Pulp and paper industry

Paper mill Mondi in Ružomberok, Slovakia.

The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products.

The industry is dominated by North American (United States and Canada), northern European (Finland, Sweden, and North-West Russia) and East Asian countries (such as East Siberian Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea). Australasia and Brazil also have significant pulp and paper enterprises. The industry is also significantly present in a number of European countries including Germany, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, The United States had been the world's leading producer of paper until it was overtaken by China in 2009.[1]

The industry is criticized by environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council for unsustainable deforestation and clearcutting of old-growth forest.[2] The industry trend is to expand globally to countries like Russia, China and Indonesia with low wages and low environmental oversight.[3] According to Greenpeace, farmers in Central America illegally rip up vast tracts of native forest for cattle and soybean production without any consequences,[4] and companies who buy timber from private land owners contribute to massive deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest.[5] On the other hand the situation is quite different where forest growth has been on the increase for a number of years. It is estimated for instance that since 1990 forests have grown in Europe by a size equivalent to that of Switzerland (44,160 KM) which has been supported through the practice of sustainable forest management by the industry. In Sweden for instance for every tree that is felled two are planted.

Considering that the pulp and paper industry is a practitioner of nanotechnology,[6] then it is easily the world's largest.[7]

Paper

File:Fourdrinier.svg
Diagram showing the sections of the Fourdrinier machine

The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web and the water is removed from it by pressing and drying.

Pressing the sheet removes the water by force. Once the water is forced from the sheet, a special kind of felt, which is not to be confused with the traditional one, is used to collect the water. Whereas, when making paper by hand, a blotter sheet is used instead.

Drying involves using air or heat to remove water from the paper sheets. In the earliest days of paper making, this was done by hanging the sheets like laundry. In more modern times, various forms of heated drying mechanisms are used. On the paper machine, the most common is the steam heated can dryer.

Pulp

History of the paper industry

The first mechanised paper machine was installed at Frogmore Mill, Apsley, Hertfordshire in 1803, followed by another in 1804.[8] The site operates currently as a museum. [9]

Environmental effects

Current production volumes and sales

List of main countries by production quantity

According to statistic data by RISI, main producing countries of paper and paperboard, not including pulp, in the world are as follows:[10]

Rank
2011		CountryProduction in 2011
(1,000 ton)		Share
2011		Rank
2010		Production in 2010
(1,000 ton)
1 China99,30024.9%192,599
2 United States75,08318.8%275,849
3 Japan26,6276.7%327,288
4 Germany22,6985.7%423,122
5 Canada12,1123.0%512,787
6 South Korea11,4922.9%811,120
7 Finland11,3292.8%611,789
8 Sweden11,2982.8%711,410
9 Brazil10,1592.5%109,796
10 Indonesia10,0352.5%99,951
　World Total398,975100.0%　394,244

List of main company groups by production quantity

The world's main paper and paperboard company groups are as follows. (Some figures are estimates.):[11]

RankCompany GroupCountryProduction in 2015
(1,000 ton)		Rank by Sales
1International Paper United States233151
2 Nine Dragon Paper Holdings China1263018
3WestRock United States124874
4UPM Finland97715
5Stora Enso Finland91888
6Oji Paper Company Japan91153
7Sappi South Africa730615
8Smurfit Kappa Group Ireland70009
9DS Smith United Kingdom680213
10Nippon Paper Japan654211

List by net sales

In 2008, the top 10 forest, paper and packaging products companies were, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers:[12]

RankCompanyCountry2008 Net Sales
(US$M)		2008 Net Income (Loss)
(US$M)
1International Paper  United States 24,829(1,282)
2Kimberly-Clark  United States 19,4151,690
3SCA  Sweden 16,965857
4Stora Enso  Finland16,227(991)
5UPM  Finland 13,920(263)
6Oji Paper  Japan 12,788114
7Nippon Unipac  Japan 11,75355
8Smurfit Kappa  Ireland 10,390(73)
9Metsäliitto  Finland 9,335(313)
10Mondi Group  UK/ South Africa 9,466(310)

Manufacturers and suppliers for the industry

Leading manufacturers of capital equipment with over $1 billion in annual revenue for the pulp and paper industry include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ De Sisti, Mike (12 December 2012). "China's Paper Operation". Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "NRDC: Paper Industry Laying Waste to North American Forests". www.nrdc.org. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  3. ↑ "A crumpling paper industry". Oregon Local News. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  4. ↑ "Amazon draught speeds up destruction The WE News Archives". www.thewe.cc. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  5. ↑ Phillips, Tom (2011-05-20). "Brazil forms 'crisis cabinet' following unexpected deforestation surge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  6. ↑ Pira International Ltd. Nanotechnology in Paper Production. iSmithers Rapra Publishing. ISBN 184735811X.
  7. ↑ Hubbe, M.A. (2006). "Does production of the world's highest-tonnage manufactured item often involve nanotechnology?". Nanotechnology Perceptions. 2 (3): 263–265. ISSN 1660-6795.
  8. ↑ Hills, Richard, "Papermaking in Britain 1488–1988", Athlone Press, 1988.
  9. ↑ "The Paper Trail at Frogmore Mill". Apsley Paper Trail charity. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Japan in the World (according to the figure in Annual Review of Global Pulp and Paper Statistics by RISI)" (in Japanese). Japan Paper Association. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  11. ↑ "The PPI Top 100". RISI. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  12. ↑ "Global Forest, Paper & Packaging Industry Survey: 2009 Edition - Survey of 2008 Results" (pdf). PricewaterhouseCoopers. p. 12. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
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