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Paper, Plastics, Packaging, Printing News

Sappi signs up to Business for Nature’s Call to Action on environment

By: Donna Slater 17th September 2020 Woodfibre-based product producer Sappi has joined the Business for Nature’s Call to Action – which represents 560 companies from around the world, with combined revenue of $4-trillion – in urging governments to urgently adopt policies to reverse nature loss in this decade. Covid-19 is causing... →

Mpact declares force majeure at Springs mill amid municipal power outage

By: Simone Liedtke 16th September 2020 Paper and packaging producer Mpact has declared force majeure at its Springs paper mill in relation to a near-month-long power interruption, and as a consequence, not being able to produce. The mill has been without electricity supply from 18:00 on August 19, when an explosion and fire at the... →

Manufacturing continues on downward slump

By: Simone Liedtke 10th September 2020 Manufacturing production decreased by 10.6% year-on-year in July, with the largest decline in furniture and other manufacturing, which declined by 39.1% and contributed -1.4 percentage points to the overall decline. The second highest decline was in motor vehicles, parts, accessories and other... →

Sappi undertakes Arbor Week activities

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 4th September 2020 In celebrating Arbor Week, Sappi Southern Africa has highlighted the company's efforts to help protect the pepper-bark tree, also known as the Warburgia salutaris. The company points out that the pepper-bark tree is highly prized in the Southern African healthcare sector and that commercial... →

Sappi announces two new senior appointments

By: Simone Liedtke 27th August 2020 Paper and pulp manufacturer Sappi Southern Africa has announced two new senior appointments in the form of Duane Roothman as Sappi Forests VP and Mark Barnardo as Roothman’s successor as Sappi Forests GM. Roothman takes over the position from Dr Terry Stanger, who retires on August 31 after 27... →

Packaging organisation urges responsible ammonium nitrate warehousing

By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st August 2020 After a cache of ammonium nitrate exploded earlier in August and left great devastation in Beruit, Lebanon, the Responsible Packaging Management Association of Southern Africa has stressed the importance of correct due procedure when handling ammonium nitrate. The association warns that what... →

Sappi completes sustainability measurement at Cloquet mill

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th August 2020 JSE-listed packaging and paper company Sappi has completed a sustainability performance measurement for its dissolving pulp brand, Verve. Sappi supports the sustainability drive by the textile value chain through its Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) membership and through the use of the... →

Coca-Cola changes Sprite packaging to increase recycling

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th August 2020 The Coca-Cola Company in South Africa has stopped the production of Sprite’s iconic green packaging to produce fresh, new clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle packaging. The transition to clear packaging means that more Sprite bottles can be collected, recycled and reused to make... →

Association addresses Covid-19 challenges

7th August 2020 The industry body representing the local vinyls industry Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) hosted a virtual annual general meeting in May. Speaking about the impact of Covid-19 on the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry, SAVA chairperson George Diamond said the PVC industry globally is... →

Mondi resumes dividends thanks to resilient business model

By: Marleny Arnoldi 6th August 2020 JSE-listed paper and packaging group Mondi has decided to resume dividend payments relating to the 2019 financial year and the six months ended June 30. The company declared a final dividend of €0.29 in 2019. →

Mpact ensures business continuity as electricity, Covid-19 challenges persist

By: Simone Liedtke 5th August 2020 Paper and plastic packaging manufacturer Mpact managed to ensure business continuity, alongside the safety and health of employees, over the past six months, especially as the period, which ended on June 30, began with persistent external electricity supply interruptions across South Africa,... →

Mpact CEO Bruce Strong speaks to Engineering News following the release of the company's results on August 5. Camerawork: Creamer Media's Kutlwano Matlala. Editing: Creamer Media's Nicholas Boyd.

