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April 27, 2005
Contents
Out of the Box: Industry News
New Products and Equipment Orders News from TAPPI 
Sponsored by
Additional Resources
TAPPI BUYER'S GUIDE
TAPPI CALENDAR OF EVENTS CORRUGATING INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS! MAGAZINE ALL MAGAZINE ARCHIVES JOIN TAPPI ONLINE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS
For information on sponsoring this newsletter or other
sponsorship opportunities with TAPPI, contact Vince Saputo at vsaputo@tappi.org
or by calling +1 770-209-7529.
Explore TAPPI's updated website for the latest in news, products and services, and all of your member needs at www.tappi.org. TAPPI assumes no responsibility for statements of fact and opinion; they are not intended nor should they be construed as a solicitation of or suggestion by TAPPI for any agreed-upon course of conduct or concerted action of any kind. To unsubscribe send an email with no subject to lyris@list.tappi.org. Put ci-ecorr in the body. To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-ci_ecorr_text-3967180O@list.tappi.org. Tell a friend to subscribe to TAPPI CI E-Corr or send a blank email to subscribe-ci-ecorr@list.tappi.org. |
OUT OF THE BOX
CARAUSTAR INDUSTRIES announced that it will raise prices on all coated and uncoated recycled paperboard grades by $35 per ton. The increase will become effective with shipments on May 23, 2005.
THE CORRUGATED PACKAGING ALLIANCE (CPA), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA is offering a new brochure providing detailed information about its Corrugated Modular Systems for Case-Ready Meat, including technical specifications. The new, voluntary packaging standards are designed to make loading, handling, storing and shipping Case-Ready Meat (CRM) far more efficient than other containers. For many retailers, case-ready is becoming the prominent shipping and merchandising format for meat and poultry. This CRM format represents an opportunity for new packaging solutions to optimize supply-chain efficiency. The new modular systems for CRM establish recommended, yet voluntary, uniform transport package footprint dimensions (minimum inside dimensions, or I.D., and maximum outside dimensions, or O.D.) that offer unmatched packaging and supply chain flexibility. The corrugated industry designed two footprint systems for CRM that offer advantages at every step in the distribution chain: 5-Down and 6-Down. These two different footprints are offered to allow flexibility for accommodating primary tray sizes (which have yet to be standardized). This way, the supply chain can transition toward a modular standard with the lowest possible distribution costs. In addition, different types of protein suppliers may prefer a different (5- or 6- Down) solution depending on cuts, cube utilization, and the needs of their specific supply chain. To order copies of the new brochure, contact the Corrugated Packaging Alliance at (800) 886-5255. The Corrugated Packaging Alliance (www.corrugated.org) is a corrugated industry initiative jointly sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) (www.afandpa.org) and the Fibre Box Association (FBA) (www.fibrebox.org). Its mission is to foster growth and profitability of corrugated in applications where it can be demonstrated, based on credible and persuasive evidence, that corrugated should be the packaging material of choice; and to provide a coordinated industry focus that effectively acts on industry matters that cannot be accomplished by individual members. MICHIGAN BOX CO., Detroit, Michigan, USA has invested $3.4 million in new equipment to meet manufacturing needs. The new equipment is designed to bring high quality, innovative packaging solutions into the marketplace, according to the company. Elaine Fontana, Michigan Box's CEO comments, "We are pleased to be on the cutting edge of packaging solutions and corrugated technology. These new pieces of equipment will further allow us to meet and exceed our customers' needs. With the change in the retail business, the package has to sell the product. With our continual investments in technology and machinery, Michigan Box stays ahead of the curve for our clients, solidifying our position as an innovation leader in the packaging industry and ensuring our clients have all the tools they need to grab consumer attention with their packaging." Michigan Box serves clients from a variety of industries. MBC's technology and machinery additions will assist new clients as well as clients' whose packaging is highly recognizable within their market segments including: Mucky Duck, Pure Detroit, Poof-Slinky, Garden Fresh, Wolverine Packaging Company, Bosco's, Advance Watch, Papa Romano's, Papa Joes, Germack Pistachio Company, Discraft, Shatila and Koegel Meat Company. PACE INTERNATIONAL UNION announced that over 1600 delegates from PACE (Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers Intl. Union) voted overwhelmingly on April 12 to merge with the United Steelworkers of America. The new union will be called the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers