Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations

General

We are a major manufacturer of recycled paperboard and converted paperboard products. We operate in three business segments. The paperboard segment manufactures 100% recycled uncoated and clay-coated paperboard and collects recycled paper and brokers recycled paper and other paper rolls. The tube, core and composite container segment produces spiral and convolute-wound tubes, cores and cans. The carton and custom packaging segment produces printed and unprinted folding and set-up cartons and provides contract manufacturing and packaging services.

Our business is vertically integrated to a large extent. This means that our converting operations consume a large portion of our own paperboard production, approximately 38% in 2001. The remaining 62% of our paperboard production is sold to external customers in any of the four recycled paperboard end-use markets: tube, core and composite containers; folding cartons; gypsum wallboard facing paper and other specialty products. We are the only major manufacturer to serve all four end-use markets. As part of our strategy to maintain optimum levels of production capacity, we regularly purchase paperboard from other manufacturers in an effort to minimize the potential impact of demand declines on our own mill system. Additionally, each of our mills can produce recycled paperboard for more than one end-use market. This allows us to shift production between mills in response to customer or market demands.

Recovered fiber, which is derived from recycled paper stock, is our most significant raw material. Historically, the cost of recovered fiber has fluctuated significantly due to market and industry conditions. For example, our average recovered fiber cost per ton of paperboard produced increased from $43 per ton in 1993 to $144 per ton in 1995, an increase of 235%, before dropping to $66 per ton in 1996. Same-mill recovered fiber cost per ton averaged $65 and $104 during 2001 and 2000, respectively.

We raise our selling prices in response to increases in raw material costs. However, we often are unable to pass the full amount of these costs through to our customers on a timely basis, and as a result often cannot maintain our operating margins in the face of dramatic cost increases. We experience margin shrinkage during all periods of price increases due to customary time lags in implementing our price increases. We cannot assure you that we will be able to recover any future increases in the cost of recovered fiber by raising the prices of our products. Even if we are able to recover future cost increases, our operating margins and results of operations may still be materially and adversely affected by time delays in the implementation of price increases.

Excluding labor, energy is our most significant manufacturing cost. Energy is used to generate steam used in the paper making process and to operate our paperboard machines and all of our other converting machinery. Our energy costs increased steadily throughout 2000 and the first quarter of 2001 before showing some improvement by the end of 2001. In 2000, the average energy cost in our mill system was approximately $52 per ton. In 2001, energy costs increased 9.6% to approximately $57 per ton. The increase was due primarily to increases in natural gas and fuel oil costs. Until recently, our business had not been significantly affected by energy costs, and we historically have not passed increases in energy costs through to our customers. Consequently, we were not able to pass through to our customers all of the energy cost increases we incurred in 2000 and 2001. As a result, our operating margins were adversely affected. We continue to evaluate our energy costs and consider ways to factor energy costs into our pricing. However, we cannot assure you that our operating margins and results of operations will not continue to be adversely affected by rising energy costs.

Historically, we have grown our business, revenues and production capacity to a significant degree through acquisitions. Based on the difficult operating climate for our industry and our financial position, the pace of our acquisition activity, and accordingly, our revenue growth, has slowed as we have focused on conserving cash and maximizing the productivity of our existing facilities. We made no acquisitions in 2001.

We are a holding company that currently operates our business through 19 subsidiaries. We also own a 50% interest in two joint ventures with Temple-Inland, Inc. We have an additional joint venture with an unrelated entity of which our investment and share of earnings of this venture is immaterial. We account for these interests in our joint ventures under the equity method of accounting.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, which require management to make estimates that affect the amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities reported. The following are critical accounting matters which are both very important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results and which require some of management's most difficult, subjective and complex judgments. The accounting for these matters involves the making of estimates based on current facts, circumstances and assumptions which, in management's judgment, could change in a manner that would materially affect management's future estimates with respect to such matters and, accordingly, could cause future reported financial condition and results to differ materially from financial results reported based on management's current estimates.

Revenue Recognition. We recognize revenue in accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements," ("SAB 101"). SAB 101 requires that four basic criteria must be met before revenue can be recognized: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred; (3) the selling price is fixed and determinable; and (4) collectibility is reasonably assured. Determination of criteria (4) is based on management's judgments regarding the collectibility of our accounts receivable.

Accounts Receivable. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and the customer's current credit worthiness, as determined by our review of their current credit information. We continuously monitor collections from our customers and maintain a provision for estimated credit losses based upon our historical experience and any specific customer collection issues that we have identified. While such credit losses have historically been within our expectations and the provisions established, we cannot guarantee that we will continue to experience the same credit loss rates that we have in the past.

Inventory. Inventories are carried at the lower of cost or market. Cost includes materials, labor and overhead. Market, with respect to all inventories, is replacement cost or net realizable value. Management frequently reviews inventory to determine the necessity of reserves for excess, obsolete or unsaleable inventory. These reviews require management to assess customer and market demand. These estimates may prove to be inaccurate, in which case we may have over or under stated the reserve required for excess, obsolete or unsaleable inventory.