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2005-2006 Investor Fact BookStatistical Supplement to Annual Report to Shareholders |
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2005-2006 Investor Fact BookStatistical Supplement to Annual Report to Shareholders |
Smurfit-Stone is North America’s leading producer of corrugated containers — the boxes made from linerboard and corrugated medium. The company draws its resources from the largest and most geographically diverse network of containerboard mills and corrugated container plants in North America and can deliver packaging solutions to meet almost any need, from high-impact graphics and structural engineering to market research and product development. Smurfit-Stone offers a broad array of specialty products including pizza boxes, corrugated clamshells for the food industry, and a complete line of retail-ready, point-of-purchase (POP) displays.
Smurfit-Stone owns and operates 21 containerboard and pulp mills in North America and remains the world’s largest containerboard producer and a leading pulp supplier. It produces a full line of commodity and specialty paperboards for conversion into corrugated containers, folding cartons and related products. The containerboard operations use approximately 2.6 million tons of reclaimed fiber per year, and Smurfit-Stone is one of the largest producers of 100 percent recycled containerboard products.
Smurfit-Stone draws upon a diverse raw material base of both recycled and renewable wood fiber to produce the industry’s broadest line of unbleached linerboard and corrugated medium grades. Recycled fiber consists of approximately 33 percent of this raw material base. SSCC is the world’s largest producer of specialty grades, which are targeted to the high-graphics segment of the corrugated container industry. As a market leader, SSCC works with customers to develop innovative new products and value-added services.
The containerboard group produces a variety of bleached products for many uses, including high quality SBS used in high-end folding cartons, paper cups and paper plates. The company manufactures high quality bleached hardwood pulp for photographic papers and pharmaceutical product fillers.
The board sales group is responsible for marketing and selling over two million tons of pulp, paper and paperboard products worldwide. Strong technical and marketing teams, with particular strengths in corrugator operations and high-impact graphics applications, complement the sales force. These experts work together with the company’s customers to get the most out of Smurfit-Stone’s products.
Linerboard and Medium: SSCC’s containerboard mills produce a wide range of unbleached kraft linerboard grades, which provide high quality performance for traditional box stamped packaging and specialty applications in basis weights ranging from 26- to 96-pound. Medium is available in 100 percent recycled or a blend of recycled and virgin fiber grades. Medium basis weights range from 18-pound featherweight to sturdy 45-pound grades.
White Top, Bleached, and Coated White Top Liner: SSCC produces the highest quality white top linerboard in North America. Manufactured with a layer of white pulp over unbleached kraft material, our linerboard provides a superior surface for high-impact graphics. The company also produces bleached liner and coated white top linerboard at our La Tuque, Quebec, mill. Available in basis weights of 29- to 46-pounds, coated white top is ideal for a wide range of high-graphics applications, including high-end packaging and point-of-purchase displays.
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2005-2006 Investor Fact BookStatistical Supplement to Annual Report to Shareholders |
Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS): SSCC specializes in high quality grades of SBS, designed to meet the most challenging print requirements of folding carton and carded packaging customers in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and other niche markets. Coated and uncoated high ink absorption SBS grades are available.
Kraft Paper: Kraft paper is produced at our Hodge, Louisiana, mill. Grades include natural retail, natural multiwall, natural twisting and standard converting regular and wet-strength, and shingle wrap. Kraft paper is used in numerous products, including consumer and industrial bags, grocery and shopping bags, counter rolls, handle stock and refuse bags.
Specialty Board: In addition to standard containerboard production, SSCC’s La Tuque, Quebec, mill produces specialty solid bleached paperboard. La Tuque’s solid bleached, non-corrugated paper can be found in paper cups and plates. In addition, SSCC’s Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec, extrusion coating operation coats containerboard in polyethylene to make food containers.
Market Pulp: SSCC is a supplier of pulp to the photographic industry, specialty paper makers, printing and writing sectors, and related markets.
Forest Resources: The forest resources group is responsible for supplying the containerboard mill operations with wood fiber. Smurfit-Stone owns approximately one million acres of woodlands located in Canada. The company’s wood procurement operations in the United States are now third party certified under both International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management standards and the American Forest & Paper Association’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) standards.
North American containerboard operations, consisting of 21 mills, produce a wide range of paper grades:
North American Containerboard Production
| UNITS (THOUSAND TONS) | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
| Containerboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 7,438 | 7,185 | 6,860 |
| Bleached Liner / Solid Bleached Sulfate . . . . . . . . . . | 276 | 290 | 296 |
| Market Pulp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 549 | 497 | 567 |
| Kraft Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 259 | 293 | 283 |
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2005-2006 Investor Fact BookStatistical Supplement to Annual Report to Shareholders |
Smurfit-Stone is the industry’s leading supplier of corrugated containers, which are made from high quality linerboard and corrugated medium supplied by SSCC’s network of paper mills. The company and its affiliates annually convert more than five million tons of containerboard. SSCC is a trusted supplier to hundreds of national and international manufacturers, as well as thousands of local and regional customers.
Corrugated Containers: SSCC’s corrugated container operations offer a full range of high quality corrugated containers designed and manufactured to protect, ship, store and display products. Each design meets a detailed set of customer specifications. SSCC manufactures corrugated packaging to ship refrigerators, vegetables, bicycles, computers, canned goods and a multitude of other products. No other packaging material is used as universally as corrugated containers.
Today, packaging does more than simply protect products. More and more customers are using corrugated containers as a marketing tool, and the increasing prominence of mega-retailers is requiring eye-catching, durable and cost effective options. Smurfit-Stone’s complete line of packaging graphics capabilities meets these needs.
Packaging Solutions: In addition to delivering value-added packages, SSCC provides packaging solutions for its customers with special materials and high quality graphics. These solutions include mechanical packaging equipment, custom packaging, safe-transit approved laboratory research, electronic data interchange capability, market research, and product development.
Specialty Products: SSCC offers a broad array of specialty products, including pizza boxes and corrugated clamshells for the food industry, as well as a complete line of retail-ready, point-of-purchase (POP) displays.
Packaging Systems: Smurfit-Stone’s packaging systems group in Orlando, Florida, designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of corrugated packaging machinery. Product lines include knock-down and wraparound case packers, case erectors, case sealers, trayformers, product accumulators, loaders and customized equipment.
North American corrugated container operations include:
Smurfit-Stone also has an ownership interest in three corrugated container and two sheet plants in China.
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2005-2006 Investor Fact BookStatistical Supplement to Annual Report to Shareholders |
North American Corrugated Container Shipments
| 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | |
| Corrugated Containers | |||
| Billion square feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 86.5 | 84.3 | 80.7 |
| Thousand tons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 5,443 | 5,415 | 5,225 |
