Leading Stories

While Woodland Pulp is scheduled to resume operations in mid-December, there's no timeline for when Canadian softwood lumber will be accepted at the mill.

Massachusetts Governor Healey recently echoed misleading talking points by Canada and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) that U.S. duties and tariffs against unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports cause housing pricing affordability issues. Such misleading and false statements have been repeatedly debunked by NAHB's own data and ignore the facts on the ground.

CO280 Solutions Inc. (CO280), a leading developer of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects, and a pulp and paper manufacturer have successfully completed a field pilot to validate the performance of liquid amine technology to capture biogenic CO2 from recovery boiler stack emissions at a pulp mill in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The liquid amine technology was provided by SLB Capturi, a leading supplier of carbon capture technology for industrial sectors.

The sale of a defunct Prince Albert pulp and paper mill from Domtar to the Ontario-based BMI Group has ended plans to re-open the mill and sparked a search for industrial business tenants for the site.

Boise Cascade has reached an agreement to purchase Humphrey Company, Inc., a two-step distributor of building materials located in Chicopee, Massachusetts, with $145 million in revenue over the last 12 months, according to Boise Cascade.

Stora Enso will implement changes to its Group Leadership Team and organizational structure effective 1 January 2026, preparing for the planned demerger of its Swedish forest assets.

Sealed Air Corporation, a leading global provider of food and protective packaging solutions, announced Nov. 17 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds affiliated with CD&R, a leading private investment firm with deep experience in the industrial and packaging industries, in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of $10.3 billion.

The Compton facility closure will impact 125 employees, while the Louisville facility closure will impact 93 employees.

Following the strategic review, the Board of Directors of Stora Enso has decided to initiate preparations for the separation of the Swedish forest assets business of Stora Enso into a new publicly-listed company through a statutory partial cross-border demerger, expected to be completed during the first half of 2027. All shares in the new company would be wholly owned by Stora Enso's shareholders.

Stora Enso is initiating a strategic review of its Central European sawmills and building solutions operations. The review, to be carried out in 2026, will cover one business unit of Wood Products business area, including seven sawmills in Austria, Czechia, Poland, and Lithuania, and further processing units with three cross-laminated-timber (CLT) mills, as well as wood procurement, and international sales and distribution operations. Whilst the business in scope has a strong position in an attractive market, it does not bring strategic or operational synergies for Stora Enso's core renewable packaging operations.

US-based private equity company Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is considering the potential acquisition of Sealed Air, the US packaging manufacturer known for bubble wrap.

The change negotiations cover the entire staff of Lappeenranta, Rauma, Renko and Vilppula sawmills, approximately 350 people.

PaperWorks Industries Inc., a leading North American producer of 100% recycled paperboard and folding carton packaging, announces the acquisition of Color Craft Graphic Arts ("Color Craft"). Founded in 1929 and based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Color Craft is a producer of packaging for food, beverage, and household goods.

Essity has entered into an agreement to acquire Edgewell Personal Care's feminine care business, including the brands Carefree, Stayfree and o.b. in North America and Playtex globally. The purchase price for the assets amounts to USD 340m (approximately SEK 3.2bn) on a cash and debt-free basis.

The estimated need for personnel reductions in the change negotiations was up to 315 employees, of which 155 were in Finland. The change negotiations in Finland have now concluded, resulting in a total reduction of 150 positions.

International Paper has announced a proposal to close five sites in Germany, affecting approximately 500 roles, as part of its strategic review to enhance efficiency and respond to challenging market conditions.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson and Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr met with forest sector workers in Castlegar, British Columbia, to present Budget 2025 investments supporting Canada's forest industry.

Smurfit Westrock plans to close a Georgia facility and permanently lay off 55 employees, according to a worker adjustment and retraining notification filed with the state on Nov. 10.

Mohawk Industries Chief Financial Officer James Brunk will retire on 1 April 2026, concluding a 20-year tenure during which the company became a global flooring leader. Nicholas Manthey, the company's current Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations, has been appointed as his successor.

World's largest pulp supplier, Suzano, has entered into a new collaboration with INSEAD, one of the world's leading graduate business schools.

New Senior Leadership Announced for EMEA/APAC and Americas.

Citing a drooping softwood lumber demand, compounded by higher duties and additional tariffs that have reached 45 per cent for U.S. markets, West Fraser Timber announced Thursday its plans to permanently shutter both its Augusta, Ga., and 100 Mile House lumber mills by the end of 2025.

The hiatus for Washington County's largest employer is due to a downturn in the global pulp market and comes after increases in tariffs on Canadian lumber.

Suzano, the world's largest pulp producer, announces its results for the third quarter of 2025 (3Q25), reporting sales of 3.6 million tonnes of pulp and paper combined, a 20% increase on the same quarter last year (3Q24). The positive result is driven by the operations of the Ribas do Rio Pardo pulp mill, inaugurated in 2024, and by the integration of paper production from assets acquired in the United States in October 2024.

In early 2026, a pilot project for carbon capture will be launched at the Värö industrial site. The initiative aims to build knowledge around the technology and explore new business opportunities using biogenic carbon dioxide as a raw material.