ordered a new thermomechanical pulp (TMP) line from Valmet for its Kenogami mill in Quebec, Canada. The new line has a design capacity of 450 tons/day and forms part of a major modernization at the Kenogami site, which produces supercalendered printing papers. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in May this year, with startup penciled in for the third quarter.
CANADA Tembec is now the official owner and operator of the Matane mill in Quebec, formerly part of Donohue Matane. The Matane site can produce 200,000 tons/yr of high yield pulp for use in tissue, paper and board production. Tembec made the purchase in a move to expand its pulp range to provide market pulp buyers with a one-stop fiber source.
CHINA The Shandong Rizhao pulp and paper mill in Shandong, China, has ordered a pulp drying system from ABB. The order is worth $4 million and includes a Fläkt Dryer and related heat recovery system. The dryer is 44 m long with a web width of 3.35 m and is scheduled for startup in the third quarter of 2001. The new drying system is part of a major rebuild and expansion program to raise bleached kraft pulp production to 170,000 tons/yr.
COLOMBIA Raisio Chemicals has bought Escan Quimica, its joint venture partner in Medellin, Colombia. Escan Quimica produces rosin sizing for the Colombian and Venezuelan pulp and paper industry. The company also supplies AKD sizing through the joint venture, Raisio Quimica Andina. Following the acquisition, Escan and Raisio Quimica will be merged under the Raisio umbrella. The move is the company's third development in the Latin American market. At the end of last year, Raisio expanded production at its manufacturing sites in both Mexico and Colombia.
FINLAND The Finnish Forest Federation has launched a new web site covering all aspects of Finnish forestry. The website, www.forest.fi, offers a gateway to links such as an events calender, the forest sector's latest bulletins and a question and answer column. Important topics such as forest certification and the country's National Forest Program are also included on the home page.
FRANCE Ahlstrom launched two new one-sided coated papers for beer labeling at the recent international conference "Beer 99". The first new product to be rolled out was the Chantelor-62, a high wet strength, ultra-light, high bulk paper for sheet or reel- fed printing. The second new paper grade to be introduced was the Gerstar-800, aimed at the vacuum metallized sector of the market. Gerstar-800 has good ink retention and wash-off times, the supplier claims. Ahlstrom organized the conference in partnership with 10 other supplier companies to the brewery industry.
Delegates celebrate at the "Beer 99" conference
GERMANY Propapier has placed an order for a fully automated Valmet WinDrum winder for its Magdeburg mill in eastern Germany. The 5.8 m wide WinDrum will form part of the new 275,000 ton/yr Valmet testliner/fluting line that is due to start up at the mill in January 2001. The winder has a design speed of 3,000 m/min.
ITALY Cristini has formed a partnership with another machine clothing producer, Mafinsa of Spain. The Italian company hopes the partnership will allow the companies to compete on the global market. The alliance means that the companies can share technical know-how. The addition of Cristini's performance fabrics to its product portfolio will allow Mafinsa to offer a complete range of machine clothing solutions.
THE NETHERLANDS The European Paper Network (EPN) has extended its coverage of European paper sales offices with the inclusion of a new member, the Colombier group. The group has joined EPN as a shareholder and brings with it three subsidiaries, Colombier of Spain, Paper Network in the UK and Paperex in Finland. EPN aims to provide merchanting for pulp, paper and board suppliers in Europe and beyond. The network is now represented in 13 countries with annual sales of almost 800,000 tons of pulp, paper and board.
n UK Inveresk has begun the new millennium with a new, fully coordinated look for its graphic papers portfolio. The new presentation material follows the re-branding of the company's key ranges. Inveresk's customers now have access to harmonized swatch and information guides which cover its full range of products, brands and services.
UK Tullis Russell Papermakers has extended its Trucard range of boards with the launch of Trucard Duo Matt. The new board grade has two identical matt surfaces which makes it suitable for graphical print applications such as brochures, tickets, paperback book covers and packaging. The grade is available in a basis weight range of 200-400 g/mÅ and is suitable for gravure, offset litho, letterpress and screen printing processes. Trucard Duo Matt is a solid bleached sulfate board made from elemental chlorine-free (ECF) pulp and is fully recyclable.
SWITZERLAND Ciba Chemicals is to sell its polymer business, Performance Polymers, to Morgan Grenfell Private Equity. The sale is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year and the price tag on the deal is set at SFr 1.845 billion ($1.180 billion). Ciba plans to use the proceeds from the sale to repay debt and to further develop its business. The polymers division specializes in the manufacture of epoxy resin and in applications such as advanced tooling, adhesives and photo polymers
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