AUSTRIA FMW Förderanlagen und Maschinenbau has been selected to supply pulp bale handling systems for Frantschach Pulp & Paper in St Geraud, Austria. The turnkey order includes unit dewiring, unit destacking and single bale dewiring as well as electrical components, erection and startup, which is set for February 2002.

CANADA GL&V Pulp Group has been awarded C$ 4.5 million ($2.9 million) in orders from Asian pulp and paper companies. By January 2002, the company is scheduled to deliver CleanPac cleaners, Fibersavers and CORU-DEX washers to the FuYu Paper mill in the HeiLongJiang province in China. Daio Paper's Mishima mill in Japan is to receive knotters, rejects separators, fine screens and compaction baffle filters.

CANADA The Quebec-based firm NLK Consultants has launched a website detailing its services and providing general company information. The website can be accessed at www.nlkconsultants.com. NLK offers consultancy and market research services to the pulp, paper and industrial sectors.

FINLAND Jaakko Pöyry Consulting has recently published a major multi-client study on the value of production adjustments. The study describes the interaction between order books, production levels, inventories and product prices. The research concluded that the best results are reached if inventory turnover is kept constant.

FINLAND Metso Automation has bought Pulpexpert, a leading designer and supplier of online/laboratory multi-measurement analyzers for the pulp and paper industry. Following the acquisition, Metso Automation's product offering will cover the whole operations chain for online measurements with closed loop control and laboratory backup.

MEXICO Raisio Chemicals has acquired a 100% stake in Raisio Chemicals de Mexico SA de CV. The company acquired the remaining 49% interest in the Mexican company from a joint venture partner, but did not disclose terms of the transaction.

SWEDEN EKA Chemicals, a business unit of Akzo Nobel, is restructuring in an effort to combat increased competition. The company is mainly targeting its bleaching chemical operations in an effort to reduce costs. Eka will lay off 100 workers, the bulk of whom will come from the Swedish sites at Bohus and Alby. The company will also stop production of sodium percarbonate in October, affecting a further 25 employees.

US The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has signed on as a sponsor of the 2002 Paper Summit. The Paper Summit (formerly the TAPPI Show) attracts more than 500 exhibitors and 9,000 attendees and is now owned by Paperloop. It is held every three years in Atlanta. Other major industry associations sponsoring the event are PIMA and TAPPI.

US IMERYS Pigments and Additives group has completed a restructuring initiative at its Georgia kaolin facilities. The move involved shutting down 800,000 tons of paper grade kaolin capacity in Middle Georgia. The majority of tons which were removed were mature hydrous grade volumes that have experienced a decline as the paper industry increases its use of value-added kaolins and carbonates.

US The Lawton Company is to acquire the businesses of Van Tek Inc which are involved in supplying replacement dryers, dryer section rebuilds and new dryer sections to the paper industry in North, Latin and South America. Through the acquisition, Lawton will expand its capabilities of dryer heads and dryer refurbishing to include complete new dryers, dryer section rebuilds and complete new dryer sections.