Cascades reports temporary delays to Bear Island mill construction (recyclingtoday.com)

The Regional State Administrative Agency for Western and Inland Finland has given public notice of the environmental permit application filed for the Kaskinen paperboard mill of Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, on 6 October 2023 The permit applications will be available for public statements and comments for 37 days at https://ylupa.avi.fi/fi-FI The mill project’s environmental impact assessment process ended on 22 September 2023 when the South Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment issued its reasoned conclusion. Metsä Board initiated pre-engineering for the new paperboard mill in Kaskinen in the autumn of 2022. Planning is based on fossil free production and world-class resource, production and environmental efficiency. Metsä Board estimates that any investment decision will be made in 2024 at the earliest.

The net sales growth is primarily attributed to increased selling prices of $533 million due to the pass through of inflation, organic volume growth of 5%, and a $147 million favorable impact from foreign currency changes. These increases were partially offset by prior quarter divestiture sales of $62 million. The organic volume growth was primarily due to organic growth investments and continued recovery of certain markets that had previously been facing COVID-19 headwinds. The operating income decrease is primarily attributed to a $42 million unfavorable impact from price cost spread, and a $12 million increase in selling, general, and administrative expense, partially offset by a $24 million increase from the organic volume growth, and a $23 million favorable impact from foreign currency.

When the highly-anticipated next generation Koenig & Bauer Rapida 145 eight-color press plus coater arrived on the pressroom floor at Calumet Carton, the leading producer of mailers and packaging products, the South Holland, IL manufacturer fulfilled one of its primary goals to continually reinvest in today’s most modern state-of-the-art equipment for its valued well-known customers. “We are proud to be operating this next generation offset press from Koenig & Bauer,” says Gina Inwood, vice president at Calumet Carton. “In today’s competitive marketplace, we need to provide the utmost speed, automation, and efficiency for our packaging customers, allowing them to offer color consistent eye-popping packaging within tight deadlines. This press, one of the first in North America, sets us apart from our competition, creating additional opportunities and offering lightning-fast production speeds.”