Intl. Union or the USW for short. The combined union will have over 850,000 active members in over 8,000 bargaining units in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It will be the largest industrial union in North America, and will be the dominant union in paper, forestry products, steel, aluminum, tire and rubber, mining, glass, chemicals, petroleum and other basic resource industries. USWA President Leo Gerard will be the president of the USW. Young will be the executive vice president. Under the merger agreement, PACE will continue to have an office in Nashville, Tennessee, for the next ten years. PACKAGING CORPORATION OF AMERICA, Lake Forest, Illinois, has acquired Midland Container Corp., a producer of high quality graphics packaging and displays and corrugated products with annual sales of US$ 35 million. Midland Container's facilities purchased include a full line corrugated plant located in Jackson, Mississippi, a specialty sheet plant located in St. Louis, Missouri, and a graphics packaging and display manufacturing facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, located in the Memphis, Tennessee metropolitan area. Paul T. Stecko, Chairman and CEO of PCA, said, "The acquisition of Midland Container Corporation expands PCA's presence with the addition of our first plants in Mississippi and Missouri. These new facilities complement our existing facilities and provide new areas of corrugated products growth for our company". Mr. Stecko also said, "Midland Container Corporation began in the box business over fifty years ago, and we look forward to continuing their history of providing excellent service to their customers". PCA is the sixth largest producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States with sales of US$ 1.9 billion in 2004. PCA operates four paper mills, and with the acquisition of Midland Container, 69 corrugated product plants in 28 states across the country. PAPTAC has issued a Call for Papers. The Standing Committees of the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada will be actively planning the program for the 92nd Annual Meeting and EXFOR 2006 that will take place at the Palais des congrès in Montréal, Québec, from February 6-10, 2006. Anyone who wishes to submit an abstract or summary of a paper to be presented at the meeting should forward it, preferably by e-mail, to Carolyn Crotogino: ccrotogino@paptac.ca. Submissions by fax or mail will also be accepted. Send mail to Ms. Carolyn Crotogino, PAPTAC, 740 Notre Dame West, Suite 1070 Montreal, QC H3C 3X6 Fax : (514) 392-0369 Internet : www.paptac.ca The sessions are sponsored by PAPTAC's Standing Committees. PAPTAC will forward your abstract to the appropriate Standing Committee for consideration. You may let PAPTAC know to which committees you would like to have your abstract submitted. There is a list of PAPTAC Standing Committees on the PAPTAC Web site at www.paptac.ca, and also in the PAPTAC Membership Directory. An abstract submission form is also available on-line. The deadline to receive abstracts is July 29, 2005. Further information on the PAPTAC Annual Meeting and EXFOR 2006 can be obtained from W. Robert Wood at the above address. STANDARD & POOR'S RATINGS SERVICES, New York said it lowered its corporate credit rating on Port Townsend Paper Corp. to 'B-' from 'B'. At the same time, Standard & Poor's lowered its rating on Port Townsend's 11% senior secured notes due April 15, 2011, to 'B-' from 'B'. The outlook is negative. "The downgrade reflects our concerns regarding the company's liquidity position in light of continued upward pressure on energy and fiber costs and the possibility that price increases announced by several industry participants may not be fully realized," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Dominick D'Ascoli. Liquidity was US$ 14 million on Dec. 31, 2004. Standard & Poor's estimates liquidity has declined substantially since Dec. 31, 2004, as cost pressures have continued and a US$ 7 million interest payment on the company's 11% senior secured notes was made on April 15, 2005. With continued cost pressures and thin liquidity, the Port Townsend, Washington-based company is very vulnerable to any sort of operating disruption or the failure of announced price increases to be fully realized, according to S&P. The ratings on Port Townsend reflect a modest scope of operations in the highly cyclical, commodity-like paper-based packaging market, rising cost pressures, very aggressive debt leverage, thin liquidity, and delays in filing 2004 audited financial statements. Port Townsend is a manufacturer of packaging products focused on selling corrugated boxes and kraft paper to customers near its five manufacturing facilities in Washington state and British Columbia. It also sells pulp and containerboard through third-party brokers. SOUTHERN CONTAINER CORP. Hauppauge, New York, USA has announced the ISO 9001:2000 certification of its Corporate Headquarters Division and Mooresville, NC Corrugated Division. Southern Container Corp. is registered with Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is one of a