Clearwater Paper appoints Arsen S. Kitch as CEO

Clearwater Paper has appointed Arsen S. Kitch – the company`s senior vice president and general manager of its consumer products division – as chief executive as of 1 April. He succeeds Linda K. Massman, who has retired from Clearwater Paper after serving in the chief executive position since January 2013. The company has also announced that Alexander Toeldte has transitioned from chair to independent executive chair of the board, effective 1 March. Kitch has served as senior vice president and general manager of Clearwater Paper`s consumer products business since 2018. Prior to that, he served as vice president of finance and vice president of financial planning and analysis since joining the company in 2013. He said: [Today, Clearwater Paper has a healthy business and a strong team focused on driving results and building on our recent momentum of solid operational results."

Africaine Paper Mills starts up first tissue line

Africaine Paper Mills (APM) has moved into the tissue market after starting up its first tissue machine. The Andritz-supplied PrimeLineCOMPACT line has a design speed of 2,100m/min and a working width of 2.85m. It produces tissue for high-quality facial wipes as well as toilet and towel paper grades. The machine is equipped with the supplier`s latest shoe press technology PrimePress XT Evo. Ziad Haffar, general manager, APM, said: [It is the first tissue machine for APM, and we are proud to announce the first paper on reel. [For us, good paper quality combined with energy-efficiency is of utmost importance. [The combination of a Steel Yankee and a shoe press enables efficient drying with substantial energy savings." APM is a paper manufacturing company founded by people with a long experience in the paper making industry. Its expansion plans include paper mills in several countries belonging to the Middle East & North Africa region.

China unveils 2014 closure results; 5.47 million tpy of old pulp and paper capacity scrapped

China has recently publicised its 2014 old capacity closure campaign results, confirming some 5.47 million tpy of pulp and paper (P&P) capacity was removed. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) revealed the shutdown results for 18 industries including the P&P sector. The announced figure of 5.47 million tpy was higher than the goal of 4.92 million tpy announced for the year. In previous years, the final closure results also surpassed the original goals. The shuttered capacity in 2011, 2012 and 2013 was 8.31 million tpy, 10.57 tpy and 8.31 million tpy respectively, all exceeding the goals of 8.20 million tpy, 9.95 million tpy and 7.42 million tpy. The obsolete capacity closure campaign has been carried out for years in the country to realise cleaner production. Most targeted equipment is small and outdated. P&P machines to be retired under the 2014 guidelines included wood pulp lines with a capacity below 51,00tpy, nonwood pulp lines below 34,00tpy, recycled fibre-based pulp lines below 10,00tpy, newsprint machines with a capacity under 50,000tpy, printing and writing paper units less than 1.76m wide and with a speed below 120m/min, and cartonboard and recyc

WEPA Group: After the pandemic hit consumer business, 2022 is the year of recovery from these negative effects with key trends of sustainability and...

WEPA`s new strategies progressing product diversity, flexible machinery, recycled paper, packaging, hybrid products, and efficient renewable energy. Bernhard Gross, Managing Director WEPA Italia, talks to TWM. [In Italy, WEPA has two production sites: one in Lucca and one in Cassino. At these sites we operate three paper machines with a tissue production capacity of over 110,000 tonnes, equivalent to around one billion toilet paper rolls. The Cassino factory, with its very high level of automation, focuses primarily on rolled products. [Operational excellence is key and we continuously invest in state-of-the-art manufacturing technology. It was only recently that we replaced one converting line with a new high-speed, but very flexible line. [Our site in Lucca is our competence centre for the production of napkins and other folded products such as facial tissues and handkerchiefs. Operational excellence is of course equally important, but innovations are key to success in this business segment. Colour, shape, print, material recipe, packaging and other customisations drive our discussions with customers. Our brand PERLA is known all over Italy for both tradition and innovation in the tissue napkin market."

AFRY: Costs have reached unprecedented highs: How to mitigate their worst effects

Tissue producers faced multiple challenges in 2021 as demand cooled down and input costs increased significantly. During the third quarter of 2021, modelled manufacturing costs in Europe and North America exceeded previous historical levels on both sides of the Atlantic. For good reasons, companies are increasing their attention towards additional fibre sources and energy efficiencies to take on cost fluctuations. Here, AFRY Management Consulting`s Pirkko Petäjä, Principal, Hampus Mörner, Manager, and Santtu Koskinen, Analyst, assess the situation. In the wake of the pandemic, the tissue industry has been experiencing two very different but also somewhat extreme years. In short, 2020 was characterised by strong global sales (At-Home) combined with low and mostly stable input costs, while 2021 was the opposite in the form of declining or modest sales growth combined with soaring input costs. Last year, the tissue industry was exposed to surging fibre and energy costs simultaneously. A rare situation hardly observed historically. This overall rise in commodity and energy costs had of course a negative impact for all raw material and energy intense industries, including tissue.

ExitIssues: Supply chain challenges in UK home and international markets at unprecedented levels

Spiraling energy costs, rising inflation, changing labour market forces, and Brexit regulations adding to pandemic restrictions have created issues [we have never faced before at such high levels." Consumer Markets Analyst Simon Creasey reports on the industry`s response. Last year talk of `shortages` dominated the news headlines. There was a shortage of truck drivers that led to shortages at the petrol pumps and of goods stocked on supermarket shelves. There was a shortage of workers to fulfil numerous different tasks, from picking fruit and vegetables on farms to working in meat processing plants, due in part to issues like the Covid-19 pandemic. In some countries there was also a shortage of energy, which had a major impact on individuals and on businesses, as prices soared and many energy companies went under.