BOSTON, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi Fine Paper
North America today announced the most recent completion of a
series of coated paper capital investment projects during its 2013
fiscal year, a significant move by the company to maintain and
strengthen its leadership position and take advantage of growth
opportunities in the coated paper market. While ongoing investment
to keep paper production globally competitive has generally reduced
in the marketplace, Sappi's commitment to excellence in high
quality coated paper manufacturing continues to remain a top
priority. These strategic investments allow Sappi to more
efficiently manufacture its full grade and basis weight range of
product with unmatched quality and flexibility into the future.
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Cloquet Mill Investments
The Cloquet Mill in
Cloquet, Minnesota, has completed
a $19M investment in its coated
papermaking operations which includes a dry fiber handling system
as well as new refiners and former upgrade on PM4. The former
rebuild implemented on PM4 allows for all grades and weights to be
manufactured with the technical capability of using dry fiber to
produce the same base sheet formation and quality as slush fiber.
Extensive trials have been conducted by Sappi for both sheet and
web products to guarantee the quality and repeatability of product
made with dry fiber meets the high standards that customers have
come to expect from Sappi paper.
These coated paper investments are a part of the $170M capital
investment project currently in progress at the Cloquet Mill that
will convert the kraft pulp mill to production of dissolving pulp
used in the textile and consumer goods markets, improving site
profitability at Cloquet and
ensuring global cost competitiveness.
All paper produced at Cloquet
carry both a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) and
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®) chain of custody
certification. The Cloquet Mill also continues to have one of the
lowest carbon footprints in the industry with over 85% renewable
energy.
"We remain deeply committed to the coated paper market as well
as to surpassing the expectations of our customers," said
Rick Dwyer, Managing Director,
Cloquet, Sappi Fine Paper North
America. "Our investments in the production of high-end paper will
allow Sappi to serve this market into the foreseeable future and
enable more agility and efficiency within our papermaking process.
We are making this strong commitment on the paper side of the
business to ensure that quality paper continues to prove its value
in publishing and advertising, especially when used strategically
with digital counterparts."
Somerset Mill Investments
At Sappi's Somerset Mill, in
Skowhegan, Maine the rebuild of
PM3 was completed successfully in October
2012. The $13M investment to
upgrade coated paper manufacturing surpassed speed, production, and
variable cost goals while achieving all of the formation and
quality improvements outlined in the project plan. The implemented
improvements on PM3 now allow for the production of a broader range
of products on this machine. Sappi expects to see long- term
benefits as a result of this project in the form of chemical and
fiber savings as well as increased paper production.
Enhancements to Product Labels
As illustrated by
Sappi's recent North American infrastructure investments, the
company takes great pride in producing products in the United States and is pleased to announce
the re-design of product labels to more clearly emphasize Sappi's
support for local production by using the "Made in the USA" logo. Based on expressed interest from a
wide variety of customers, this element was included during a label
redesign improvement project that also aims to provide customers
with a more organized way of displaying product information on
labels. The new look features a cleaner design with bold, easy-
to-read typefaces, and is now available on most products with the
balance by the end of the year.
Capital Investments Across Business Sectors
In
addition to Sappi's capital projects in the coated business and the
Cloquet pulp mill conversion to
dissolving pulp, the company also recently announced a $2.5M capital project at the Westbrook Mill to
re-build the speciality coater in the Release sector. These
strategic investments represent Sappi's strong track record of
innovation and long-term growth across its business sectors.
About Sappi Fine Paper North America
Sappi Fine Paper
North America, known for innovation and quality, is a preeminent
North American producer of coated fine and release papers and
market pulp headquartered in Boston,
Massachusetts. Its coated fine papers, with highly
recognized brand names such as McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are used in premium
magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. The
company is also the world's leading supplier of release papers for
the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries, including
the globally recognized Ultracast brand. Sappi's release papers
provide the surface aesthetics for synthetic fabrics used in
footwear, clothing, upholstery and accessories, as well as the
textures for decorative laminates found in kitchens, baths,
flooring and other decorative surfaces. An integrated pulp and
paper producer, with state-of-the-art pulp mills, Sappi is the
third largest seller of hardwood pulp in North America.
Sappi Fine Paper North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited
(NYSE, JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with over 14,000
employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven
countries and customers in over 100 countries around the world.
Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com/na.
SOURCE Sappi Fine Paper North America