Consol halts R1.5bn expansion project amid low demand

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 4th August 2020 Manufacturer Consol Glass has indefinitely suspended construction of a new R1.5-billion glass manufacturing plant in Nigel, Gauteng, owing to the reduction in demand for glass products. The company attributed this reduced demand to the Covid-19 pandemic and government’s actions to slow its... →

At least give a timeframe around alcohol ban, asks Consol

By: Marleny Arnoldi 30th July 2020 Glass manufacturer Consol has written to the Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel, requesting that he urgently assist in pursuing a resolution of the alcohol ban. There has been much debate about the impact of the alcohol ban and which way government should go about the decision in recent... →

Sappi posts $73m quarterly loss as pandemic impacts on graphic paper, pulp markets

By: Marleny Arnoldi 30th July 2020 Previously weak graphic paper and dissolving pulp (DP) markets were further affected during the quarter ended June 30 by significant declines in demand and lower sales prices as a result of Covid-19, says JSE-listed woodfibre company Sappi. CEO Steve Binnie says the overall economic effect of... →

Sappi CEO Steve Binnie

Trade rules can help to stem growing plastic pollution, says Unctad

By: Schalk Burger 28th July 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in pollution from disposable products like plastic face masks, gloves, food packaging and hand sanitiser bottles, but effective trade rules can help limit the further spread of waste, says United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad)... →

PVC compounder continues supply despite pandemic

By: Theresa Bhowan 17th July 2020 Owing to its heavy investment in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market, KwaZulu-Natal-based PVC compounder Continental Compounders has been able to continue supplying products to essential services during Covid-19. →

GREAT EXPANSION The expansion and establishment of the engineering division was prompted by the South African Automotive Masterplan

Locally manufactured PPE ensures peace of mind

17th July 2020 Durban-based packaging and materials handling designer and manufacturer Conceptainer has responded to government’s call for assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic and now supplies a full range of personal protection equipment (PPE) to enhance safety in the workplace. →

COVERED UP Disposable coveralls provide the same degree of protection as standard washable coveralls without the need to decontaminate them after use

PVC manufacturer emphasises proper use of plastic

By: Theresa Bhowan 17th July 2020 While the world is moving towards using less single use plastic, Durban-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compound manufacturer Innovative PVC Compounds (IPC) CEO Mubeen Siddiqi says the world cannot function without certain types of plastic, and people rather need to be more responsible in using... →

CURIOUS COMPOUNDS The medical-grade compounds that the company produces are supplied to vendors in the healthcare industry and have been in constant supply

Coca-Cola Beverages rolls out returnable PET bottle to more provinces

By: Marleny Arnoldi 15th July 2020 Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is expanding the roll-out of its returnable 2 ℓ polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles across northern Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. This follows the successful roll out of these bottles in the Eastern Cape as a pilot project in February. →

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa's returnable PET bottle

Sappi closes some operations in Germany and the US

By: Simone Liedtke 9th July 2020 Pulp and paper company Sappi has announced the closure of the Paper Machine 2 (PM2) at its Stockstadt Mill, in Germany, as well as Paper Machine 9 (PM9) and the energy complex at its Westbrook Mill, in the US. This will cumulatively remove capacity, reduce costs, improve machine use and increase... →

South Africa's manufacturing output down 49.4% on Covid-19 impact

By: Simone Liedtke 9th July 2020 South Africa's manufacturing production decreased by 49.4% year-on-year in April. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reports that the largest contributors to this decline was the motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment sector, where output decreased by 98%... →

RCL Foods, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa among new SA Plastics Pact members

By: Marleny Arnoldi 24th June 2020 Six new members have joined the South African Plastics Pact (SA Plastics Pact), which demonstrates their commitment towards keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment. These members are consumer goods company RCL Foods, plastic manufacturer Berry Astrapack, plastic pallet... →

Mpact expects at least 80% drop in interim earnings a share

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 23rd June 2020 Jse-listed Mpact expects its underlying earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) from continuing operations for the six months ending June 30 to be at least 50% lower than the R255-million in underlying Ebit reported for the six months ended June 30, 2019. Mpact on June 23 warned that its basic... →

Mondi donates 100 000 medical grade masks to frontline healthcare workers

By: Simone Liedtke 15th June 2020 Global packaging and paper group Mondi has donated 100 000 FFP3/N95 medical grade masks to protect frontline healthcare workers in KwaZulu-Natal from Covid-19. The much sought after medical grade masks have been donated with the assistance of The Solidarity Fund to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of... →

