February 17, 2005

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ASIA PACIFIC RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LTD. (APRIL), Indonesia, issued a statement that it affirms its support to the Indonesian government's drive against illegal logging in the proposed Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau Province, Sumatra. Official reports state that a top-level task force of the Ministry of Forestry apprehended illegal loggers caught with seven Colt Diesel trucks loaded with illegally cut wood from Tesso Nilo on February 4, 2005. However, as the trucks were escorted to Pekanbaru for further action, the contingent was detained by a mass demonstration of about 300 villagers who demanded the return of the trucks and wood. To avoid a possibly violent confrontation, the operatives relented to the villagers. Representatives from the provincial Forestry Department, including a contingent from the army and government forest rangers, jointly conducted the operation in response to an intelligence report of the Regional Military to the Ministry of Forestry.

"This situation clearly underscores the challenge of curbing illegal logging in Riau. APRIL condemns illegal logging as the main cause of forest degradation in Indonesia. We support government's actions to combat illegal logging and we hope there will be more such moves in the near future," states A J Devanesan, President of APRIL. APRIL says it recognizes the social aspect of the problem there, with the communities around Tesso Nilo depending on logging as a source of livelihood.

APRIL's fiber plantation operations generate up to 30 permanent jobs for every 100 hectares planted. The company's Community Development program trains villagers on integrated farming, vocational skills, and entrepreneurship. APRIL also runs a Community Fiber Farm program in partnership with the villagers. WWF Indonesia is calling for the declaration of Tesso Nilo as a National Park, following earlier studies that confirmed the high biodiversity reserve in this forest area. APRIL actively supports this campaign. In 2004, the Indonesian government converted over 30,000 hectares of production forest in Tesso Nilo into a National Park status.

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BESICORP-EMPIRE NEWSPRINT LLC (BENCO), Kingston, New York, USA has asked Weyerhaeuser Corp., Federal Way, Washington to furnish 100% of the fiber required to operate BENCO's Recycled Newsprint Facility being developed in the City of Rensselaer, New York. The facility expects to consume in excess of 400,000 tons per year of recyclable material. The old newspapers (ONP) and old magazines (OMG) will be collected from municipalities and recycling centers primarily in the northeast United States and processed into 100% recycled newsprint. Weyerhaeuser, an integrated forest products company, is one of the largest paper recyclers in the world.

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BOISE CASCADE HOLDINGS L.L.C., Boise, Idaho, USA has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. Boise intends to apply to have its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BCC. The initial public offering is expected to take place later this year. Acting as joint book-running managers of the potential offering are Goldman, Sachs & Co., JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, and Deutsche Bank Securities. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Prospectus Department, 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 or at www.SEC.gov.

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CPBIS and THE INSTITUTE OF PAPER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (IPST) AT GEORGIA TECH, Atlanta, Georgia, USA said the next "Distinguished Lecture Series" (DLS) event will take place on February 25, 2005 from 11:00-12:30 pm EST. George Weyerhaeuser, senior vice president of technology for Weyerhaeuser Co. will speak about "Technology Deployment in the Forest Products Industry." DLS is offered live in the IPST's Kress Auditorium and by live and archived webcast. Visit the DLS web page for more information, or to register for the free webcast.

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THE FINNISH PAPER ENGINEERS' ASSOC. has announced a call for papers. The Fifth Biennial Johan Gullichsen Colloquium on raw materials and processes will convene on November 17, 2005 at the Hotel Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa in Finland. The colloquium is arranged by the Finnish Paper Engineers' Assoc., an organization that encourages and promotes young engineers and scientists. Papers are asked from the following areas: raw materials analysis; process analysis; and product analysis. One-page abstracts should be sent, preferably via email, no later than April 29, 2005. More information is available at www.papereng.fi.

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FITCH, Chicago, Illinois, USA has revised its rating outlook on International Paper (IP) to negative. Fitch currently rates IP as follows: Senior unsecured debt 'BBB'; Commercial paper 'F2'. In aggregate, approximately US$ 15 billion in debt is affected by Fitch's rating action. The outlook revision is based upon IP's still high debt levels and Fitch's concern that IP may not achieve the anticipated benefits of its operating leverage to the uncoated freesheet markets, which are a large driver of the company's cash flow and earnings. The company's net debt position is approximately the same (US$ 12 billion) as it was two years ago, indicating that IP has not made any real progress in improving its capital structure, said Fitch.

