March 2025 - Midland Paper

This Year’s Ad Market Begins On Healthy Note, January Expands 7.4%

The 2025 ad market got off to a strong start in January, expanding 7.4% over the same month a year ago, and marking the best January recorded since Guideline began indexing it with the U.S. Ad Market Tracker in 2013. January's growth follows a healthy 8.5% year-over-year expansion in 2024, which ended with a 14.8% jump in December ad spending.

Quad completes sale of its European operations to Capmont

Quad/Graphics, Inc., a marketing experience (MX) company, announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of its European operations for €41 million to Germany-based entrepreneurial private capital investment manager Capmont GmbH. The transaction includes all employees and facilities for Quad/Graphics Europe print and ink-manufacturing headquartered in Wyszków, Poland; the Peppermint agency in Warsaw, Poland; and Quad POS (including Marin’s International SAS), which has locations throughout Europe. Excluded from the sale are Quad’s shared services employees in Poland who support the company’s integrated marketing platform in The Americas. Quad expects to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt and make further investments in solutions that advance its MX offering, consistent with its commitment to drive shareholder value.

Domtar Joins Research Partnership Focusing on Quebec’s Boreal Forest

Domtar is joining forces with Boisaco and the Centre de recherche sur la boréalie (CREB) of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) to support leading-edge research projects that will address the challenge of managing Quebec’s forests sustainably. The research partnership will allocate $430,000 annually over five years, totaling $2.15 million, with Domtar, owned by investor Jackson Wijaya, providing $350,000. UQAC’s research projects focus on a number of critical themes, such as climate change adaptation, biodiversity, carbon management and forest ecosystem regeneration. These initiatives aim to advance Quebec’s scientific knowledge and improve sustainable forest management practices. Since 2016, CREB has brought together 25 research professors from UQAC to address issues related to renewable resources in the boreal environment.

How Much Cardboard is Recycled?

Cardboard is one of the most recycled materials in the U.S. It is collected from residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial sources. From the shipping box at your doorstep to large appliance packaging and produce bins at the grocery store, cardboard recycling plays a crucial role in the paper industry. In 2023, nearly 33 million tons of cardboard was recycled, resulting in a cardboard recycling rate of 71% -76%. That’s about 90,000 tons per day—a staggering amount of material being diverted from landfills. Collected cardboard is first sorted and non-cardboard material is removed. After it is processed, it is sent to paper mills. Recycled cardboard is used at paper mills to produce new packaging materials. Around half of all recycled paper went into making containerboard—the material used to make cardboard boxes – in 2023. Additionally, about 80% of U.S. paper mills use some recycled paper to create new products.

Diversey transitions to PCR Plastic for 5L Canisters, Cutting Virgin Plastic Production by 1.2 Million Kilograms Annually

Diversey is reinforcing its commitment to sustainability by replacing all1 its 5L canisters in its European factories to Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastic in 2025. This initiative is a testament to the company’s ESG+C® formula for sustainability success, underscoring its dedication to delivering innovative solutions that drive positive environmental impact. Diversey's transition to PCR plastic will cut CO2 emissions by an impressive 35% across its 5L canisters every year. This reduction is equivalent to: *Greenhouse gas emissions from 628 petrol-powered cars driven for a year *The energy required to charge 217,545,166 smartphones *Carbon sequestered by 44,493 tree seedlings grown for ten years. “At Diversey, we recognize our responsibility to drive sustainability in packaging solutions. Replacing our 5L canisters to PCR plastic is a crucial step in reducing our carbon footprint and limiting our reliance on virgin plastic,” said Daniel Daggett, vice president, sustainability.