FINANCIAL…
FINANCIAL
DIFFICULT TIMES BUT GOOD START FOR VOITH
HEIDENHEIM, GERMANY — Voith announced that the business year started in good shape for the company, but last year was tough.
Compared to the previous year, orders received in 2002/2003 rose by 2.8% to just under Euro 3.3 billion.
In the business year 2002/ 2003 just ended, Voith was still paying tribute to a worldwide difficult economic climate. With Euro 3.1 billion, group sales were 5.5% below the value of the previous year, due to economic and monetary reasons.
The annual surplus declined correspondingly to Euro 82 million (previous year Euro 88 million).
CHEMICALS
CHILE STARTS UP
SANTIAGO,CHILE — Eka Chile S.A, has successfully started its 35,000 tonnes per year chlorate expansion in Talcahuano, Chile, bringing the total capacity to 85,000 tonnes pa. The plant is designed for future expansions to 125,000 tonnes pa by addition of electrolysis capacity. The company is positioning itself as a very cost competitive supplier for the new pulp mills that are coming on stream in Chile.
SHEETERS
KORBER INSTALLS SHEETER AT TROJAN LITHO
WINDSOR, CT– Krber PaperLink North America announced that Trojan Litho, Renton, WA, has installed a new high speed, precision SHM 1450 Dual Rotary sheeter to improve quality and reduce waste for its paperboard packaging and commercial fine papers operations.
POLYMERS
FREE GUIDE AVAILABLE
CANTON, MA — A new selector guide available free from Interpolymer Corp. helps formulators choose the right polymer or polymer group for their application. The 8-page book highlights Interpolymer’s comprehensive product line of patented Syntran and Megatran polymers.
The guide displays Interpolymer’s products under the three market categories where they excel: Surface Care, Consumer Specialties, and Industrial Specialties. Within this framework, polymers are grouped by the applications in which they improve end-product performance or appearance. A table in each group rates each specialized polymer on the basis of performance characteristics (adhesion, gloss, water resistance, stain resistance, durability, etc.), basic chemical properties (pH, MFT, solids percentage, etc.), and end-use characteristics each polymer provides to a formulation.
BINDERS AND THICKENERS
BASF INCREASES PRICES
CHARLOTTE, NC– Effective April 1, 2004, or as contracts allow, BASF will raise prices in the United States and Canada on binders and thickeners supplied to the paper and paperboard industries. Styronal styrene butadiene, Basonal multi-monomer and Acronal styrene acrylic coating binders prices will increase by $0.02 per dry pound. Sterocoll thickeners prices will increase by $0.025 per wet pound.
The company stated that these increases are due to higher raw material, energy and transportation costs.
CONTRACTS
GRAZ, AUSTRIA — Austrian technology group Andritz has received an order to supply a CrescentFormer tissue machine to Hengan Holding Co., Ltd., a tissue products manufacturer in China.
The new machine will be the third consecutive installation of an Andritz tissue line for Hengan. It will be erected at a greenfield site in Weifang City, Shandong Province. Start-up is planned for the third quarter of 2005.
HELSINKI, FINLAND — M-real Corporation has selected Metso Paper to supply equipment for BCTMP pulping and a baling line at their new BCTMP plant in Kaskinen, Finland. The start-up is scheduled for August 2005.
FOXBORO, MA — The Avantis unit of Invensys plc today announced that Green Bay Packaging, Inc., will deploy the Avantis Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solution to improve equipment performance and inventory control, and reduce overall operating expenses. Green Bay Packaging officials expect that the installation will pay for itself within six months, while setting the stage for long-term enterprise efficiency.
COLUMBUS, OH — Stora Enso North America has licensed ABB’s Industrial IT Production Planning and Optimization solution for three of Stora Enso North Americas magazine paper mills. This multi-mill planning and optimization solution will be in use in Stora Enso’s Biron, Whiting and Niagara paper mills in Wisconsin.
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