SUPPLIER NEWS

Pulp & Paper, Mar 2005

REPORTS FROM THE SUPPLIER SECTOR

ORDERS AND DELIVERIES

Stora Enso's TMP line from Metso Paper started up in September at the Port Hawkesbury, N.S., mill.

Irving Paper has ordered an online OptiLoad TwinLine calender from Metso Paper for its No. 1 paper machine rebuild at the Saint John, N.B., mill.

CMPC has awarded contracts to GL&V's process group to supply water and wastewater treatment systems for two of its mills in Santa Fe and Laja, Chile. The contracts add up to more than $10 million.

JOINT VETURES

Honeywell and Intergraph Process, Power, and Marine have signed an agreement to standardize Honeywell's automation project engineering on SmartPlant Instrumentation, an instrumentation engineering solution powered by INtools from Intergraph. Through the venture, Honeywell can help customers reduce the costs of project delivery and long-term maintenance and support.

CP Kelco and Noviant have joined as one business under CP Kelco's name, and all of Noviant's products are still available. The combined business will offer a broader global reach, increased technology resources, and a larger portfolio of specialty solutions.

Andritz Group has purchased Voith Paper's interest in its North American tissue machinery venture, which will now operate as Andritz Tissue Inc. with the same staff in Janesville, Wis.

Honeywell announced that Yokogawa has joined its PKS Advantage Program, which allows third-party vendors to integrate their products with Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System. The system gives customers more flexibility in choosing field solutions for their businesses, and the addition of Yokogawa strengthens their options.

EXPANSlONS

Huber Engineered Materials has invested in specialized equipment-HuberPrime coating kaolins-to process primary crudes into new products that enhance the performance of paper coatings in its Sandersville, Ga., plant.

FKI Logistex has opened a new office in Mexico City, Mexico, to provide service and support to its growing customer base in Mexico and Latin America.

Luzenac Group has extended its business unit organizational model worldwide with four new global business units-paper, paints & coatings, polymers, and specialties.

Kemira has made a $10-million investment to expand its Siilinjarvi, Finland, calcium sulphate pigment plant and to make improvements at the connected energy plant.

MARKETIHG/LICENSING

TR Electronic has begun distribution, sales, and service of Di-Soric's position sensors in North America.

Papertech Inc. and PMS have reached a joint agreement for Papertech to distribute PMS' line of ruby nozzles to their North American customers. The two companies will work together on sales and marketing campaigns and will develop new innovations to further optimize papermaking.

MERGERS/ACQUISITIONS

OMYA AG has agreed to acquire 12 on-site precipitated calcium carbonate manufacturing facilities from J.M. Huber Corp., which includes all of Huber's interests and assets, with operations in the U.S., Brazil, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Portugal, France, and Russia. The transaction will close during the second quarter of 2005 and will not affect Huber's worldwide business in kaolin and other paper industry products.

AWARDS/CERTIFICATIONS

Mississippi Lime Co.'s Ste. Genevieve, Mo., employees have been recognized for reaching 1,000,000 hours worked without a lost workday accident.

Allen-Sherman-Hoff, a division of Diamond Power International Inc. and an ash and material handling systems and equipment supplier, has received ISO 9001-2000 certification for its engineered systems division.

PRlClNG

Scott Specialty Gases has announced a price increase of 10% for pure helium and helium balance mixtures for North American customers and a 5.3% increase for all other pure and mixed gases.

Solvay Chemicals Inc. has increased off-list prices for all grades of 100% basis hydrogen peroxide by $0.05/lb in the U.S. and CDN $133/tonne in Canada.

ONLlNE

Honeywell Process Solutions has a new Web site at www.honeywell.com/ps, which features expanded content and easier navigation, greater access to technical information, and new search capabilities. The site also includes news and product updates, as well as details on upcoming events.

Huber Engineered Materials has launched a new product finder and Web site in support of the engineered materials business. The Web site is www.hubermaterials.com, and the product finder catalogs and sorts thousands of grades of Huber specialty ingredients and offers different ways to streamline the search.

Prime Energy, a company specializing in oilfree compressed air applications for the industrial retail business, has launched a Web site, www.primeenergyretail.com, which provides an understanding of the company's rental offerings, services, and customer support.