Leading Stories

Bain Capital is evaluating strategic options for Ahlstrom, the Finnish specialty materials manufacturer, including a potential sale or initial public offering that could value the business at up to €8bn, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., a U.S. and global leader of cellulose-based technologies, together with the United Steel Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union AFL-CIO ("USW"), announced the filing with the US Department of Commerce ("USDOC") and the US International Trade Commission ("USITC") of parallel antidumping and countervailing duty petitions on Brazil, and an antidumping petition on Norway, concerning U.S. imports of High Purity Dissolving Pulp ("HPDP").

Rottneros has decided to write down the value of fixed assets in Rottneros Mill. The reason is that the mill cannot utilize its full capacity in the prevailing weak market for the mechanical pulp CTMP. The impairment charge amounts to SEK 140 million.

Smurfit Westrock will close in early October, according to the Iowa WARN site.

UPM Adhesive Materials, formerly known as UPM Raflatac, is investing in a new, state-of-the-art coating line and other facility and material handling upgrades in its label material factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Suzano, the world's largest pulp producer, announces its results for the second quarter of 2025 (2Q25), reporting sales of 3.7 million tonnes of pulp and paper. Sales increased 28% over the same period in 2024 (2Q24), mainly reflecting the strong operational contribution of the new Ribas do Rio Pardo pulp mill, whose production started in July 2024. Net revenue in the quarter totaled R$13.3 billion, a 16% increase compared to 2Q24.

This transaction, which includes over 173,000 acres of timberlands across the Southeastern United States, follows Greif's previously announced intent to divest the business as part of its strategic portfolio optimization. The deal is expected to close shortly before or after the Company's fiscal year end, subject to customary closing conditions.

An investigation had determined the fire was accidental. No injuries were reported.

A fire at the Domtar facility located in Plymouth on Sunday, August 3 was successfully extinguished. The blaze broke out on the wood yard chip conveyor and the structures supporting it, according to a social media post by the Plymouth Volunteer Fire Department. Crews cleared the scene around 3 p.m.

Chemours, DuPont and Corteva have agreed to pay $875 million over 25 years to the State of New Jersey to settle environmental claims including pollution linked to PFAS, or "forever chemicals", the companies said on Monday.

Due to prolonged weak profitability and the uncertain market outlook, Metsä Group is to initiate the planning of a significant cost savings and profit improvement programme. The aim of the programme is to achieve annual cost savings of approximately EUR 300 million, which are expected to be implemented gradually from 2026.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., the global leader in cellulose specialty products, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GranBio LLC, a pioneer in biochemicals and biofuels, to jointly explore the development of a small-scale commercial cellulosic Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) facility co-located at RYAM's Jesup, Georgia site.

Georgia-Pacific is sharing the news that Christian Fischer, president and CEO, announced he is retiring from the company at the end of October and will work to transition his responsibilities beginning in August. Christian joined Georgia-Pacific in 1989 and has held numerous leadership roles. He was named president and CEO in 2017. Mark Luetters, currently executive vice president of Koch, Inc., with responsibility overseeing several Koch companies, including Georgia-Pacific, will continue in that role while serving as Georgia-Pacific's president and CEO.

Greif said it will permanently close its steel and polymer drum facility in Merced, Calif., as part of its previously announced optimization efforts.

Specialty Papers US (SPUS), North America's premier conference dedicated to innovations in the specialty paper supply chain, will return to Chicago, Illinois from Monday, October 27 through Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

ISO 9001 certification offers a wide range of benefits for both the company and its customers.

A fire broke out Monday afternoon, July 28, at the National Gypsum plant in Oxford, prompting a large response from local and regional emergency crews. The Oxford Fire Department (OFD) responded to the call and successfully contained the fire to a single room. No injuries were reported.

In response to rising demand for high-quality, fiber-based sustainable packaging, Sappi North America announced that it is delivering commercial product to customers following the completion of Project Elevate, the $500 million conversion and expansion of Paper Machine No. 2 (PM2) at its Somerset Mill in Maine.

These additions will increase production by 20% by the end of 2025.

International Paper and other rival manufacturers have been accused in a new lawsuit in U.S. federal court of conspiring to fix and inflate prices for key raw materials that are used to make cardboard boxes and merchandise displays.

UFP Edge will permanently close its manufacturing facility in Bonner on September 27, 2025. The closure is expected to layoff 104 employees according to a letter sent from the company to the Missoula County Commissioners.

A major component of this investment is the complete rebuild and modernization of the woodyard at the Escanaba Mill.

Chillicothe's Pixelle paper mill, which is set to close in August, has a secondary function: it helps contain a toxic plume of cancer-causing chemicals underground that were spilled by a former cookware manufacturer decades ago.

Funding supports dislocated workers in 14 counties.

Unifor is encouraged by Kruger Inc.'s announcement that it plans to invest up to $700 million in its Corner Brook, N.L. mill to modernize the facility.