MERS by Maflex: energy regeneration applied to the Tissue Industry
An innovative system that transforms energy waste into a resource, bringing efficiency and sustainability to tissue converting lines.
Valmet to deliver wood handling line to The Price Companies to secure reliable, high-quality wood chip supply
Valmet will deliver a new wood handling line to The Price Companies in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA. The investment will increase chipping capacity and support an efficient wood chip supply for pulp and paperboard operations.
Fastmarkets Forest Products Latin America Conference 2026 returns to São Paulo as the key meeting point for deals and supply chain strategy
São Paulo, August 10–12 – two and a half days of market intelligence and senior-level networking
Fibre Excellence: the Commercial Court grants a final three-week extension to the project led by Matthieu Pigasse
No more than three weeks. On 7 July, the Toulouse Commercial Court postponed the examination of the takeover bid for the French market pulp producer Fibre Excellence submitted by Matthieu Pigasse until Monday 27 July, granting a final extension to the paper group, which is in administration. Both factories have been at a standstill since April.
Arbex: a new global leader in tissue and hygiene
Arbex, a new global leader in tissue and hygiene, started operations last week as an independent business and unveileddetails of its brand, leadership team, and company structure. Announced in June 2025 as a $3.4 billion joint venture between Suzano, the world’s largest pulp supplier, and Kimberly-Clark Corporation the new business will manufacture, market and distribute consumer and professional products across more than 70 markets on five continents.
In Pannes (France), 78% of the heat produced at the ICT paper mill will be renewable by 2027 thanks to a biomass boiler facility
Against a backdrop of accelerating industrial decarbonization, ICT is reaching a key milestone at its Pannes facility (Loiret) with the launch of construction on its future biomass boiler plant, designed, financed, and operated by ENGIE. This Thursday, July 2, Johan Lemarchand, Managing Director of ICT, and Benoît Martin, Central-Western Director of Local Energy Infrastructures at ENGIE, in the presence of Mohamed Amjahdi, Regional Director of ADEME Centre-Val de Loire, laid the first stone, marking the official start of the construction site.
TURBAIR® vacuum technology for premium tissue machine in the U.S.
Everllence to supply two RC vacuum blowers for an ultra-premium tissue production machine in the United States
Metsä Group and Qutwo take the next step in advancing AI in the forest industry
Metsä Group and Qutwo, a Finnish AI and quantum technology company, are launching a collaboration aimed at deepening the use of artificial intelligence at Metsä and bringing next-generation AI into the core processes of the forest industry. Next-generation AI refers to solutions that can take into account a broader range of variables and simultaneously optimise complex systems.
40°C on-site: When 3D scanning defies extreme conditions!
Even in stifling heat (40°C outside and an overheated production hall inside), scanning doesn't stop. Our teams were recently at the Papeterie Le Bourray mill near Le Mans, France, to scan a machine for MECABRIDE.
Valmet’s new technology introduces a new type of tissue that has fabric-like strength and softness
Valmet launches new Valmet Advantage NTTe technology that enables the production of a completely new type of tissue paper with exceptional softness and a distinctive textured appearance. The technology, introduced for the first time at Valmet’s Tissue Making Days in Karlstad, Sweden on June 24, 2026, offers tissue manufacturers the ability to produce premium tissue paper that has the look and feel of fabric.
Water consumption for cleaning forming fabrics 90% reduced with FabriCare
The IBS Paper Performance Group, technology leader in paper machine optimization, has successfully started up two FabriCare ultra-high-pressure cleaning systems at a customer site in Germany. Thanks to the FabriCare systems, water consumption for cleaning the forming fabrics on a gap former machine was reduced from 330 l/min to just 32 l/min - a significant reduction of more than 90%.
Lisbon to host Tissue World for the first time in 2027
Tissue World, the global tissue industry's premier event, will make its highly anticipated debut in Portugal's vibrant capital from 7-9 April 2027 at Feira Internacional Lisboa.
Fibre Excellence: the management team withdraws its bid to facilitate a new plan to revive the sites
Another turn of events. Following Matthieu Pigasse’s expression of interest (letter of intent) regarding the takeover of Fibre Excellence, the French producer of market pulp (FE; see our news last 18 June), on 22 June, in a press release, Jean-François Guillot, chairman of FE (photo), announced the withdrawal of the bid he had put forward alongside the management team, in light of “the doubts raised by the Minister for Industry and various stakeholders regarding the governance of the bid.” The Toulouse Commercial Court is due to rule on this case on 6 July.
