Catalyst Paper Price Announcement – Electrabrite/Electrastar – USA – February 1, 2018

Sappi increases prices for its LWC and MWC grades prices by 6-8% from July 1st 2018 for all markets due to continued cost increases and strong demand. This follows previous announcements made for its woodfree coated and woodfree uncoated grades.

Canfor Pulp Products Inc.is announcing a minimum six-week extension of the curtailment of BCTMP production at Taylor Pulp due to the ongoing transportation shortages that have resulted in continued high finished product inventories at the pulp mill. “Unfortunately, the ongoing rail transportation situation has not improved, and we have no choice but to extend the current production curtailment,” said Kevin Anderson, VP Operations, Canfor Pulp. “We are very disappointed in the ongoing impact this is having on our employees, their families and the community.” The curtailment extension will further reduce the production of BCTMP by at least 25,000 tonnes.

Stora Enso is investing EUR 14 million to build a granulation and packing plant for lignin, allowing easier packing and handling of lignin compared to powder and wet form. According to Stora Enso’s strategy, lignin is one of the key innovation areas for delivering growth on new applications, such as energy storage, binders and carbon fiber. The granulation plant will be located at Stora Enso’s Sunila Mill in Finland. Lignin is one of the main building blocks of a tree. Today, the lignin produced at Sunila Mill, Lineo™ by Stora Enso, is delivered as a dusty powder or as wet lignin. It is used, for example, as a phenol replacement in adhesives, as a bio-based natural binder replacing bitumen in asphalt, and in bioplastics. In the future, it can be used as a source of biocarbon in energy storage systems such as batteries for electric vehicles, as bio-based binders in plywood and as material for carbon fiber.