By Mark Rushton, Editor, PPI magazine, Graeme Rodden, Executive Editor, PPI magazine, Annie Zhu, Features Editor, PPI magazine, and Rhiannon James-Van Beuningen, Senior Vice President, Media Products, RISI
BRUSSELS,
July 29, 2009
(RISI) -
11. Jouko Karvinen, Stora Enso
Jouko Karvinen has been at the helm of Stora Enso for just over two years now and became the RISI European CEO of the Year in his first year. The company is ranked at number two in the world in terms of sales according to PPI's Top 100 in 2008, which were over $18 billion. Karvinen's first year in power was characterized by a top-to-bottom shake up of the company which went from the removing of management tiers all the way down to the closing of unprofitable mills and dispensing of its merchanting division, Papyrus. His second year in power has seen a more gentle strategic approach, most notably with the increasing of the company's interests in Latin America, something Karvinen stated as a plan at the onset of his appointment. Stora Enso jointly with Aracuco has recently signed an agreement with Spanish producer Grupo ENCE for the acquisition of 130,000 ha of plantations in Uruguay.
12. Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, Norske Skog
The CEO of Norske Skog is on the list mainly because he made our own headline news earlier this year when he was awarded the prestigious RISI European CEO of the Year title. According to the financial analysts we spoke to, Rynning-Tønnesen has done a "fantastic" and "tremendous" job in transforming Norske Skog's finances, leaving it in a much more viable position going forward, and all in the space of just 18 months of him being at the post. Rynning-Tønnesen oversaw the two main objectives in transforming the company; increasing operational profitability and reducing the debt, both of which were achieved. He joined the company in 2005 as CFO and became CEO in 2006. Norske Skog is ranked at no. 21 in the RISI Top 100 with sales of around $4.5 billion.
13. Raymond Lee, Lee & Man Paper
Raymond Lee is the dynamic CEO and founder of Lee & Man Paper, China's second largest containerboard producer. Similar to other big players in the containerboard market, Lee & Man Paper's fast development has halted since late 2008. Lee & Man Paper sold its two wholly-owned Colorado-based subsidiaries, which own the US pulp producer Evergreen Pulp, in October 2008.
In addition, the startup of the company's greenfield mill in Hau Giang province in Vietnam will be pushed back one year from 2009 to the second half of 2010. Lee is primarily in charge of corporate planning, investment projects and acquisition of heavy production machines for the group. With more than 10 years of operational experience in paper manufacturing and product development, he has won a number of coveted entrepreneurial awards including the 2002 Young Industrialist Award of Hong Kong and the 2003 Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons Selection. Lee & Man was founded by Patrick Lee, Raymond Lee's dad. An orphan who moved from China to Hong Kong at a young age, Lee started out as an exporter of handbags before founding Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing in 1994.
14. Jussi Pesonen, UPM
Former RISI European CEO of the year, Pesonen sits at the head of one of the largest and most innovative paper companies globally. But because of its sheer size and diversity, the Finn has had to become something of a multi-talented multi-tasker, especially as the global downturn kicked in over the last year, and the company has seen constant phases of restructuring. Pesonen recently commented: "During the last three years UPM has restructured significantly and renewed the operating mode of the whole company. We now have an efficient portfolio of assets and a fit-for-purpose organization that works well in the current environment of slow growth."
UPM was ranked fifth globally in the PPI Top 100 list 2008, with sales of an estimated $11 billion.
15. Antonio Maciel Neto, Suzano
Suzano, the Latin American pulp and paper producer, has become a giant among giants in the pulp and paper world over the last few years, both by acquisition and by organic growth. The acquisitions came in the shape of the buying of 50% of Ripasa, a producer of pulp, printing and writing, and speciality paper and board, and the 100% acquisition of Embu paperboard plant. The organic growth comes in the shape of the startup of one of the world's largest single pulp lines at Mucuri. Altogether the company now has the capacity to produce 2.5 million tonnes/yr of pulp, and 1.15 million tonnes/yr of paper. Maciel Neto now heads up a company that is one of the world's 10 largest producers of market pulp, and the second largest producer of eucalyptus market pulp with a turnover exceeding $1.75 billion.
