Pulp and Paper

Mercer Peace River

Mercer International Taking Maintenance Downtime at Its Peace River Pulp Mill

Sept. 27, 2024 - Mercer International announced that its Peace River pulp mill in Alberta, Canada, has taken downtime to complete necessary repairs to the mill's digester after experiencing a mechanical failure.

Mercer currently expects the repairs and related assessments will be completed in mid-October and anticipates that NBHK production at the mill will be reduced by approximately 45,000 tonnes as a result of the downtime.

Mercer noted that it maintains property and business interruption insurance for the Peace River mill and expects the repairs and business interruption will be covered by such insurance, subject to customary deductibles and limits.

Mercer Peace River produces both high-quality softwood and hardwood pulp. The majority of the mill's pulp sales are to North American customers, while the remainder is shipped to Asian and European markets.

Mercer International is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA and Canada with consolidated annual production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of pulp, 960 million board feet of lumber, 210 thousand cubic meters of cross-laminated timber, 45,000 cubic meters of glulam, 17 million pallets and 230,000 metric tonnes of biofuels.

SOURCE: Mercer International Inc.

 

Winstone Pulp

Winstone Pulp International Closing Its Pulp Mill and Sawmill in New Zealand

Sept. 11, 2024 - Winstone Pulp International is closing down its two mills — a pulp mill and sawmill — in New Zealand, due to unsustainable power prices, resulting in the loss of 230 jobs.

The Karioi pulp mill produces 220,000 air dried metric ton of high yield Bleached Chemical Thermomechanical Pulp (BCTMP) from 100% Pinus Radiata grown in responsible Forest Stewardship Council-certified forests.

The Tangiwai sawmill produces sawn timber that is sold domestically within the New Zealand market along with being exported throughout Asia.

Winston Pulp chief executive Mike Ryan said the company could not keep operating due to skyrocketing power prices.

Energy costs had increased from $100 in September 2021 to $500 per MWh last month, Ryan said.

"This was not a decision taken lightly. We gave due consideration to the feedback and alternatives put forward by staff and unions but have been unable to identify any viable options that enable the company to continue operations on a sustainable basis," Ryan explained.

According to local news outlets, resources minister Shane Jones has threatened to end the Electricity Authority if it did not work harder to regulate power prices, but the government is yet to intervene on the issue.

A petition was launched last week to save the mill, fearing nearby communities would turn into ghost towns, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) said in a news report.

Public consultation over the proposed closure ended last week, but workers held out hope that the government would intervene after ministers and mill management met several times to discuss unsustainable wholesale power pricing.

But at a meeting on the afternoon of Sept 10, the company confirmed to workers the mills were closing, which a mill worker said came as a shock to everyone.

"Everyone's heart just dropped," said one worker after the Sept. 10 meeting. "We're all trying to figure out what's next — some of us will have to leave the area, and others, well, we just don't know."

Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton called the closure "devastating".

"It's not just about jobs — these are families who've built their lives around these mills. We're talking about a real loss for the community and the regional economy."

About Winstone Pulp International

Winstone Pulp International Limited is a privately owned subsidiary of Oregon Group. The company comprises of two operational sites, Karioi Pulpmill and Tangiwai Sawmill with an office in Takapuna, Auckland.

SOURCES: Radio New Zealand and TVNZ 1 News

 

Fort St. John sawmill

Canfor to Close Plateau and Fort St. John Sawmills in Northern BC

Sept. 9, 2024 - Following a thorough review of operating conditions, including the persistent challenge accessing economic fibre, ongoing financial losses, weak lumber markets and increased US tariffs, Canfor Corporation announced [on Sept. 4] the closure of its Plateau and Fort St. John operations located in northern British Columbia. These closures will impact approximately 500 employees and will remove 670 million board feet of annual production capacity from our BC operations.

Don Kayne, President and CEO made the following statement:

"Our company has proudly operated in BC for more than 85 years, supporting jobs and economic activity in communities around this province. During that time, we have always been prepared to manage through challenging times and market fluctuations, recognizing the cyclical nature of our business. However, in recent years, increasing regulatory complexity, high operating costs and the inability to reliably access economically viable timber to support our manufacturing facilities has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of losses in our BC operations.