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INTERNATIONAL PAPER (IP), Stamford, Connecticut, USA received recognition from Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and the State Department of Natural Resources when the company was named a "2004 Forestry for Wildlife Partner (FWP)" at a recent awards ceremony in Atlanta. Perdue officially named IP a 2004 FWP Partner in recognition of the company's outstanding contributions to Georgia's wildlife and wild places. The award acknowledges IP's excellent stewardship of swallow-tailed kites, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and other wildlife within the company's nearly one million acres of forestland in Georgia.

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KARLSTAD UNIVERISTY (KU), Karlstad, Sweden, said six leading companies from the tissue business have decided to support teaching and research in the tissue area with a new program and a base at KU. The tissue companies are: SCA, Metso Paper Karlstad, Eka Chemicals, Södra Cell, Albany International, and Fabio Perini SpA. The program is being created under the leadership of Professor Holger Hollmark, a recognized expert in the science of tissue making. The Tissue Products and Technology Curriculum (TPTC) will be developed in cooperation with the Paper Technology Department at KU headed by Professor Luciano Beghello.

The TPTC is thought to be a unique example of cooperation within the global tissue business, drawing upon leading resources from academia, the tissue industry and state-of-the-art suppliers. The program has several purposes, with one of the primary aims to build the total competence base and supply of human resources available to the tissue sector. By focusing specifically on tissue in the paper technology curriculum at KU, it is expected that the university will able to attract young people to the tissue business. In addition, thanks to the close cooperation with the industry, graduate students will be able to carry out meaningful and applied projects of direct interest to the tissue business.

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MERCER INTERNATIONAL INC., New York, New York, USA has completed its previously announced acquisition of the Celgar NBSK pulp mill for approximately US$ 210 million, plus an amount for working capital. A portion of the purchase price, US$ 170 million, was paid in cash, and US$ 40 million was paid in Mercer shares issued at a price of US$ 9.50 per share. The acquisition positions Mercer as one of the world's largest publicly traded market producers of NBSK pulp with a consolidated annual NBSK pulp production capacity of approximately 1.3 million metric tons.

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MODERN KARTON SANAYI TICARET AS (MKST), Turkey, a board manufacturer, and Metso Paper, Helsinki, Finland have signed a letter of intent for the delivery of a complete board making line to be installed at MKST's mill in Corlu. The agreement, valued at roughly EUR 80 million (US$ 103.7 million), is subject to the parties coming to final agreement regarding the project's technical details of the project within two months. The letter of intent covers a complete board making line including, in addition to the board machine, water management system, OCC line and winder. The line's annual capacity will be 400,000 metric tons of containerboard grades, using 100% recycled raw material. Machinery will be started up in early 2007.

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NATIONAL GYPSUM CO. (NGC), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA has selected Buckman Laboratories, Memphis, Tennessee as its "Supplier of the Year" for the company's gypsum and paper business units. Buckman earned the award for its work with NGC's Pryor, Oklahoma paper plant. Buckman supplies the Pryor plant with several chemicals used in the paper production process, including: ASA sizing, retention, drainage and formation polymers, biocides, dry strength, and stickies control additives.

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OY METSÄ-BOTNIA AB (Botnia), Metsä, Finland said the environmental authority of Uruguay has granted an environmental permit for Botnia's pulp mill project. Botnia is planning a one million metric ton/yr eucalyptus pulp mill in Uruguay. A final decision on the mill, which will cost US$ 1.1 billion, will be made by Botnia's board of directors. Botnia's owners are UPM, M-real and Metsäliitto.

