Pulp- and Paperindustry

The domestic forestry and pulp and paper sectors do not have as negative an impact on the environment as many people might believe, industry bodies Forestry South Africa (Forestry SA) and the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (Pamsa) emphasise.

Pulp and paper group Mondi on Thursday confirmed it had put aside €170-million in capital expenditure for energy and debottlenecking projects, with the aim of achieving 97.5% energy self-sufficiency across its operations.

SCA has made a binding offer to acquire the Taiwan-based hygiene products company Everbeauty. The purchase price for the deal amounts to approximately SEK 1.9bn (USD 290m) on a debt-free basis.

Norske Skog sells back part of its energy contract to Statkraft. Norske Skog has reached an agreement to sell back excess power in southern Norway to Statkraft. The sale encompasses an annual volume of 680 gigawatt hours and covers the period through the end of 2020.

Forest acquired in January from private forests 2.6 million cubic meters of wood. In January, the purchased amount of trees felled by storms was estimated at 1.5 million cubic meters.

Storm damage was very localized and do not have a significant impact on the industry's annual use of wood. The storm effects were greatest in south-western Finland, where the timber trade took place livelier many times over the previous January.