Category: Forest


Aug 24 (Reuters) – Following are the rankings of the world’s largest paper makers by total capacity, by paper grades and by turnover.

WORLD’S BIGGEST PAPER AND BOARD PRODUCERS
(by capacity, thousands of tonnes):

  1. International Paper 17,960
  2. Stora Enso 13,177
  3. UPM-Kymmene 11,120
  4. Nine Dragons 10,111
  5. Georgia-Pacific 9,354
  6. Nippon 9,054
  7. Asia Pulp and Paper 9,006
  8. Oji 8,890
  9. AbitibiBowater 7,248
  10. Smurfit Kappa 7,152

Asia Pulp and Paper is part of Sinar Mas group. Georgia-Pacific is owned by Koch Industries, Inc, a private U.S. company headquartered in Wichita, Kan.

WORLD’S BIGGEST MAGAZINE PAPER MANUFACTURERS
(by capacity, thousands of tonnes):

  1. UPM-Kymmene 4,950
  2. Stora Enso 3,585
  3. AbitibiBowater 2,732
  4. Myllykoski 2,431
  5. NewPage 2,037
  6. Norske Skog 1,535
  7. Sappi 1,445
  8. Burgo Group 1,255
  9. Nippon 1,160
  10. SCA 1,000

Myllykoski is a privately held Finnish firm.  NewPage is majority-owned by Cerberus Capital Management. Italian Burgo is closely held, with Holding Gruppo Marchi having 48 percent of shares, Mediobanca 22 percent, with Generali and Italmobiliare having 11.7 percent.

WORLD’S BIGGEST NEWSPRINT MANUFACTURERS
(by capacity, thousands of tonnes):

  1. AbitibiBowater 4,376
  2. Norske Skog 3,421
  3. Stora Enso 2,570
  4. UPM-Kymmene 2,060
  5. Nippon 1,988
  6. White Birch Paper* 1,798
  7. Oji 1,315
  8. Catalyst Paper 1,272
  9. Huatai 1,210
  10. Holmen 1,135

White Birch Paper is owned by Peter Brant (75 pct), Michael Fuchs (12.5), and Aby Rosen (12.5 pct)

WORLD’S BIGGEST FINE PAPER MANUFACTURERS
(by capacity, thousands of tonnes):

  1. Asia Pulp and Paper 5,316
  2. International Paper 5,212
  3. Sappi 4,210
  4. Domtar 3,570
  5. UPM-Kymmene 3,570
  6. Stora Enso 3,305
  7. Nippon 3,095
  8. Oji 2,401
  9. Mondi 1,968
  10. NewPage 1,935

WORLD’S BIGGEST FOREST, PAPER AND PACKAGING FIRMS BY SALES:
(2008, mln of US$) ROCE

  1. International Paper 24,829 1.5
  2. Kimberly-Clark 19,415 14.8
  3. SCA 16,965 5.8
  4. Stora Enso 16,227 4.2
  5. UPM 13,920 2.0
  6. Oji Paper 12,788 1.6
  7. Nippon 11,753 1.2
  8. Smurfit Kappa 10,390 6.7
  9. Metsaliitto 9,466 -1.4
  10. Mondi 9,335 3.7

ROCE — Return on Capital Employed is calculated as net income before unusual items, minority interest, and interest expense, on an after tax basis, divided by average total assets less average non-interest bearing current liabilities. Source: Poyry, PricewaterhouseCoopers (Reporting by Helsinki Newsroom; editing by Hans Peters)

via FACTBOX-Papermakers’ global rankings – capacity, sales – Forbes.com.

(23 April 2009)

German manufacturers of wood processing machinery have witnessed a substantial downturn in order intake in recent months. A number of companies said that ordering had plunged to an unexpectedly strong degree in the final quarter of last year after remaining largely satisfactory until the autumn of 2008. This downturn had intensified during the course of the first few months of this year, too. The wood processing machinery sector had fared much worse than the machinery construction industry as a whole.

via EUWID: Machine builders have faced a sharp drop in order intake since end of 2008.

Metso Paperin pääkilpailijalla, saksalaisella Voith Paperilla on samat näkemykset paperikonemarkkinoiden huonosta tilasta. Paperiteollisuuden kultamaana näyttäytyneen Kiinankin markkinat ovat menossa selkeästi alaspäin.

Vielä parisen vuotta sitten paperikoneet kävivät Kiinassa korkeilla käyttöasteilla ja uusiakin koneita rakennettiin ilman ongelmia. Lisäksi Kiinaan tuotiin paperia muualta.

