ACTIVITY
Paper & packaging · Industrial intelligence

Regional Activity

North America Activity

Last meaningful update:

Evidence period: –

Activity overview

The North American paper and packaging operational landscape shows concrete capital expenditure and facility adjustments across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Major activities encompass corrugated converting investments, specialized roll servicing infrastructure, and pulp mill recovery projects. In the United States, Voith completed a major footprint expansion at its West Monroe roll service center, while Packaging Corporation of America brought online a new $275 million corrugated box plant in Ohio, shifting production away from its legacy Middletown facility.

In Canada, provincial collaboration and local acquisitions mark key infrastructure shifts, including public-private engineering backing to restart the Espanola mill under Bioveld North and an agreement between Domtar and the British Columbia government to revive the Howe Sound pulp mill. In Mexico, producers are upgrading fiber processing capacity, evidenced by Zinc Nacional commissioning a new stock refiner at its Monterrey facility and Microcart expanding its packaging processing capacity in Aguascalientes.

What changed

  1. · Completed · Microcart · Aguascalientes

    Microcart expands corrugated converting facility in Aguascalientes

    Mexican packaging converter Microcart has expanded its Aguascalientes facility, adding five hectares and boosting its corrugated processing capacity to 15,000 tons per month.

  2. · Started · Bioveld North / Domtar · Espanola

    Ontario funds engineering phase for Espanola mill restart

    The Ontario government is investing $5.1 million in Bioveld North to fund the engineering phase for restarting the former Domtar pulp mill in Espanola.

  3. · Completed · Packaging Corporation of America · Ohio

    Packaging Corporation of America starts up Ohio box plant

    Packaging Corporation of America has commenced operations at its new $275 million, 550,000-square-foot box plant in Ohio a month ahead of schedule.

  4. · Approved, not completed · Domtar · British Columbia

    Domtar and British Columbia agree to restart Howe Sound mill

    Domtar and the British Columbia government have reached a strategic agreement to restart the Howe Sound pulp mill, securing 400 jobs and vital NBSK capacity.

  5. · Completed · Zinc Nacional / AFT · Monterrey

    Zinc Nacional starts up refiner at Monterrey mill

    Mexican producer Zinc Nacional has successfully started up a new AFT MaxEdge refiner at its Monterrey mill to optimize its recycled paperboard output.

  6. · Completed · Voith · West Monroe

    Voith completes expansion of West Monroe roll service facility

    Voith has completed a multi-million-dollar expansion of its West Monroe roll service center, increasing its footprint by nearly 50%.

Companies in motion

  • AFT

    Mexican producer Zinc Nacional has successfully started up a new AFT MaxEdge refiner at its Monterrey mill to optimize its recycled paperboard output.

  • Bioveld North

    The Ontario government is investing $5.1 million in Bioveld North to fund the engineering phase for restarting the former Domtar pulp mill in Espanola.

  • Domtar

    Domtar and the British Columbia government have reached a strategic agreement to restart the Howe Sound pulp mill, securing 400 jobs and vital NBSK capacity.

  • Microcart

    Mexican packaging converter Microcart has expanded its Aguascalientes facility, adding five hectares and boosting its corrugated processing capacity to 15,000 tons per month.

  • Packaging Corporation of America

    Packaging Corporation of America has commenced operations at its new $275 million, 550,000-square-foot box plant in Ohio a month ahead of schedule.

  • Voith

    Voith has completed a multi-million-dollar expansion of its West Monroe roll service center, increasing its footprint by nearly 50%.

  • Zinc Nacional

    Mexican producer Zinc Nacional has successfully started up a new AFT MaxEdge refiner at its Monterrey mill to optimize its recycled paperboard output.

Connected developments

Pulp mill reactivation initiatives in Canada

Both Domtar in British Columbia and Bioveld North in Ontario are advancing plans to restart idled Canadian pulp mills, involving provincial governmental agreements and funding. The evidence documents agreements and engineering funding but does not establish current operational pulp production at either site.

Corrugated converting and plant capacity adjustments

Packaging Corporation of America in Ohio and Microcart in Aguascalientes both completed major facility expansions to adjust corrugated packaging processing capabilities. The evidence shows physical site start-ups and expansions, but does not indicate coordinated strategies or shared commercial agreements between these companies.

Activity analysis

Across the region, packaging producers and equipment suppliers are executing structural adjustments focused on throughput and maintenance capability. Packaging Corporation of America's Ohio mega-plant deployment and Voith's 50% capacity expansion in Louisiana reflect dedicated operational investments within the United States. Simultaneously, Canadian pulp infrastructure is seeing targeted initiatives to bring dormant assets back online, as demonstrated by the engineering support for Espanola and the formal agreements around the Howe Sound site.

In Mexico, corrugated and paperboard operations show measurable production enhancements at the converting and stock preparation levels. Zinc Nacional's integration of new refining machinery directly targets recycled paperboard output in Monterrey, whereas Microcart's physical plant expansion increases monthly corrugated volume in Aguascalientes. Together, these documented changes highlight practical adjustments in manufacturing assets, machinery installations, and site reorganizations across all three North American markets.

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Original The Paper reports