BRAZIL Champion has revealed more details of a major investment plan at its Mogi Guaçu mill in Brazil. Capacity at the woodfree mill is set to climb by 10% as a result of rebuilds on three of the mill's machines. Current capacity stands at 200 tons/day on PM 4, 340 tons/day on PM 5 and 370 tons/day on PM 6. The company is spending $49 million on new Speedsizers for the three PMs. The project is due for completion in March 2000.

BRAZIL Lamort has changed the name of its Brazilian operation to Lamort-Black Clawson Industrial. The move follows an agreement between the supplier and the US office of Thermo Black Clawson to transfer responsibility for stock preparation equipment sales for the Brazilian market to the group formerly known as Lamort Equipamentos Industriais

CANADA Valmet has secured a second order from Alliance Forest Products in Canada for a WinBelt winder. The WinBelt-M winder has an operational speed of 2,300 m/min. Once installed on Alliance's new PM 4 at the company's Donnacona mill, the machine will have the capacity to produce 500 tons/day of supercalendered paper grades. Startup is due mid-2000.

DENMARK Stora Enso continues its restructuring program by merging its two merchants, HC-Papier and Borch/Winter, under the Papyrus name. There are also plans to combine the company's two British merchant operations, Caxton Group and Brand Paper.

FINLAND UPM-Kymmene plans to close the doors on its Ikapack sack paper unit in Finland by July this year. The main reason behind the shutdown is softer markets. Demand has weakened over the last year, especially from the unit's main export markets in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

FINLAND The Karhula Pump Factory of Ahlstrom Pumps in Finland has been awarded an ISO 14001 Environmental Certificate. This is the second certificate awarded by Det Norske Veritas to Ahlstrom Pumps. A number of environmental improvement projects have been used to reduce the volume of material that the group throws out.

FINLAND UPM-Kymmene and the German publisher, Axel Springer Verlag, have developed a data sheet for environmental product-related information. The Product Related Profile (PRP) consists of 15 parameters, which indicate raw material and energy consumption as well as emissions per ton of printing paper. The study will be a user-friendly guide to the environmental quality of printing papers.

FINLAND Sunds Debfibrator has delivered a new ProLab low consistency refining station to the Abo Academy Technical University in Turku, Finland. The ProLab station is the latest generation model and is designed for lab-scale research applications. According to the supplier, the unit provides for cost-efficiency and more precise trials compared with mill-scale tests.

FRANCE Stora Enso is to merge its French merchants, De Ruysscher Papiers and CBA, into a single company. The merged unit will operate under the name of Papyrus. The move is part of Stora Enso's strategy to create a leading European merchant network.

MALAYSIA Malaysia's Lion Group confirmed that a project to build a new pulp and paper mill in Sabah State is still under discussion, despite rumors that the project may be shelved. The project is a joint Chinese and Malaysian scheme. The original plans called for a capacity of 750,000 tons/yr of pulp and 225,000 tons/yr of paper at an estimated cost of Ringgit 4,300 (US$1,132 million).

PROTUGAL Portucel has launched a public tender for the group's 95.4% stake in Companhia do Papel do Prado (Prado). The key criteria for weighing up offers include the bidder's financial means, experience in industrial management and technical knowledge. A minimum bidding price was set at Esc 8,400 ($46) per share.

ROMANIA Romania's State Ownership Fund (SOF) has been unsuccessful for the second time in selling Celhart Donaris. The vendor plans to make a third attempt to sell the pulp and paper producer. Celhart Donaris has a 72,500 ton/yr capacity of printing/writing paper, duplex and triplex board. The mill also operates a 190,000 ton/yr pulp line.

SINGAPORE The Körber group in Germany has announced the official opening of a joint office for all three of the group's divisions in Asia. Opening the new office in Singapore, the management holding company said that the choice of location reflects the strategic aims of the group and is based on the results of detailed group-wide analysis.

THAILAND Thai Cane Paper confirmed that commercial production has started at its new linerboard mill in Prachiniburi, Thailand. The facility has a capacity of 175,000 tons/yr and is reportedly running well. The company expects to produce 120,000 tons of kraftliner this year, with the PM reaching full capacity in 2000.

TURKEY M&Y Air Systems has supplied a trim handling system to Kartonsan (Karton Sanayi ve Ticaret) in Ismet, Turkey. The system is serving a Voith winder operating at speeds of up to 800 m/min. Also included in the system is a fan set, acoustic enclosure, motor and material discharge unit. The project represents the M&Y's first venture into Turkey.

UK A new report from NLK Consultants suggests that demand for printing and writing grades in western Europe could prove to be significantly better this year than last. Demand created by the millennium effect and a more balanced stock situation could spur significant growth, according to the report, Graphic Papers in Europe. The consultant also forecasts that demand will could drop off rapidly after 2000 though, and prospects for prices remain poor.

USA Pavilion Technologies and ABB have announced a strategic technology and sales alliance. The two companies are aiming to combine their resources to become the world leader in advanced technology solutions for the analysis, control and automation of manufacturing assets. Under the agreement, ABB will embed Pavilion's Production Chain Optimization technology platform into its automation systems and products.

USA The Geschmay Group has announced the acquisition of all shares of Wangner System Corporation (WSC) from Wangner Finckh. After more than 20 years of working together in joint venture, WSC will be fully integrated into the group. The Wangner System Corporation of Maryland, USA, produces forming fabrics, wet felts and drying fabrics for mills in the USA, Canada and Japan. Geschmay is the world's largest family-owned paper machine clothing group, supplying more than 70 countries around the globe.

USA Corniche International and Intercontinental Paper American Coverage (IPAC) have announced a merger. Operating under a new name, CI International (Corniche/IPAC) will have headquarters in Sierra Madre, Southern California, USA.

USA Bowater has ordered a new Thermo Black Clawson Ultra-V pressure screen and Liquid Cyclone high density centrifugal cleaner. The units will be installed at Bowater's kraft pulp mill in Calhoun, Tennessee, USA. The main reason for the introduction of the new units was that Bowater wants to switch to an elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching sequence at the 977,000 ton/yr mill.