few companies to meet the new ISO 9001:2000 certification requirements. The 9001:2000 Standard not only addresses the quality assurance of products and services, but also the metrics and process for continually enhancing customer satisfaction. In accepting the registration certificate, Ron Byers, Director of Quality for Southern Container Corp. noted, "The achievement of ISO 9001:2000 reflects our continuous effort to achieve superior product quality, service and reliability for our current customer base and new customer prospects." Southern Container Corp. President James Porter added, "Because of our commitment to customer satisfaction and the importance of consistent and reliable quality, our products are well received by companies in the US and Canada. This certification validates their confidence in us. We also felt it was an important leadership statement to implement an ISO certified management system at our corporate headquarters division which support our manufacturing operations. We are proud to have achieved this formal recognition." Southern Container Corp. is the largest U. S. independent manufacturer of corrugated boxes. Existing facilities include seven large-scale corrugated box plants and two sheet plants. In addition, they are involved with five joint ventures in complement to their core business, specifically; Solvay Paperboard, the largest independent containerboard producer in North America; SCI-Canada, North America's largest pre-print operation; GraphCorr, a manufacturer of micro-flute and litho laminate packaging; Pohlig Brothers, a folding carton and rigid box manufacturer and MPG, a leading marketing products group. For more information about Southern Container Corp., visit our website at www.southern-container.com. UPM, OUTOKUMPU TECHNOLOGY and FINNISH INDUSTRY INVESTMENT LTD have established a joint venture specializing in radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna production in the global market. UPM's shareholding in the company is 38%. Both Outokumpu Technology and Finnish Industry Investment Ltd have a 28% shareholding in the company while the management holds the remaining 6%. Antenna production is scheduled to start in the autumn of 2005. "The demand for RFID tags grows strongly globally. Until now, there has not been a strong enough antenna manufacturer to respond to the growing demand. The operative model of the new company is based on combining the know-how of UPM and Outokumpu Technology as well as the strong resources of the owner companies," says Heikki Sara, Executive Vice President, Strategic Development of UPM. UPM and Outokumpu have a long cooperation in developing production technologies for RFID antennas. UPM has several years experience of producing RFID tags at UPM Rafsec. Outokumpu Technology will bring significant know-how in metallurgy and technology to the new company. Finnish Industry Investment Ltd is a government-owned investment company engaging in investment of venture capital funds. RFID antenna is a strategic component in tags based on radio frequency identification. Antennas transmit information between the reader and the tag on radio waves. RFID systems are used for product identification and stock control among other things. VOITH PAPER announced the closing of its paper industry service center in Farmington, New Hampshire, USA--effective upon completion of the current project backlog. The move is part of Voith Paper's restructuring and consolidation of its North American service business, which includes the recovering and servicing of paper machine rolls and components. Stanley E Brandon, Senior Vice President, Voith Paper Service, Inc. cited the N.A. paper industry production decline as reason for the closure. "The North American paper industry has idled more than 10% of its production capacity over the last five years, and while we have retained our overall market position, there is just too much under-utilized capacity in North America for businesses specializing in paper machinery and equipment servicing." The company will continue to source most of its Northeastern U.S. roll cover requirements from its Hawkesbury, Ontario facility. Mechanical Services for U.S. Northeast paper mill customers will be sourced from its Hawkesbury, Ontario facility as well as its Austell, Georgia facility. "With this restructuring, we will have five strategically located service facilities (Austell Georgia, Hawkesbury Ontario, Neenah Wisconsin, Springfield Oregon, and West Monroe, Louisiana) from which we will continue to focus on developing supply partnerships with our paper industry customers for our technically advanced roll coverings and roll mechanical services", Brandon added. NEW PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT ORDERS
SCA PACKAGING ASIA has started up a KBA large format Rapida 142. At the end of February, Cenpak Packaging Industry Group, part of SCA Packaging Asia, pressed the button on a 15,000sph KBA Rapida 142 at its plant in Suzhou, China. The press will mostly print heavy board for folding cartons and displays, but will also be used for direct offset on microflute corrugated.
