Paper Industry April 2002 News

April 8, 2002 - Temple-Inland Inc. said that it completed its acquisition of Gaylord Container Corporation. The merger of a subsidiary of Temple-Inland into Gaylord was approved Friday (April 5) at a special meeting of the stockholders of Gaylord. As a result of the merger, Gaylord is now an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Temple-Inland.

The shares of Gaylord common stock outstanding immediately prior to the merger will be converted into the right to receive $1.17 net per share in cash, unless a former stockholder has indicated that they intend to seek appraisal rights. A letter of transmittal will be sent to all stockholders of record providing them with instructions regarding the surrender of their stock certificates and the receipt of payment.

Domtar sells its remanufacturing facility located in Daveluyville

Montreal, April 8, 2003 – Domtar Inc. announced today the sale of its Daveluyville remanufacturing facility to Denis Villiard from Sorel-Tracy. Mr. Villiard split the transaction into two companies. Séchoirs Daveluyville Inc. will acquire all the land, buildings and dryers, while Pinextra Inc. will acquire the edge-glued panel production equipment. At the purchaser's request, the transaction value will remain confidential.

Since the announcement of the closure on November 29, 2002, Domtar has been hoping to sell its assets to a buyer who would keep the facilities in operation. "We are very happy that Mr. Villiard is resuming operations at Daveluyville and that some of our former employees have found jobs there. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours," stated Serge Constantineau, General Manager of Remanufacturing Operations, Optimization and Projects.

At the time of the announcement, market conditions for lumber were very challenging. An over-supply of lumber in the North American marketplace combined with countervailing and antidumping duties led Domtar to review all its activities and concentrate on operations that would offer the best prospects thus, its softwood lumber mills. Furthermore, the Company decided to exit its remanufacturing operations at Daveluyville in Quebec and its hardwood sawmill at Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario.

PORT ST. JOE, FL, April 8, 2002 - Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation yesterday announced plans to demolish the Florida Coast paper mill in Port St. Joe, FL. The demolition work is set to begin this spring and will take about 20 months to complete. The mill had kraft linerboard capacity of about 500,000 tpy.

The C.C.C. Group, of Fort Worth, TX, was awarded the demolition contract."There were no plans to reopen the mill, so it makes sense to clear the land and open it for future development," said Smurfit-Stone Site Manager Ferrell Allen.

Smurfit-Stone and real estate firm The St. Joe Company will work cooperatively to consider possible development concepts for the site. By dismantling the site and conducting a feasibility study, both Smurfit-Stone and The St. Joe Company hope to pave the way for the greater economic development of Gulf County and the Port St. Joe community.

"We have no preconceived notions for this site, so we wanted a partner with creativity and roots in the community," said Allen. "We believe St. Joe is the perfect fit."

Cascades Buys Tissue Operations in the U.S.

April 26, 2002 - Cascades Inc. said that it has acquired 33 converting lines and has concluded agreements to purchase a tissue paper mill and a paper machine through its affiliate, Cascades Tissue Group Inc. These assets were previously owned and operated by American Tissue Inc., a tissue and fine paper manufacturer presently in the reorganization proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The tissue mill located in Mechanicville, New York, and the tissue paper machine, located in a pulp and paper mill belonging to Boise Cascade Corporation in St. Helens, Oregon, have a total combined annual capacity of 110,000 tons. These assets will be acquired from American Tissue Inc. for $35 million US. The acquisition of these units is subject to the approval of the American bankruptcy court. Cascades expects to complete this transaction within 60 days.

The tissue converting operations are mainly located in Waterford, New York, and in Calexico, California. They have a total production capacity of eight million cases and were acquired from several financial institutions for a global amount of approximately $20 million US.

Cascades Inc. is a manufacturer of packaging products, tissue paper and specialized fine papers. Internationally, Cascades employs 14,000 people and operates close to 150 operating units located in Canada, the United States, Mexico, France, England, Germany and Sweden.

SOURCE: Cascades Inc