Pulp & Paper Chronicle | August 2026 Weekly Industry Round-Up

Investments, M&A, Market Performance, Sustainability, Innovation & Industry Developments

The global pulp, paper, packaging and tissue industries continue to move through a period of investment, operational restructuring, consolidation and sustainability-driven innovation.

This week’s edition brings together 50 industry stories across 12 key categories, covering new projects and mill upgrades, acquisitions and partnerships, pricing developments, financial results, sustainability initiatives, technology, leadership changes, supply-chain developments, policy and industry events.

A clear theme runs through the week's news: companies are investing selectively while focusing strongly on efficiency, cost competitiveness, fibre security, packaging growth, digitalisation and circularity.

Here are the key stories by category:

🏗️ 1. Investments, Expansions & New Projects

Haqqani Pulp and Paper Mills — Tk 3.32 crore investment combines a 615 kWp rooftop solar system with a new double-helix pulp press to improve energy efficiency, fibre recovery and production performance.

Oji Holdings, Kagome & Dynapack — A new pilot will convert fibre recovered from factory packaging waste into corrugated cardboard for Kagome products.

Yeni Paper Mill — Trials are underway to assess bamboo varieties for pulp production, including commercial viability and technology transfer opportunities.

Sofidel America — Commissioned a 4.65 MW rooftop photovoltaic system at its Circleville, Ohio operation.

AFT / Papiro Sarda — Completed pulping and screening upgrades aimed at improving paper quality, capacity and the use of recovered OCC.

International Paper — Completed the Riverdale mill machine conversion, strengthening its North American packaging network.

Pixelle Specialty Solutions — Investing in Paper Machine 8 upgrades to improve moisture profiles, base-stock quality and throughput.

Valmet / Hansol Paper — Valmet will replace legacy quality-control systems at three Korean mills, supporting automation and process efficiency.

JK Paper — Successfully commissioned its BCTMP plant, reaching 418 ADMT/day against a 400 ADMT/day design capacity.

Metsä Group / Infosys — A multi-year IT partnership will modernize applications, cloud operations, IT/OT support and AI-enabled automation.

Bellmer / Piquiri Papéis — Completed stock-preparation modernization to improve contaminant removal, fibre separation and operating stability.

Barnwell County Tissue Mill — A $18 million investment package will support the reopening and modernization of a shuttered tissue mill, with 90 full-time jobs expected.

🛑 2. Shutdowns, Closures & Curtailments

International Paper Savannah Mill — The former 735-acre mill site is being marketed for industrial redevelopment following the mill's closure.

The story highlights the continuing transformation of the North American mill footprint and the potential reuse of former manufacturing sites.

🤝 3. M&A, Partnerships & Joint Ventures

ITC / Century Pulp and Paper — ITC completed its acquisition of Century Pulp and Paper from Aditya Birla Real Estate.

Antalis / Speidel Verpackungen — Antalis acquired the German bespoke-packaging company, adding corrugated, heavy-duty corrugated, wood and foam capabilities.

Progroup / Zeus Packaging — The companies formed a UK packaging partnership, with Zeus planning to consolidate production at Progroup's Ellesmere Port site.

Pregis / MP Global Packaging — Pregis acquired the paper-based cold-chain and thermal packaging business.

Rusken Packaging / Triad Packaging — Rusken acquired Triad Packaging to expand its presence and capabilities in the US Southeast.

Iconex / Heartland Label Printers — Iconex acquired Heartland, expanding its variable-information and specialty label capabilities.

Key takeaway: consolidation continues across pulp, paper, packaging and labels as companies seek scale, regional reach and complementary technologies.

📈 4. Price Changes & Market Pricing

SCA — Announced a €100-per-tonne increase for Kraftliner grades in Europe, effective September 1, 2026.

The move underlines continued attention to pricing discipline and margin recovery across the packaging-paper value chain.

📊 5. Financial Results & Market Performance

This is one of the largest sections of the week's news, reflecting a mixed but increasingly efficiency-driven market environment.

• Metsä Board — Returned to positive comparable operating results as volumes and efficiency improved.

• Metsä Group — Reported €1.383 billion sales and €117 million EBITDA, supported by its €300 million cost-saving programme.

• Mercer International — Reported a wider Q2 loss while restructuring Torgau and pursuing major cost savings.

