UPM Paso de los Toros pulp mill begins operations

Matti Koski’s role is to establish North American businesses and increase board sales and help other businesses in North America. Koski reports to Ari Tanninen, the Senior Vice President of the Consumer Board business. Matti has lived in the United States since 1997, where he has worked e.g. at Stora Enso for more than 15 years. For the last seven years, Koski has run his own consulting company and collaborated, e.g. with Kotkamills Oy. We wish Matti good luck and success in his new challenges.

This past Spring, our sawmill in Ashland, Maine turned on a turbine that reduces the site's carbon footprint by 1000 tonnes of C02. The turbine is part of a $1.8 million dollar investment in the mill which also included an upgrade to the boilers and an additional control room. This energy efficient project was completed just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, which all J.D. Irving, Limited Maine operations navigated without any cases of COVID-19 or layoffs. The turbine will allow the site to limit their purchase of electricity, by choosing a greener option. Burning bark, that is already being removed from the logs, creates steam pressure and spins the turbine, creating its own electricity. In addition, there is now sawdust that can be transported to Grand River Pellets (GRP), JDI's pellet plant. The use of site generated mill residues as fuel also reduces landfill disposal and the ash generated from the wood can be used as a soil conditioner on agricultural land. See how JDI ash from other sites is being used on farmers fields here.

After a successful year of transformation in 2019, Zanders Paper posted a strong first quarter of 2020; then the coronavirus pandemic hit the global economy and led to a significant decline in sales of specialty papers for consumables. The various effects of this challenging situation could not be compensated completely by the German company despite the increased operating profitability and the fundamentally good set-up and positioning. Taking these circumstances into account, the Zanders Paper management has decided to carry out the continuation of the long-term restructuring of the company within the framework of insolvency proceedings and today filed an application to this effect with the competent district court in Cologne. This is done to protect the interests of all stakeholders including but not limited to the employees, creditors, customers and the City of Bergisch Gladbach. This gives Zanders Paper a breathing room to further rebuild and shape the company for the future. During the opening insolvency proceedings, which are expected to last two to three months, business operations will be continued by the insolvency administrator.