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FINLAND Neste Chemicals has joined forces with Chemec to form a new company called CN Paper Chemicals. The company will focus on synthetic alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) production and surface sizing technologies. Neste is a Finland-based specialty chemical producer. The company produces and supplies paper sizing agents for the central and Eastern European markets through its Austrian subsidiary, Krems Chemie. Chemec represents chemical companies in the Nordic region, as well as selling its own products. The partnership planned to start up a new ASA production line at the Krems Chemie site in Austria last month.
FINLAND Stora Enso's coreboard subsidiary, Corenso, has acquired several tube plants in the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. The company has taken over Huhtamäki Van Leer's plant in Edam, the Netherlands, which specializes in manufacturing tubes for household foil, fax paper and cash register rolls. Corenso also bought the Dutch company's plant in Säffle, Sweden, which produces heavy-duty cores for the paper and board industries. In Spain, Corenso acquired a 14% stake in the Spanish tube producer, Alpesa, which has plants in Valencia and Córdoba.
FRANCE Rhodia and Raisio Chemicals have formed a joint venture to produce and market latex for the paper industry. The 50:50 partnership will be the world's second largest latex supplier for the paper industry, claims Rhodia. Raisio has a long-established presence in the Nordic countries, while Rhodia's customer base covers western and southern Europe. The joint venture expects to start operations by the middle of this year, after a final agreement is signed.
FRANCE Thermo Fibertek of the USA has rationalized its activities in the European stock preparation sector. Since 1 March, the company has operated as a single legal entity in France under the name of E&M Lamort. The company is headquartered in Vitry-le-François, where Lamort and Black Clawson stock preparation equipment is manufactured. Thermo Fibertek plans to incorporate another French subsidiary, the Thermo Black Clawson company at Mérignac, into E&M Lamort. Thermo Black Clawson in the UK also became a subsidiary of E&M Lamort at the beginning of this year.
GERMANY The publishing company, Axel Springer, has ordered an automatic roll-handling system from Lamb for its plant in Ahrensburg, near Hamburg. The system is designed to handle rolls from 800-1,600 mm wide, up to a maximum weight of 2 tons. The rolls will be transported vertically to the warehouse or the automatic roll deheading/sleeving station. The order also encompasses a truck docking point, conveyors mounted on scissor lifts and turn conveyors, as well as a Simatic S7-300 control system. Startup of the new roll-handling system is penciled in for the third quarter of 2000.
GERMANY Zanders Feinpapiere and International Papers Papeteries du Souche of France have pooled their sales and marketing know-how under the umbrella Chromolux & Souche. As a result of the deal, the partnership will be able to offer a wider product range to its customers. The collaboration is part of Zanders Feinpapiere and International Paper's strategy to combine complementary businesses and create synergies within the group. International Paper is the majority shareholder in the German fine, specialty and printing/writing paper producer.
GERMANY Sappi will exhibit its range of coated fine papers at Print City, a one-stop shopping hub for the graphics arts industry at Drupa 2000. This will be company's first visit to the print fair which kicks off in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 18 May and runs until the end of the month. Sappi will be one of 64 suppliers to the printing and design industry exhibiting at Print City. The South African producer will set out its stall alongside ink suppliers, printing press manufacturers and finishing equipment producers. The company also plans to exhibit the winning entries of its Millennium Sappi European Printer of the Year Awards. The winners will be announced on 17 May.
ITALY Ascoli Paper has ordered a Honeywell-Measurex paper machine automation system for its mill in central Italy. The automation system is part of an upgrade of the unit's PM and off-machine coater scheduled for completion in October of this year. The order comprises a TotalPlant Alcont system that will control stock preparation, the dilution headbox and the coating kitchen, as well as a Proflow control actuator for basis weight control.
NETHERLANDS Hallmark Card's Dutch subsidiary has chosen Stora Enso as its principal card material supplier. The greetings card company chose the Ensocoat solid bleached sulfate (SBS) board grade based on its brightness, gloss and stiffness properties. Stora Enso's high level of service was also a deciding factor for Hallmark. The two companies will also carry out product development into areas such as board grades suitable for digital printing.
SWEDEN Opticom International Research has released a new survey tracking coated woodfree paper grades. The survey shows huge differences in printer's brand recognition across Europe. While printers in the Netherlands chose the Hello grade as their favorite coated woodfree, Profistar scored highest in Germany. French printers favored Périgord, but in neighboring Belgium, MediaPrint was the most popular coated woodfree grade. Maineclub showed the strongest results in the UK, while Italian printers picked out Gardamatt. Profistar, MediaPrint, Black Label, Magno, Silverblade and Gardamatt all scored highly against quality-related criteria.
USA Procter & Gamble (P&G) is to expand its tissue and converting capacity in the USA with the addition of two new paper machines at its Mehoopany plant in Pennsylvania. The first machine will increase the site's capacity by 75,000 tons/yr when it starts up in the middle of 2001. The startup date for the second machine is still to be decided. P&G chose to invest at the Mehoopany site as it offers good infrastructure and distribution links. The company decided to expand following a 30% growth in its tissue and towel businesses in the USA over the last five years.
Hallmark greets new card supplier
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