Tero Kokko to assume the position of President & CEO Voith Paper effective next October 1
Andreas Endters has informed the shareholders and Group management of his decision to leave Voith at the end of the current fiscal year. This request has been accepted. Effective next October 1, 2026, Tero Kokko (photo) will join the Corporate Board of Management of Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA and, as President & CEO of Voith Paper, will assume responsibility for the Group Division.
Fibre Excellence: Matthieu Pigasse is the investor interested in Fibre Excellence
According to the regional and national press (La Marseille, Les Echos, Libération, etc.), the investment banker and media businessman Matthieu Pigasse has submitted the letter of intent with a view to supporting the takeover bid led by the company’s management (see our news dated June 17). Other investors may yet come forward to bolster this bid. In any event, hopes are being revived for a possible takeover of the company, even though many uncertainties remain to be resolved, such as the amount of funding required or the government’s fulfilment of the conditions precedent to the management’s bid (electricity purchase price, timber price, etc.). The hearing at the Toulouse Commercial Court has been postponed until 6 July.
Fibre Excellence: Toulouse Commercial Court postpones hearing to July 6 to solidify takeover plan with “a new, renowned French investor”
The Toulouse Commercial Court has decided to postpone the hearing scheduled today June 17 to July 6. Here is the press release received from Fibre Excellence:
KPMG report: EUR 3.4 billion in value added to Finland – Metsä Group’s impact extends across the domestic economy
Metsä Group’s impact on the Finnish economy is significant: the company’s value-added impact amounts to approximately EUR 3.4 billion per year, and its operations employ more than 30,000 people in Finland. The figures are based on an assessment by KPMG Oy Ab of Metsä’s economic impact in 2023–2025.
Fibre Excellence: Management Team Indicates It Is "Awaiting the State's Response to Its Proposals to Save the French Paper Industry"
Time is running out. When questioned by MPs during this week’s Question Time, the French Minister for Industry, Sébastien Martin, expressed his regret at the absence of “an industrial investor” in the sole bid to take over Fibre Excellence (FE). This bid is being led by the current management team, headed by Jean-François Guillot. In a Press Release received this Friday, June 12, and which we are publishing in full, FE outlines its perspective on the situation. The Toulouse Commercial Court is scheduled to rule on the site's future on June 17.
SCA updates MTN programme and publishes prospectus
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA (publ) on May 8, 2018 established a Medium Term Note program (MTN) with a loan framework amounting to SEK 8 billion. In connection with the annual update in 2026, SCA’s Board of Directors has resolved to increase the borrowing limit from SEK 8 billion to SEK 12 billion to ensure flexibility and diversification in the financing.
Reduced logging delivers limited climate benefits at high cost
Proposals to reduce forestry activity and increase protected forest areas have become an important part of the European forestry debate. However, according to a new impact assessment, such measures risk leading to lower production, tens of thousands of lost jobs, and higher societal costs – without delivering any climate benefits.
ABTCP 2026 places bioeconomy at the center of the pulp and paper industry’s strategy
ABTCP (Brazilian Pulp and Paper Technical Association) in partnership with IPEF (Institute for ForestResearch and Studies), and TAPPI (Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry), will host ABTCP 2026 – 58th Pulp and Paper International Congress and Exhibition, from October 6 to 8 in São Paulo, at the Transamerica Expo Center.
Next-generation Valmet DNAe DCS to strengthen gas boiler operations at Lenzing in Austria
Valmet’s long-time customer Lenzing AG, an Austrian global leader in dissolving wood pulp and regenerated cellulose fibers, is upgrading their Lenzing production site by incorporating a complete Valmet DNAe Distributed Control System (DCS) to the 1K6 gas boiler. The new system will replace an obsolete third-party system, enabling state-of-the-art DNAe technology with long-term availability, highest cybersecurity standards, improved reliability, and future-ready platform capabilities. As a mission-critical solution, it ensures continued safe, secure, and high-performance plant operations.
Valmet’s flexible optimization suite accelerates process performance
Valmet introduces the Valmet DNAe Optimization Suite, a scalable software suite of optimization applications designed to improve plant performance and operational efficiency. It can be delivered to process plants using control systems supplied by Valmet as well as those from other providers.
1.44 GWh in energy savings with FabriCare
The IBS Paper Performance Group, technology leader in paper machine optimization, has successfully started up a traversing FabriCare ultra-high-pressure cleaning system on a packaging paper machine. Following a comprehensive audit of the vacuum systems, the existing standard wire suction system was replaced with FabriCare. This measure eliminated the need for a 180 kW vacuum pump entirely, including the associated maintenance and spare part costs. The result: enormous energy savings of 1.44 GWh per year - while maintaining or even improving product quality and a return on investment in just a few months.