Suzano, the world's largest pulp producer, has announced the acquisition of industrial assets from Pactiv Evergreen in the United States. This will expand the company’s operations in North America and marks its entrance into the consumer and food service packaging segments in the region. The transaction is valued at US$110 million and includes two mills in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Waynesville, North Carolina.
Pine Bluff produces liquid packaging board and cupstock used to make fresh beverage cartons, paper cups and other fiber-based food and beverage packaging. Waynesville provides incremental extrusion capacity for the board produced at Pine Bluff.
Subject to final regulatory approval expected later this year, these assets will add approximately 420,000 metric tonnes annually of integrated paperboard to Suzano’s production capacity. Alongside the acquisition, Suzano has signed a long-term supply deal with Pactiv Evergreen to provide liquid packaging board for its converting business.
Suzano is currently the largest supplier of hardwood market pulp in North America, with US offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a research and innovation campus close to Vancouver, Canada. Already a major producer of materials for food and beverage packaging in Latin America, Suzano will work alongside Pactiv Evergreen’s team, leveraging its operational knowledge and experience in the paperboard business to enhance the structural competitiveness and profitability of the acquired assets, which are already comparatively well-positioned on the cost curve of the North American packaging industry.
The acquired assets benefit from high availability of wood in the region, low energy costs, and good access to railways, ports, and highways.