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THE PULP AND PAPER RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CANADA (Paprican), Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada said its staff and retirees were honored for outstanding achievements recently at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC) held in Montreal:

• Don May received the John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal, PAPTAC's most prestigious award, in recognition of his long-term contributions to the understanding of mechanical pulping during his distinguished career in the industry.
• Laurie Frederick, Joey Kish, and Doug Singbeil, along with their co-authors from other companies, won the I.H. Weldon Award for best overall paper. The winning submission, entitled "Causes and Solutions for Recovery Boiler Primary Air Port Composite Tube Cracking", was presented at the 2004 International Chemical Recovery Conference.
• Jean Hamel received the F.G. Robinson Committee Service Award for his imaginative and productive leadership of PAPTAC'S Paper Machine Technology Committee.
• Thomas Hu, and his co-authors from the University of British Columbia, won the Journal of Pulp and Paper Science Best Paper Award for their paper entitled "Bleaching and Brightness Stabilizing Agents. Part I: Bleaching of Mechanical Pulps".
• Norm Liebergott was awarded Honorary Life Membership in PAPTAC in recognition of his outstanding service to the industry in the area of chemical and mechanical pulp bleaching.
• Ian Pye received a certificate in recognition of his 50 years of service as a member of PAPTAC.

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STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Madison, Wisconsin, USA says that 10 years after Wisconsin established what would become a nationally recognized recycling program, more than 90% of the state's households continue to participate. The strong participation diverts an estimated 1.6 million tons of material from landfills annually, and contributes to the US $5.4 billion environmental industry in Wisconsin that supports 97,000 jobs. Wisconsin's comprehensive recycling program was signed into law on Earth Day, April 22, 1990 and fully implemented in 1995.

Wisconsin's recycling law emphasizes the state's commitment to waste reduction, reuse, and recycling as the preferred ways to manage wastes, rather than disposal, says Cynthia Moore recycling coordinator for the state Department of Natural Resources. In 2004, the recycling program continued its tradition of successful and innovative partnerships and initiatives. Those efforts include:

• Fostering alternatives to landfilling of waste construction and demolition materials, which comprise about 28% of the waste going into Wisconsin's municipal landfills. In 2004, DNR developed streamlined and simplified procedures to ensure that waste construction materials can be reused safely instead of landfilled.
• The DNR Recycling Efficiency Incentive (REI) Grants program, which encourages cooperation among units of government running local recycling programs. In 2004, a total of 77 agencies received these grants, resulting in three mergers of local recycling programs and 23 cooperative agreements among two or more local programs. In 2005, over 150 communities have applied for an efficiency award under the $1.9 million program.
• The Recycling Away From Home effort, which encourages people to recycle as conscientiously when they are away from home as they do while at home. The DNR worked actively with partners like the Department of Tourism, numerous local governments, private companies and nonprofit organizations on large and small projects. At the 2004 Wisconsin State Fair, 16.4 tons of cardboard were recycled compared to only about 2 tons in 2003.
• Working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, DNR provides funds to assist with household mercury collections throughout the state. In 2004, 25 collections were held, 4,028 mercury thermometers were collected and 279 pounds of mercury were collected.

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WEYERHAUESER, Federal Way, Washington, USA, said its employees at St. Helens Tree Farm-North, Longview, Washington have achieved a world-class safety success this month as they tallied more than one million hours without a lost-time injury. The St. Helens team is made up of foresters, engineers, loggers, truck drivers, mechanics, road maintenance crews, construction crews and administrative staff. Ray Arnold, the team leader, came to St. Helens Tree Farm in September of 2000 and has worked for Weyerhaeuser for 32 years. He says, "Safety at our St. Helens tree farm begins with setting clear expectations and making sure we have 'buy-in' from every employee. Then we concentrate on bringing safety to the forefront everyday and on recognizing employees who work safely. This group takes a great deal of pride in making sure the whole team goes home safe and healthy at the end of the day."

BLUE DIAMOND GROWERS, Sacramento, California, recently signed on as a new partner to the 100% Recycled Paperboard Alliance (RPA-100%) in response to requests from consumers for the Nut*Thins® Cracker package be made from recycled material. Nut*Thins crackers contain a mixture of nuts and rice and is the only nut cracker in the market. Product packaging currently consists of a virgin paperboard outer carton, a tray wrapped in foil laminated. Blue Diamond is switching to a recycled carton manufactured by General Converting located in Chicago. Blue Diamond, which is the largest almond processing and marketing company, becomes the 64th company to sign an agreement with RPA-100%. The RPA-100% is a group of companies that are dedicated to encouraging conversions to 100% recycled paperboard for cost savings and environmental benefits.

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GEORGIA-PACIFIC CORP. (G-P), Atlanta, Georgia, USA announced that the first European patent covering features of the enMotion® touchless paper towel dispenser will soon be validated in a number of European countries. G-P's enMotion dispensers, the leading automated dispensers for the away-from-home market, are now being marketed throughout North America and Europe. The European Patent Office recently issued a decision to grant a European patent which designates the following countries in which patent protection will be effective: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, UK, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey.