"The operating challenges we face have been further exacerbated by increases in the punitive US tariffs announced on August 13th — tariffs that are expected to more than double again next year. Continuing to operate under these conditions would prolong the punishing anti-dumping duties and put additional operations at risk. As a result, we are making the incredibly difficult decision to close our operations in Vanderhoof and Fort St. John.

"We are devastated by the decline in our province's foundational forest industry, and we recognize the impact these closures will have on our employees and their families, as well as our First Nations partners, contractors, suppliers, communities and customers. We are committed to supporting our employees and will work with our union partners on an employee transition plan, including severance. The wind down of operations is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

"With the dramatic reduction in available timber supply, we will explore opportunities to divest some of our northern BC tenure, which may help support other BC forest companies facing the same significant challenges in accessing economic fibre.

"Finally, we will continue to do all we can to advocate for changes that will allow our industry in BC to once again be able to thrive in the future," Kayne concluded.

Canfor (TSX: CFP) is a global leader in the manufacturing of high-value low-carbon forest products including dimension and specialty lumber, engineered wood products, pulp and paper, wood pellets and green energy. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canfor produces renewable products from sustainably managed forests, at more than 50 facilities across its diversified operating platform in Canada, the United States and Europe.

SOURCE: Canfor Corporation

 

Although global pulp producer inventories remained relatively balanced throughout the current quarter, the uplift in global softwood kraft pulp markets experienced at the end of the first quarter continued well into the second quarter, as global supply disruptions gave rise to an uptick in global pulp pricing.

Canfor Pulp Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results

July 25, 2024 - Canfor Pulp Products Inc. ("CPPI") (TSX: CFX) reported its second quarter of 2024 results.

Overview

  • Q2 2024 operating loss of $5.6 million; net loss of $6.3 million, or $0.10 per share.
  • Strong global pulp pricing and moderate improvement in NBSK pulp unit sales realizations.
  • Intercon NBSK pulp mill scheduled maintenance downtime completed as planned; restart delayed due to unforeseen recovery boiler repairs and start up challenges.
  • Announced indefinite curtailment of one production line at Northwood NBSK pulp mill, driven by the decline in availability of economic fibre in the northern British Columbia region.

The Company reported an operating loss of $5.6 million for the second quarter of 2024, compared to an operating loss of $15.7 million for the first quarter of 2024. These results largely reflected an uplift in global pulp pricing, primarily in response to global pulp supply disruptions, and the correlated improvement in the Company's average Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft ("NBSK") pulp sales unit realizations. These factors were offset in part, however, by a decline in the Company's pulp production and shipments quarter-over-quarter, driven by extended downtime at its Intercontinental NBSK pulp mill ("Intercon") to address unforeseen recovery boiler repairs identified during the scheduled maintenance in May.

In May 2024, the Company announced the decision to indefinitely curtail one production line at its Northwood NBSK pulp mill ("Northwood") as a result of the continual decline in the availability of economic fibre in the northern British Columbia ("BC") region. The Company anticipates winding down this production line in August 2024. In connection with this indefinite curtailment, CPPI recognized restructuring costs of $5.9 million during the current quarter.

CEO Comments

Commenting on the Company's second quarter of 2024 results, CPPI's President and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Edgson, said, "While our pulp business benefited from strong global pulp pricing this quarter, operationally, unanticipated downtime at our Intercon pulp mill limited our ability to take full advantage of this higher pricing environment and moderated our second quarter results. The decision to indefinitely curtail one line at our Northwood NBSK pulp mill was extremely difficult, however, necessary given the continuing fibre cost pressures and a difficult outlook for availability of economic residual fibre in BC. We regret the impact these decisions have on our employees, their families and the local community, and are working to support our employees through this transition. As we prepare for an orderly wind-down in August, we would like to thank our employees for their unwavering commitment and perseverance."

Second Quarter Highlights

Although global pulp producer inventories remained relatively balanced throughout the current quarter, the uplift in global softwood kraft pulp markets experienced at the end of the first quarter continued well into the second quarter, as global supply disruptions gave rise to an uptick in global pulp pricing. As a result, NBSK pulp list prices on orders from China, the world's largest consumer of pulp, saw steady increases throughout most of the period, reaching a 15-month high of US$825 per tonne in May, before declining in June, to end the quarter at US$810 per tonne. For the current quarter overall, average US-dollar NBSK pulp list prices to China were US$811 per tonne, an increase of US$66 per tonne, or 9%, from the previous quarter.