Nyt Voith Suomen toimitusjohtajan Jouko Jokisen mukaan joitakin paperikoneita joudutaan seisottamaan ja uusien paperikoneiden rakentaminen on hiipunut. Joissain jo sovituissa kaupoissa on käynyt niin, että yhden tai useamman rahoittajan luopuminen on pysäyttänyt hankkeen.

Voithissa nähtiin jo kesällä paperikonemarkkinoiden hiipuminen.

Yhtiössä alettiin suunnitella toiminnan tehostamista ja kulujen karsintaa. Yhtiön pääkonttoriin Heidenheimiin keskitetään sekä paperi- ja kartonkikoneiden markkinointi ja muu johto. Saksassa joudutaan myös henkilövähennyksiin, mutta Jokisen mukaan vähennykset eivät lyhyellä tähtäimellä ole yhtä rajuja kuin Metso Paper tavoittelee.

Perheyhtiön edut

Voith voi perheyhtiönä toimia henkilöstön suhteen pörssiyhtiöitä pehmeämmin. Lisäksi Voithilla on mahdollisuus siirtää henkilöitä yhtiön kahteen muuhun divisioonaan, eli vesivoimaloihin turbiineja toimittavaan Voith Siemens Hydroon ja Voith Turboon.

Voith Paperin tavoite on joka tapauksessa vähentää satoja työntekijöitä. Saksassa vähennykset kestävät pidempää kuin Suomessa pitkien irtisanomisaikojen vuoksi.

Yhtiö on myös varautunut koviin aikoihin lisäämällä huollon ja paperikoneiden kulutuskomponenttien osuutta liikevaihdostaan. Näiden osuus on Jokisen mukaan jo vajaa puolet Voith Paperin liikevaihdosta.

Vertailun vuoksi Metso Paper kertoo palveluliiketoiminnan eli käytännössä huollon osuuden olevan liikevaihdosta noin 30 prosenttia.

Eron selittänee osittain se, että Voith toimittaa paperikoneisiin viiroja ja huopia, joita Metso Paper ei toimita. Metso kuitenkin aikoo panostaa huoltoliiketoimintaan yhä enemmän lisäämällä tutkimusta ja tuotekehitystä alueella.

Toimipaikat vähenevät

Jokinen uskoo nykyisistä ongelmista huolimatta suurien ja tehokkaiden paperikoneiden tulevaisuuteen.

”Niitä vain toimitetaan aikaisempaa vähemmän.”

Niinpä ainakin Metso Paperin Jyväskylän, Tampereen ja Järvenpää yksiköiden osaamiselle näyttäisi löytyvän kysyntää tulevaisuudessakin.

Yhtiöllä on Suomessa yhteensä 15 toimipaikkaa, joista nykyisen myllerryksen jälkeen jäljelle jäänee Tekniikka&Talouden arvion mukaan alle kymmenen.

Euroopassa paperimarkkinat saattavat elpyä nopeammin kuin synkimmissä ennustuksissa on annettu ymmärtää. Syynä on paperinvalmistajien paperivarastojen kova tyhjennystahti, jonka jälkeen koneita voisi taas käyttää kunnon käyntiasteilla.

Alkuperäinen artikkeli: Tekniikka&Talous

SAO PAULO, Jan. 30, 2009 (RISI) – Brazil’s Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) will take market related downtime during the first quarter of this year in order to balance pulp supply and demand. The company plans to curtail 27,000 tonnes of pulp in the period, which represents approximately eight days of production.

According to VCP, the decision to reduce production is due to lower demand foreseen for the first quarter. Pulp inventories are unbalanced as a result of weak demand during the fourth quarter of last year.

At the beginning of November 2008, VCP took a seven days market related downtime at is Jacareí mill, in São Paulo, reducing production by 28,000 tonnes. Besides VCP, many other pulp manufacturers took downtime at the end of last year and the initiative generated positive results in the market, mainly in China, where exceeding stocks have already been consumed.

Metso’s customer Aracruz announced on January 19, 2009 that it plans to resume the expansion project at the Guaíba unit in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, as from the first half of 2011. Metso has done work for the pulp project in the cost frame covered by the down payment and the project remains in Metso’s order backlog. Metso continues negotiations with Aracruz about the new implementation schedule of the project.

(Press release)

Brazil’s Votorantim Celulose e Papel said on Tuesday it would buy a 28.03 percent stake in Aracruz Celulose for 2.71 billion reais ($1.16 billion) as part of a plan to merge the two companies.

The process was suspended in September after Aracruz <ARCZ6.SA><ARA.N>, a Brazilian pulp producer, reported losses with foreign exchange derivatives and its chief financial officer resigned.

