Packaging Corporation of America will close its full-line converting plant in Middletown, Ohio, on Dec. 1. About 91 jobs are affected. The work will move to larger plants, including PCA's new US$275M, 556,000 sq ft plant in Newark, Ohio, which opened in August (PaperAge)
Fedrigoni CEO and board chairman Marco Nespolo stepped down on Oct. 6 after almost eight years. Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG from 2008 to 2020 and more recently a senior adviser to Apollo, became executive chairman the same day (EUWID)
Sappi Europe will raise prices on its whole paper board portfolio by €89/t for new orders and deliveries from Nov. 1, citing ongoing cost pressures (PULPAPERnews)
Francesca Stevens became director general of Cepi on Sept. 28. She takes over from Jori Ringman, who had led the association since 2019, and was previously secretary general of the packaging body Europen (EUWID)
Forestry & Timber
The FAO's State of the World's Forests 2026 says natural forests alone are unlikely to meet global wood demand, which it expects to rise by about one-third by 2050. It estimates that 20–40M more hectares of productive forest may be needed. Production forests shrank by 29.8M ha between 1990 and 2025, while planted forests grew to 312M ha (Wood Central)
U.S. lumber futures hit a two-year low of about US$526–530/mbf on Oct. 5. That is down roughly 20% from the July wildfire peak of about $650 and 14.5% from a year ago, as mortgage rates near 7.3% hold back housing (Global Wood Markets Info, Wood Central)
Canadian lumber output fell 6.7% year on year in July to 3.55M m³, and shipments fell 7.8%. First-half exports dropped 12% to 13.2M m³, and five Canadian mills have closed in 2026. Most producers face combined U.S. duties of 45.16% (Fordaq, Wood Central)
Carlyle has hired Houlihan Lokey to look at ways to exit Spanish plywood maker Garnica, which could lead to a sale (Global Wood Markets Info)
About 400 people joined an Elders for Ancient Trees rally at the B.C. Legislature on Oct. 4, timed to the return of MLAs. They called for old-growth logging deferrals, an end to clear-cutting and an end to raw log exports. Organizers say it is the first of a series of rallies (CBC News, Tree Frog)
Co-generation at Mills
ND Paper's Biron, Wisconsin mill has finished a set of energy projects with Focus on Energy. They include heat recovery from dryer-hood exhaust, new refiners and better turbine operation. The mill now generates extra electricity equal to the annual use of 1,800+ U.S. homes and burns less natural gas. Four more efficiency projects are underway (PULPAPERnews)
Industry Technology Vendors
Toscotec — Will supply an AHEAD 2.2 tissue machine (PM2) for GrandBay Group's Blue Tissue mill in Apizaco, Mexico. The turnkey line is 2,750 mm wide, makes up to 30,000 t/yr and is fully electrified, with startup in H1 2027. It is Toscotec's third installation for GrandBay in five years (PULPAPERnews)
Bellmer — Is buying Rolotipo, a São Paulo company founded in 1971 that provides roll covers, roll grinding, balancing and mechanical services to pulp and paper mills. Terms were not disclosed, and closing is expected in early 2027 (PaperAge)
ABB — Will show its Pressductor web-tension measurement, UviTec BOD/COD wastewater analyzers and the combined L&W Freeness and Fiber Online system at MIAC in Lucca, Italy, Oct. 7–9 (stand C3) (PULPAPERnews)