The technology of enMotion dispensers works by simply moving a hand within the sensor range of the dispenser, which then dispenses a pre-determined sized towel. Because the person never has to touch the dispenser, it significantly decreases chances of cross-contamination and helps improve hygiene in the bathroom. Also, due to the one-at-a-time towel dispensing process and a time-delay setting, the enMotion dispenser discourages over-use of paper supplies and reduces maintenance, towel usage and waste.

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TORRASPAPEL, Barcelona, Spain, part of the Lecta group, is launching a new range of products for the silicone-coated release liner and self-adhesive industries. Called Creaset Release Base Paper (RBP), the new product is a kraft base paper for silicone coating that Torraspapel has designed to meet the needs of the silicone-coated release liner and self-adhesive industries. It is a coated paper designed for siliconizing and for use as the backing of self-adhesives and to protect the adhesive until it is used. The product will work in applications that include: self-adhesive labels and tapes, hygiene-sanitary uses, envelopes, the graphics arts industry, as well as decorative and industrial applications.

The result of the experience and high degree of specialization at Torraspapel's Algeciras (Spain) paper mill, Creaset RBP is designed with the self-adhesive market in mind. The line consists of:

• Creaset RBP 74g/m2: Paper used for laser printing self-adhesives.
• Creaset RBP 80g/m2: Paper used for self-adhesive sheets or when converting reels to sheets.
• Creaset RBP 87g/m2: Paper used for self-adhesive "kris-line" sheets. Available in white and yellow.
• Creaset RBP 128g/m2: Paper mainly used for sheets with plastic face material.
• Creaset RBP may be printed in offset, typography and flexography, and can be used with all major types of silicone.

Commentary by Jim Thompson
Contributing Editor
jim.thompson@tappi.org

Last week's column on mentoring elicited interesting comments from pulp and paper grads:

"Great idea...the first question to my charge would be this, "Do you envision yourself growing old in North America?" If the answer is yes, then I would take them down to the chemical or mechanical engineering departments to arrange a transfer."

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"I am very interested in your "challenge" with regard to mentoring our upcoming or recent Pulp & Paper School graduates. I received by Bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University ('85), and a MS and PhD from the Institute (Appleton in '87 and Atlanta in '92)... I would be pleased to participate in such a program."

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"If students that have internships and coop work experience have little knowledge of the industry, then those programs are being mismanaged by both the companies and lack proper oversight by the schools. These programs are a partnership with schools and industry and as such should be providing this function. I agree that mentors are a good approach, but the above should also be fixed."

I replied to this comment as follows:

Your points are all valid, including the ones about co-oping and internships. So who is going to fix them? They need to be fixed in a thousand different places by a thousand different people, all with different objectives (i.e., some people hire co-ops just because they are cheap labor).

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"...I've always wanted to stay on the technical ladder and have found my greatest challenges trying to solve the problems in papermaking. However, as I near the end of my career I find there are no young people around me to pass on my knowledge and skills to as a mentor. My company, --- , is just not hiring young people here at R&D. I feel it would be such a waste for me to pass into "retirement" without helping the next generation get a running start at the next round of problems. I enjoy teaching and would be willing to participate in any manner that would help achieve these ends... This program might also give me a reason to want to stay active in TAPPI..."

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"I agree entirely with your statements regarding mentoring of students. This is something I engage in on an informal basis when the opportunity arises. This is the sort of activity that TAPPI should be devoting energy to in order to make it pervasive. Do you think that TAPPI would be willing to develop a formal program (if it doesn't have one already)? I'm willing to volunteer."

Hmmm... something for the TAPPI board to consider in these last two?

"To: --- Dept. Head Search Committee,

I am attaching an article written by Jim Thompson from this week's TAPPI newsletter, which I am confident is right on target. Jim has been a key member of our P&P Foundation for many years. He makes the point that our graduates are "intelligent and energetic", but could be even better prepared to serve our industry if they had a better understanding our industry.