VCP <VCPA4.SA><VCP.N>, as the company is known, said it had signed an agreement with the families who control Aracruz and it would pay the amount in six instalments. The first payment, of 500 million reais, is scheduled for Wednesday.

VCP already holds 28 percent of Aracruz and controls the company with the Safra and Lorentzen families.

In a separate report, Aracruz said banking creditors that account for more than 80 percent of the company’s $2.13 billion debt from derivative transactions have shown “their express agreement to the minimal terms” put forward by Aracruz for the restructuring of the debt.

According to the proposal, Aracruz will have up to nine years to pay its debt.

The company will also resume the expansion project at the Guaiba Unit, from the first half of 2011.

Aracruz shares closed on Monday at 2,65 reais and VCP was last traded at 16.16 reais. ($1 = 2.333 reais)

BARCELONA, Jan. 19, 2009 (Press Release) – Lecta, the second largest coated fine paper manufacturer in Europe, will extend the downtime announced last November and December during the first quarter 2009.

These significant curtailments are affecting CWF mills of all three of the group’s companies, Garda, Condat and Torraspapel.

Given current weak demand, temporary shutdowns have been confirmed for January and forecasted for the coming months. Lecta is committed to adjusting production to current and expected order entry levels.

Lecta has scheduled the downtime in a manner ensuring that current customer service levels will not be affected.

Metso Corporation’s company release, January 19, 2009, 11:00 a.m. local time
A press conference (in Finnish) for media will be held today, Monday, January 19, 2009, 1:00 p.m. at Metso’s Corporate Head Office, Fabianinkatu 9 A, Helsinki. A conference call (in English) for analysts will be held at 2:00 p.m. Instructions for participating in the conference call are included at the end of this press release.

Metso will start personnel negotiations regarding employee reductions in Finnish units serving the paper industry. The employee reduction is estimated to affect a total of 900-1,200 employees. Approximately 4,700 employees work in the units subject to the personnel negotiations. The possible reduction in the number of units and the consolidation of operations into bigger units will be examined as part of the negotiations.

View full article »

TARNBERG, Germany, Jan. 15, 2009 (Viewpoint) – Among all paper and board grades, tissue has proved to be the one most insensitive to changes in the economic environment of the paper business. Tissue has recorded a continuous global consumption growth rate of roughly 4% per year in recent history, with only slight variation from year to year, but no single year registering a decline. However, in the current situation, with months of financial and economic turmoil that has spread to all continents, many have raised the question: What will be the consequences of the global recession to the tissue business in 2009?

We cannot argue that the global recession does not have any effect on tissue markets and industry. In the United States, where the serious problems with financial institutions and indeed the whole financing system began in September 2008, the effects of weakening tissue demand are now gradually being seen in the marketplace. The average capacity utilization rate in the tissue industry has declined for three consecutive months, and the industry has had to react by taking additional downtime to adjust supply to the new situation. This trend is expected to continue over the next few months.

View full article »

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2009 (RISI) – As producers around the world grappled with weak demand and an oversupply of pulp, the list of firms taking market-related downtime grew to include every grade made in the industry. According to a RISI poll, global producers curtailed more than 2 million tonnes of output over the last four months of 2008.

Producers slowed down production, closed mills temporarily and permanently, and altogether trimmed an estimated 2.191 million tonnes of output worldwide from September through December, according to the poll, which included the four key producing regions of North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

Softwood kraft downtime totaled an estimated 874,000 tonnes, while hardwood kraft totaled 1.153 million tonnes — mainly because several large Asian mills shuttered for most of the fourth quarter.

North American producers took the most downtime of the four major producing regions, with 21 companies shedding an estimated 853,000 tonnes across all grades of market pulp produced in the USA and Canada.

At least three Canadian producers of bleached chemi-thermomechanical (BCTMP) took downtime, and the grade was excluded from the softwood and hardwood tallies but included in the overall downtime total. In the USA, where much of the world’s fluff pulp capacity is located, three producers took downtime in the grade, included in softwood totals.

Pulp mill downtime also surged across Asia, where tepid demand and tumbling prices prompted several major mills to shut down for months at a time, resulting in 785,000 tonnes of mostly bleached hardwood kraft getting clipped.

In Europe, producers reduced about 360,000 tonnes of pulp production with much of it occurring in northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK).

Latin American producers took the least downtime of the four continents polled, with an estimated 193,000 tonnes of mostly bleached eucalyptus getting trimmed.

Industry contacts expect more downtime to occur before the traditional season of spring maintenance outages because papermaker downtime is so widespread the pulp producer curtailments haven’t yet eaten into the oversupply that’s gripping the industry.

For the latest update of worldwide pulp downtime, see www.risiinfo.com/portal/content/pulpDowntime.xls.