• Cascades — Delivered higher sales and earnings, supported by packaging, pricing and productivity measures.

• Sappi — Reported improved Q3 performance, with strong momentum in North American paperboard.

• Rottneros — Returned to positive Q2 EBITDA as lower wood, chemical and fuel costs offset weaker pulp pricing.

• Klabin — Reported higher first-half revenue and strong EBITDA from its integrated pulp, paperboard and packaging portfolio.

• Rayonier Advanced Materials — Delivered stronger Q2 results while continuing its strategic portfolio review.

• Graphic Packaging — Faced earnings pressure from inflation and cost increases despite relatively stable sales.

• Kimberly-Clark — Reported Q2 sales of approximately $4.19 billion while higher input costs pressured profitability and the outlook.

• Oji Holdings — Returned to profit, helped by pricing, restructuring, overseas growth and packaging exposure.

• ITC — Reported a strong recovery in its paperboards, paper and packaging business.

• Andhra Paper — Net profit increased approximately 42% as Kadiyam operations recovered.

• N R Agarwal Industries — Reported higher revenue and profit on stronger operating performance.

• Saudi Paper — H1 profit increased 144% to SAR 84.5 million.

• Minerals Technologies — Reported higher paper and packaging sales.

• Kadant — Posted record Q2 revenue, higher bookings and a $340 million backlog.

Overall market signal: profitability is increasingly being driven by cost control, productivity, pricing, product mix, capacity utilisation and portfolio optimisation, rather than by broad-based market recovery alone.

🌱 6. Sustainability & Circular Economy

Go-Pak — Its Go-Recycle closed-loop service recycled more than 16,000 tonnes of cardboard during its first year.

Kimberly-Clark — Introduced an alternative natural-fibre programme aimed at reducing reliance on traditional forest-based fibre.

Koehler Group — Reported major sustainability progress, including renewable production covering nearly 99% of electricity and heat needs and significant Scope 1 and 2 emissions reductions.

APP Group — Highlighted methane capture at the Indah Kiat Serang Mill, converting wastewater-treatment biogas into alternative energy.

The direction is clear: sustainability is increasingly moving from long-term ambition to practical projects involving fibre, energy, waste recovery and emissions reduction.

🚀 7. Products & Innovation

Mondi — Unveiled an award-winning laser-marking packaging concept designed to simplify eCommerce fulfilment.

The concept combines recyclable flexible packaging with laser marking, reducing conventional decorative printing requirements while supporting design-for-recycling and material innovation.

👥 8. Leadership & Corporate Updates

ANDRITZ Technologies — Appointed Kirtiraj Jilkar as Managing Director and CEO for India.

Sonoco — Consolidated its Global Consumer Packaging businesses under a single leadership structure led by Ernest Haynes.

Naberezhnye Chelny Cardboard and Paper Mill — Announced a 10% wage and salary increase from September 1.

These developments highlight the continuing focus on organizational alignment, leadership succession and workforce investment.

⚙️ 9. Operations & Supply Chain

Karl Mayer Kartonagenfabrik — Entered preliminary insolvency proceedings, putting approximately 110 jobs at risk.

KAMA — Increased coated FBB sales by 6% in the first half of 2026, with KAMA Pharma sales rising 19%.

The stories illustrate two very different sides of the operating environment: financial pressure and restructuring for some manufacturers, alongside strong demand and product expansion for others.

🔥 10. Incidents, Safety & Environmental Events

No standalone article appears under this category in the supplied newsletter, although safety and environmental issues are referenced in other stories.

🏛️ 11. Policy, Regulation & Trade

AF&PA Containerboard Quarterly Report — Q2 operating rates were nearly 95%, while production declined 2% year over year, domestic demand increased 1% and exports fell nearly 19%. Inventories reached a 15-month low.

US Congressional Engagement — Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Pete Aguilar met pulp and paper workers and union leaders to discuss workforce stability, job safety and federal support for the industry.

🎤 12. Industry Events & Conferences

Paper Day 2026 — India — The event in New Delhi brought together stakeholders from across India's paper industry to discuss sustainable forestry, recycling, circular economy, innovation and responsible growth.

The event reinforced the industry's broader message around paper's role in a more sustainable materials economy.