Lecta Increases Prices of Thermal Papers by 10 to 12%

Oslo Byfogdembete (Oslo Bankruptcy Court) has on 19 December and 20 December 2017, appointed lawyer Tom Hugo Ottesen as bankruptcy trustee for the following companies: Norske Skogindustrier ASA Norske Treindustrier AS Norske Skog Holding AS Lysaker Invest AS Norske Skog Eiendom AS. In addition to the bankruptcy filing of Norske Skogindustrier ASA on 19 December 2017, the board of directors of Norske Treindustrier AS, Lysaker Invest AS, Norske Skog Eiendom AS and Norske Skog Holding AS have filed for bankruptcy at Oslo Byfogdembete (Oslo bankruptcy court) today, Wednesday 20 December 2017. The deadline for claims to the bankruptcy trustee is set to 23 January 2018. See the enclosed court order from Oslo Byfogdembete. Questions concerning the bankruptcy process and the bankruptcy estate must be addressed to the trustee.

Demand for imported softwood lumber to the US has fallen by six percent during the first nine months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. In contrast, Chinese import volumes have been up 21% year-over-year. Demand for imported softwood lumber to the US has fallen by six percent during the first nine months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. In contrast, Chinese import volumes have been up 21% year-over-year. The lumber trade in Europe has also picked up in 2017 with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Spain having increased imports the most so far in 2017. Countries in the Middle East and North Africa, also known as the MENA countries, have sharply reduced consumption of lumber this year, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). In the first eight months of 2017, Egypt and Algeria (the two biggest lumber consumers in the region) have decreased their imports by 24% and 39% respectively as compared to the first eight months of 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. announced that De Lyle W. Bloomquist has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Bloomquist succeeds Vito J. Consiglio, who has stepped down as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), with the mutual agreement of the Board. In connection with Mr. Bloomquist’s appointment, the Board named Lisa M. Palumbo as Non-Executive Chair of the Board. Mr. Bloomquist has served on the Company’s Board since 2014 and was named Non-Executive Chair of the Board in May 2020. He has decades of domestic and international leadership experience in the chemicals, minerals and materials industries, including in finance, sales, logistics, operations, IT, strategy and business development capacities. Mr. Bloomquist most recently served as a partner at Windrunner Management Advisors LLC, a management advisory services business, and prior to that served as the President, Global Chemical Business of Tata Chemicals Limited, and President, CEO and Director of Tata Chemicals North America Inc.