Sappi aligns to World Environment Day 2020 #ForNature theme

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 5th June 2020 Pulp and paper company Sappi says the lockdowns implemented across the world to help curb the spread of Covid-19 have brought to light the need to make 'Time for Nature’, which is also the theme for this year’s World Environment Day, on June 5. ‘Time for Nature’ focuses on the role nature plays... →

Greenpeace to screen plastic-waste exposé on World Environment Day

By: Donna Slater 2nd June 2020 To celebrate World Environment Day on June 5, Greenpeace Africa will, this week, screen 'The Story of Plastic', a new documentary directed and produced by Deia Schlosberg, which exposes the international environmental, climate, justice and health impacts of the plastic industry. The virtual... →

Covid-19 pall hangs over Nampak’s recovery prospects

By: Terence Creamer 29th May 2020 Packaging group Nampak announced on Friday that impairments of R3-billion, which related to its Nigerian and Angolan operations, had contributed materially to a slump in its interim results for the period to March 31. The outlook for the business was also uncertain, with the Covid-19 pandemic... →

Nampak CEO Erik Smuts in conversation with Engineering News editor Terence Creamer on the group's interim results and its future strategy and prospects. Editing: Nicholas Boyd

Mondi appoints new CFO

By: Donna Slater 26th May 2020 Packaging and paper manufacturer Mondi has appointed Mike Powell as its new CFO and executive director with an effective date yet to be announced. Following a thorough recruitment process involving internal and external candidates, Powell was appointed to succeed Andrew King, who was appointed... →

Sappi cancels €250m senior notes offering

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 15th May 2020 A day after announcing plans to issue €250-million of senior notes, paper and pulp producer Sappi on May 15 said it had decided not to proceed with the proposed offering, as a result of unsatisfactory market conditions. The company noted that it had a long history of prudent and proactive balance... →

Packaging industry likely to face dramatic changes, says MetPac-SA

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th May 2020 Industry organisation MetPac-South Africa (MetPac-SA) says the five-week national Level 5 lockdown in South Africa had constrained the usual material recovery processes and will impact on the recovery rates of metal packaging, and post-consumer packaging material in general, for the rest of the... →

Low pulp demand, price still affecting Sappi's profits

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th May 2020 JSE-listed paper and packaging manufacturer Sappi says a further fall in the dissolving pulp (DP) price by $233/t in the last 12 months had negatively impacted on the company’s earnings and profitability in the quarter ended March 31. CEO Steve Binnie explains that a strong packaging and... →

Even essential industries have suffered reduced demand

By: Marleny Arnoldi 24th April 2020 Leading up to the phased reopening of the economy that South Africa will undertake from May 1, research institute Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (Tips) says data on the overall economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet available, but the economy will undoubtedly suffer owing to... →

Sappi starts production of essential medical items, donates to Solidarity Fund

By: Donna Slater 20th April 2020 Pulp and paper producer Sappi Southern Africa has made available several donations of scarce items such as hand sanitiser, face masks, nutritional porridge and paper products, to reduce pressure on the national government’s resources, as well as to support the most vulnerable during the Covid-19... →

Online portal to boost access to essential medical Covid-19 supplies

By: Donna Slater 17th April 2020 As part of the Business South Africa (BSA) initiative, and with technical assistance from Tencent South Africa, the South African Medical Technology Industry Association (Samed) has created a live online portal for its member companies to upload details of the Covid-19 supplies and equipment they... →

Waste pickers get relief with food vouchers during national lockdown

By: Donna Slater 14th April 2020 An electronic food voucher initiative is being rolled out to waste pickers across the country, as part of a partnership between the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and the packaging industry, to assist waste pickers who have lost their livelihoods during the national... →

Mondi withholds dividend, takes capital precautions amid Covid-19 uncertainties

By: Marleny Arnoldi 9th April 2020 Despite a robust balance sheet and a decent operational and financial performance, JSE-listed paper and packaging group Mondi has decided to not pay out a final dividend for the year ended December 31, 2019, in light of Covid-19-related uncertainties. The board says it recognises the... →

Sappi board, regional leaders agree to paycut, zero incentive bonus

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th April 2020 Paper and packaging company Sappi’s board of directors and the group and regional leadership teams from Europe, North America and Southern Africa have volunteered to take a 10% reduction in salaries or fees for the three months ending June 30. This is in recognition of the uncertain trading... →

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