16. Yoshio Haga, Nippon Paper
Yoshio Haga has been serving as president and representative director of Nippon Paper Group since June 2008. The Nippon Paper Group has grown steadily since it was founded in March 2001 with the merger of Nippon Paper Industries and Daishowa Paper Manufacturing, but was affected heavily by the world financial crisis last year.
To cope with the sluggish demand, Nippon intends to further slash its annual capacity by a total of 575,000 tonnes, comprising mostly printing/writing and kraft papers. It will close 11 paper machines and three coaters, as well as one containerboard machine, at various sites by the end of September. Nippon Paper's Group's Vision 2015 is to achieve sustainable growth in corporate value and to become one of the top five pulp and paper companies worldwide by 2015, according to the company's official website.
Nippon is also looking to strengthen its operations overseas, including in Australasia, other Asian markets, North America and Europe.
The group is keen to gain a foothold in the Australasian market via the acquisition of PaperlinX's manufacturing arm, Australian Paper. The group has already formed alliances with Taiwan's largest producer Yuen Foong Yu Paper Manufacturing and Thailand's SCG Paper. The link-ups are aimed at exploring new business opportunities, as well as technical and sales tie-ups, to strengthen the producers' positions in Asian markets.
17. Tom Park, PaperlinX
Australian company PaperlinX, led by CEO Tom Park, has carved a dedicated niche for itself in merchanting worldwide, and in fact describes itself as "the world's leading paper merchant". It has operations in 27 countries including Europe, the US and Asia, and it became even more dedicated to merchanting recently when it sold off its manufacturing arm Australian Paper to Japanese giant Nippon Paper for around $500 million. It still has two manufacturing facilities in Tasmania, which could also be for sale in the near future. PaperlinX ranked at no. 14 in the latest RISI Top 100 with sales of around $6.4 billion. Park was appointed to the position of managing director and CEO in early 2004.
18. Brian McDonald, Ilim Group
Before the downturn, Russia was hot news in the industry as it set itself the task of becoming one of the leading country players in pulp and paper. One of the largest operations there is the Ilim Group, a joint venture between Russian company Ilim, and International Paper. Brian McDonald is deputy CEO of Ilim Group and managing director of the Ilim East business unit, which is in a prime position to exploit untapped recourses in the east of the country, which could well see itself becoming one of the largest suppliers of pulp to China, just across the border from its Brask and Ust-Ilimsk sites. McDonald said in a recent interview with PPI: "We plan to build 270 km of roads as part of an investment plan that has been given priority status by the regional government." The Ilim Group has also stated that in the future it will "supply one in every four container boxes and one in every four sheets of office paper in Russia by 2012".
19. Martyn Eustace, Two Sides
Eustace heads up the recently launched "Two Sides" campaign in Europe, which has the strap line "Paper has a great environmental story to tell". The coordinated campaign has set out to destroy myths such as papermaking destroys forests, that it is bad for the environment and that the making of it consumes vast amounts of energy. The campaign is having some success, and a number of large paper makers in Europe have jumped on board the campaign as well as a number of printing supply companies.
Eustace is a seasoned paper industry professional with 30 years' service in merchanting in the UK with companies including Howard Smith Paper, now part of the PaperlinX Group, where he held the position of CEO and Premier Paper Group, where he was responsible for leading a management team who conducted a highly successful business recovery and turnaround.
20. Matías Domeyko, Arauco
With six mills, five in Chile and one in Argentina, Arauco can produce almost three million tonnes/yr of pulp, making president and CEO Domeyko the head of one of the world's largest producers. And, the company has just announced plans to purchase most of ENCE's assets in Uruguay in a joint venture with Stora Enso. The purchase includes 130,000 ha of plantation land, port and barge terminal. It is the first step in the construction of a 1.5-million tonne/yr market pulp mill in Uruguay, the exact location of which will be decided in 2010. It is expected that Arauco and Stora Enso will each control 50% of the new entity. Despite some negative publicity over its Valdivia mill a few years back, a recent survey by an American consultant showed that the company is strongly regarded as environmentally and socially responsible by its customers.
RISI Power List 2009: Introduction
RISI Power List 2009: 1-10
RISI Power List 2009: 21-30
RISI Power List 2009: 31-40
RISI Power List 2009: 41-50