Mounted on a 420mm (16½") plinth, the size 6 (56") five-color coater press with delivery extension incorporates a nonstop facility at the feeder and delivery, automatic plate changers, a multiple washing system for the cylinders, a Logotronic Basic management information system and a raft of other automation modules. Cenpak Packaging Industry Group operates 21 packaging plants in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The SCA group, a major vendor of hygiene products, customized packaging and paper, has a total of 220 plants in more than 40 countries. Cenpak itself has 17 production sites in China, but the Suzhou plant is the first to install a Rapida 142. NEWS FROM TAPPI
Chicago Local Section Offers Flexo & Die Cutting Machine Update
May 3, 2005, Wyndham Drake Hotel, Oakbrook, IL Download the meeting notice. Plan now to participate in the Annual Corrugated Classic Golf Outing Bear's Best Las Vegas September 25th, 2005, 1 p.m. Shotgun Start Get all the details online. Don't Miss these TAPPI Short Courses In May Implementing Lean Manufacturing for Flexos and Die Cutters Short Course South Central Local Section Sponsors 2005 Golf Tournament May 10, 2005, Doral Tesoro Golf Club Alliance/Fort Worth, TX Download the event information. If you have not renewed your TAPPI membership for 2005, please do so immediately Your dues are past due and we don't want to lose you! Please renew online or contact TAPPI's Member Connection Center at 1-800-332-8686 (USA), 1-800-446-9431(Canada) or +1-770-446-1400 to re-instate your membership today. Upcoming Virtual Seminar Discusses OSHA Recordkeeping Rule Avoiding the Trials and Tribulations of OSHA's Recordkeeping Rule Virtual Seminar May 19, 2005, 1:30-3:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time This course, cosponsored by TAPPI and PPSA, is designed to provide you with the essentials for effectively managing the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping process, responding to employee requests for injury and illness records, and handling an OSHA inspection of those records -- what to do and what to avoid. Review Schedule for TAPPI Test Methods The system for review and development of TAPPI Test Methods requires an announcement of review dates for methods so that any interested TAPPI members may access the drafts and submit comments. The Review Schedule on the web has just been updated to include all of the methods that will be up for review through the end of 2005. TAPPI members may comment on methods that are posted for review by going to the home page, logging on with your member ID and password, then clicking "My TAPPI." When your personal page appears, click on the "Test Method Public Draft Review" link on the left-hand side. You do not have to be a member of the Standard Specific Interest Group for any method in order to comment on the draft. If you have joined the Standard Specific Interest Group for any of these methods, you will receive a notice for ballot at the proper time with instructions for casting your vote and making your comments. If you wish to join the Standard Specific Interest Group for a particular method, go to the Subject Category page for links to the sign-up forms. The Standards Advisory Review Group (SARG) will meet on Monday, May 23, 2005, at 8:00 am Central Time, at the 2005 TAPPI Paper Expo and Practical Papermaking Conference in Milwaukee, WI. This is the group responsible for making final approvals of new or revised TAPPI Test Methods. The agenda and the drafts that are up for approval may be viewed online. The meeting is open to anyone to attend in person or by conference call. If you would like to attend by conference call, please contact Charles Bohanan (cbohanan@tappi.org) no later than May 18, 2005, to obtain the dial-in number. Corrugated Packaging Division Calendar of Events April 28, 2005 - Minnesota TAPPI will hold their 18th annual Table-Top trade fair in Minneapolis with over 100 individuals from surrounding box plants expected to attend After the trade fair, a one hour presentation by Georgia-Pacific on Trends in Packaging will be given. Contact Mark Piehl, MN Tappi Chairman at (763) 540 9650 for more information. |
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