As we go through the search process for a new Dept. Head, I strongly believe we need a leader who is in tune with this need in our program, while not sacrificing the academic and leadership requirements. This emphasis is key to the long-term support from industry and overall success of the program. We also need to somehow make this industry interface a part of the academic program, and our new Dept. Head must realize that this is coming from our "customers", the industry leaders we are supporting. We have made some attempts to do this in the past (which were viewed as successful by the students and faculty at the time), but the programs were not continued. I continue to believe that we are missing one emphasis area that will separate us from the pack in terms of overall program excellence and the best prepared graduates to contribute to the success of our changing industry."

Thank you all for your interest in this important subject. Perhaps this can be moved forward in a formal way, encompassing young people interested in pulp and paper around the world. In our mentoring, we should not forget ethics. Be safe, be ethical and we will talk next week.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author only, not TAPPI.

TAPPI Membership News
Time is running out to renew your TAPPI membership. Not a member yet? Don't miss out on technological advancements, trends, and processes that can help you be more successful. A TAPPI membership provides you with a wealth of technical information through magazines, newsletters, test methods and technical papers. In addition TAPPI members save money on conferences, training tools and educational offerings that help provide solutions to the workplace challenges you face. TAPPI is where the best in the industry come together to learn, share and grow. Join or renew online today!

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Upcoming Conferences and Exhibits

TAPPI Coating Conference and Exhibit
April 17-20, 2005, Toronto, Canada

TAPPI Paper Expo and Practical Papermaking Conference
May 22-26, 2005, Milwaukee, WI
There are a few spots left in the New Technology Showcase session. Don't miss this excellent opportunity to present your new product or service to a large audience of your industry peers. Or, if you would like to participate in the technical conference on a bit smaller scale, please consider the Pub and Poster Session on Monday afternoon. There is still time to be a part of this popular session.

TAPPI European Place Conference
May 23-25, 2005, Vienna, Austria

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Upcoming TAPPI Short Courses
View the complete list of upcoming TAPPI Short Courses, conferences, and events online.

Pira/TAPPI The Future of Nanomaterials
February 22-24, 2005, Miami, FL

TAPPI/NCSU Hands on Workshop for Pulp & Paper Basics
March 7-11, 2005, Raleigh, NC

TAPPI Extrusion Coating Short Course
April 4-6, 2005, Little Rock, Arkansas

TAPPI/IDCON: Maintenance & Operations Reliability Week
April 4-7, 2005, Orange Beach, Alabama

TAPPI Wet End Operations Short Course
April 4-7, 2005, Orange Beach, Alabama

TAPPI Web Handling and Converting Short Course
April 4-5, 2005, Orange Beach, Alabama

TAPPI Winding Operations
April 6-7, 2005, Orange Beach, Alabama

TAPPI Brown Stock Washing Short Course
April 4-6, 2005, Orange Beach, Alabama

TAPPI Improving Screening & Cleaning Efficiencies Short Course
April 6-8, 2005, Orange Beach, Alabama

TAPPI Tissue Runnability Short Course
May 9-12, 2005, Panama City Beach, Florida

TAPPI Introduction to Wet End Chemistry Short Course
May 9-11, 2005, Panama City Beach, Florida

TAPPI Implementing Lean Manufacturing for Flexos and Die Cutters Short Course
May 10-11, 2005, Panama City Beach, Florida

TAPPI Best Practices in Corrugator Operations Short Course
May 16-19, 2005, Atlanta, Georgia

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Upcoming Local Section Events

Southeastern and VA-Carolina Conference
February 17 & 18, 2005, Hilton Garden Inn, Rock Hill, NC.
Mill Tour at the Bowater Newsprint - Catawba, SC.

Pacific Local Section & the U.S. Department of Energy Steam System Improvement Workshop
March 10, 2005, Shilo Inn Hotel, Portland, OR

South Central Local Section
Advanced Graphics Education
March 17, 2005, Irving, TX

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Web Tip of the Week
It's easy to register for TAPPI events online. Click on the Education & Events heading located on the left hand side of www.tappi.org. Links for Conferences, Short Courses, and Virtual Seminars will appear below Education and Events once you have clicked on the main heading. Select the type of event you're looking for and you will then see a link for current or upcoming events in that category. Once you've found the event you want to attend, click on the 'Register' icon. If you're not already logged in, you'll be asked for your username and password. You must be logged in as a member in order to receive your member discount.