Russian timber industry news #19-2016

– Arkhangelsk pulp and paper mill and the Finnish Valmet Corporation have signed a contract worth €50 million to supply equipment for upgrading the board machine No. 2. This is the main part of the second phase of the pulpmill’s priority investment project. Replacement of obsolete equipment with the OptiConcept M line will reduce the environmental impact and improve the quality of cardboard, which will serve as raw material for corrugated products at the two Moscow region sites of Arkhbum and virgin-fibre tissue at Kiev cardboard and paper mill.

– In the village of Karpogory, Arkhangelsk region, a 9 MW biofuel boiler has opened, which will provide heat and hot water to residents of the major part of the community. The start of the new heating plant will allow to close old coal-fired boilers.

– Altai-Forest company has launched the production of rounded products from small-diameter logs on the Austrian-made Oswald line with the capacity of 30 m3 of finished products per shift.

– Mondi Group has signed an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in the Russian company Bipak, Vedomosti business paper reported. The company produces corrugated cardboard and packaging for food and agricultural products, beverages, dairy products, fruits and vegetables for the range of Russian and international clients. The company is located in the town of Lebedyan in Lipetsk region and is owned by the entrepreneur Olga Belyavceva, the co-owner of Progress Capital, which produces juice and baby food under the brand Frutonyanya, famous in Russia. Bipak produced about 180 million m2 of corrugated packaging in 2015, and it is a middle-sized manufacturer in the scale of Russia, as Marketing Director of PTsBK Group (Perm pulpmill) Grigory Gusev says. The transaction value is overstated, and the amount of RUR 1-1.5 billion would be closer to the market price, he noticed. The share of Mondi Group’s main Russian asset, Mondi Syktyvkar pulpmill, on the uncoated containerboard market in the country amounts to 15% following the results of 2015, noted the chief editor of WhatWood agency Kirill Baranov in a comment to Vedomosti. The acquisition of Bipak that supplies part of the consumer packaging for exports will open new markets and increase the added value, said Baranov.

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