Pulp production was 130,000 tonnes for the second quarter of 2024, down 28,000 tonnes, or 18%, from the first quarter of 2024, primarily due to a reduction in operating days at Intercon. While the scheduled maintenance at Intercon was successfully completed as planned in early May, downtime was extended into early June to address unplanned repairs that were determined necessary following an inspection of Intercon's recovery boiler. The delayed restart resulted in pulp from Northwood being redirected to supply the Company's specialty paper facility.

Notwithstanding higher slush pulp costs (linked to the uplift in Canadian dollar NBSK pulp unit sales realizations), operating income in the Company's paper segment was $1.9 million, up $0.8 million from the previous quarter, largely reflecting moderately higher paper unit sales realizations, driven by an increase in global US-dollar paper pricing.

Outlook

Looking forward, global softwood kraft pulp market conditions are anticipated to soften through the third quarter of 2024 as global softwood pulp supply stabilizes, following disruptions in the first and second quarters of 2024, and as new hardwood capacity in China and Brazil is projected to come online. On the demand side, purchasing activity during the third quarter of 2024 is projected to dampen as the traditionally slower summer period is forecast to combine with reduced demand for paper products, particularly in China, further weakening pulp demand.

As a result of the aforementioned decision to wind down one production line at its Northwood pulp mill in August 2024, the indefinite curtailment will result in the reduction of approximately 300,000 tonnes of market kraft pulp annually. Consequently, the Company's results in the third quarter of 2024 will reflect the impact of this wind down on production, shipments and cost structure.

Looking forward, while the Company is focused on optimizing a sustainable operating footprint, improving operational reliability and closely managing manufacturing and fibre costs, it will continue to evaluate its operating conditions and will adjust operating rates at its pulp mills to align with economically viable fibre supply. These factors could also affect the Company's operating plan, liquidity, cash flows and the valuation of long-lived assets.

Bleached kraft paper demand is forecast to remain solid through most of the third quarter of 2024, after which a modest slowdown in demand is anticipated as global kraft paper inventories return to more normalized levels.

No major maintenance outages are planned for the third quarter of 2024.

Canfor Pulp Products Inc. is a leading global supplier of pulp and paper products with operations in the northern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Canfor Pulp operates two mills in Prince George, BC with a total capacity of 780,000 tonnes of Premium Reinforcing Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft ("NBSK") pulp and 140,000 tonnes of kraft paper.

SOURCE: Canfor Pulp Products Inc.

 

Suzano Mato Grosso do Sul

Suzano Begins Operation of New Pulp Mill in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

July 22, 2024 - Suzano on July 21 started operations at its new pulp mill in Ribas do Rio Pardo, located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

The new pulp mill, which Suzano named "Cerrado Project" while under construction, has the capacity to produce 2.55 million tons per year of eucalyptus pulp.

The project is the result of a total investment of R$22.2 billion (US$4.3 billion), of which R$15.9 billion (US$3.1 billion) was earmarked for the construction of the mill and R$6.3 billion (US$1.2 billion) for initiatives such as the formation of the planting base and the logistics structure for the flow of cellulose.

"The successful completion of the Cerrado Project reflects the dedication and executional skills of each person involved in this grand and transformational project, and demonstrates the culture of excellence that permeates the entire organization, masterfully led by Walter Schalka over the past 11 years," said Beto Abreu, newly appointed CEO of Suzano. "His vision and ambition led the company to deliver a project within budget and that, at every stage, adhered to Suzano's core focus of supporting sustainability and having a positive local impact."

With the start of operations at the new unit, Suzano's installed pulp production capacity will increase from 10.9 million to 13.5 million tons per year, representing an increase of more than 20% over the company's current production.

Suzano also has the capacity to produce 1.5 million tons of paper per year, including sanitary paper, printing and writing paper, and packaging paper, among other items that use pulp as a raw material.

The construction of the Ribas do Rio Pardo Unit was announced in May 2021 and, at the peak of the work, more than 10 thousand direct jobs were created. With the start of operations, around 3 thousand people, including employees and third parties, will work in the industrial, forestry and logistics activities of the new unit.

Suzano is the world's largest producer of hardwood pulp and a global leader in the innovation and production of renewable, bio-based materials for consumer and industrial use.

SOURCE: Suzano

 
<< first < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > last >>

Page 2 of 25