Paper

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McKinley Paper acquires US Corrugated

McKinley Paper Co., a subsidiary of Mexico-based Bio Pappel, has acquired U.S. Corrugated Inc., Washington, Pennsylvania, and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. U.S. Corrugated is an independent producer of corrugated packaging.

Combining U.S. Corrugated with McKinley Paper’s business will help to create a fully integrated paper and packaging company with a vertically aligned network of paper mills, box plants, sheet plants and a distribution network in the United States and maquiladora region in Mexico, U.S. Corrugated says in a news release announcing the acquisition.

McKinley Paper operates a paper mill in Prewitt, New Mexico, and one in Washington state.

U.S. Corrugated is part of a fully integrated packaging company with a network of corrugated industrial Alpha-Box Plants in Southern California, Georgia and Indiana. The organization also includes an Alpha-Box Plant in Mexicali, Mexico, and a full-service sheet plant in Tijuana, Mexico, near the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The personal and professional relationship I have enjoyed over the past 25 years with Bio Pappel’s CEO Miguel Rincón and his family served as the impetus for this strategic alliance, which will allow U.S. Corrugated to become a fully integrated paper and packaging company,” says U.S. Corrugated founder Dennis Mehiel.

“This strategic acquisition allows Bio Pappel to expand its international footprint by doubling the size of its current operations in the USA to achieve an outstanding integration into higher value-added products and to substantially increase the geographic reach of its operation in [the] U.S.,” says Ignacio Rincón, Bio Pappel vice president.

Indonesia to use ISRI specifications for recovered paper imports

The Indonesian government has announced that it plans to use Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) specifications for recovered paper imports, according to a news release from the Washington-based trade association.

In May, the Indonesian government imposed new regulations on imports of recovered paper in an effort to crack down on illegal shipments. They included a 0.5 percent contamination limit and preshipment inspections on all shipments, according to ISRI. Also, shipments entering Indonesia needed to be “clean, dry and homogeneous,” under the new regulations, which led to much confusion in the recovered paper industry, ISRI says, as little clarity was provided on what “homogeneous” meant.

However, ISRI’s specifications for recovered paper set a standard of 1 percent to 2 percent for prohibitives and 3 percent to 4 percent for outthrows. Malaysia also is using the specifications to define its use of the word “homogeneous,” ISRI reports. Indonesia’s use of ISRI specifications will offer more clarity in the nation’s regulation, the association adds.

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DS Smith expands in North America

London-based DS Smith, a packaging provider, has announced plans to further expand in North America by opening its new headquarters in Atlanta. The firm’s growth in the North American market follows DS Smith’s acquisitions of Interstate Resources, Corrugated Container Corp. and The Display Connection recently.

The new headquarters is in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta and will house more than 50 employees in DS Smith’s sales, marketing, finance, legal and technical departments.

“We’ve always thrived on finding innovative ways to help customers achieve more for less—sell more, reduce costs, manage risk and complexity in their supply chain,” says Miles Roberts, global CEO of DS Smith. “For years, we’ve helped companies across industries—from pharma and consumer packaged goods to retail and e-commerce—to redefine packaging across the world, and this expansion marks a key milestone in our journey to bring our innovative business model to the U.S.”

“We see a major opportunity to redefine packaging for the U.S. using our closed loop system and heritage as a leading innovator in Europe. Our new Atlanta headquarters will help us with that effort,” says James Morgan, president and CEO of DS Smith North America. “Atlanta is a global hub of activity for the packaging industry, and we’re excited to bring competitive, challenging career opportunities to this particular market while having access to some of the country’s top talent.”

DS Smith also broke ground in January on a greenfield facility in Lebanon, Indiana.

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Port Townsend Paper to increase OCC intake

The Port Townsend Paper Corp., Port Townsend, Washington, says it plans to increase its intake of recycled cardboard with the installation of a new pulper. The company also has announced plans to reduce its consumption of freshwater by roughly 1 million gallons per day.

Kevin Scott, Port Townsend Paper general manager, says the mill currently consumes about 40 percent recycled fiber. With the upgrade, it will be able to consume an average of 60 percent recycled fiber. Additionally, he says the mill’s old corrugated container (OCC) processing capacity will increase from 400 tons to 800 tons.

Scott says the mill will complete installation of the new pulper at the end of October during its annual maintenance outage.

“Recycled fiber is available,” Scott says. “It’s a good, quality fiber. It’s lower cost than virgin fiber. By modifying the pulper to run continuously and with improved cleaning systems, it allows us to increase capacity. It will decrease our mill’s water use because it won’t need cooling. It also will be adding about four jobs to support increased capacity.”

Port Townsend Paper Corp. primarily produces containerboard for domestic use and unbleached kraft pulp that’s typically exported to Asia.

Scott says the mill buys much of its recovered fiber from the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver, British Columbia.