Flambeau River Papers Announces Price Increase

Statement by the CEO: Our production remained relatively stable in the third quarter, but rising raw material costs continued to negatively impact our earnings. Although the chemical pulp market experienced a slight slowdown, our customers continue to show interest in expanding volumes in our chosen niches. All three major investment projects at our mills are starting up this fall. As before, safety, efficiency, and high availability at our mills are of the utmost importance to ensure that our employees feel safe in their workplace and can achieve optimal results despite external challenges. Total production for the group increased by 2 percent compared with the same quarter last year. EBIT fell by 9 MSEK to 40 MSEK, mainly due to higher wood costs, which increased by about 40 MSEK. Gradually rising competition for pulp wood is driving prices upward. Meanwhile, our own supply of wood and wood chips remains strong, largely due to our long-term efforts to foster close relationships with our suppliers, which are mainly sawmills and timber companies.

News of the sale of the Ohio-based company Verso could have major implications on Wisconsin's paper and timber industries. But the Swedish company that's buying it hasn't clarified its plans for the shuttered Wisconsin Rapids mill. The Rapids mill employed 900 workers and served as the upper Midwest's largest buyer of Wisconsin forest products until the company took the mill idle in July 2020. The closure has had lasting effects on the city, and on industries that relied on the mill — especially logging. The packaging company BillerudKorsnäs AB announced Sunday it would acquire Verso Corp. In statements and in a press conference, executives for the company announced a $1 billion, nearly decade-long plan to convert and upgrade the mill in Escanaba, Michigan, into a producer of sustainably made paperboard. They also discussed plans to maintain operations at Verso's mill in Quinnesec, Michigan. Conspicuously absent from either company's statements, though, was significant discussion of Wisconsin Rapids.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order from Guangxi Sun Paper to supply two tissue machines for its new mill in Beihai City, Guangxi Province, China. Start-up is planned for 2021. The ANDRITZ tissue machines are of the type PrimeLineTM W 2000, with a design speed of 2,000 m/min and a working width of 5.65 m. They are equipped with a large suction press roll, an 18 ft. PrimeDry Steel Yankee with head insulation, and a re-evaporation system, thus enabling energy savings. The scope of supply also includes FibreSolve FSV pulpers, the paper machine approach flow systems, broke handling and fiber recovery, and automation systems (QCS, DCS).