International Paper

Infobox_Company
company_name = International Paper Company
company_
company_type = Public
company_slogan =
foundation = 1898
location = Memphis, Tennessee
key_people = John V. Faraci, CEO & Chairman
num_employees = 51,500
products = Paper & Paper products
homepage = [http://www.internationalpaper.com/ www.internationalpaper.com/]

International Paper (nyse|IP) is an American pulp and paper company, the largest pulp and paper company in the world. It has approximately 51,500 employees. Its global headquarters are currently in Memphis, Tennessee.

History

International Paper was formed in January 1898 by the merger of 17 pulp and paper mills in the northeastern U.S. Through acquisitions and capital investment, the company grew both in the United States and internationally. In 1986 it acquired the HammerMill Paper Company, in 1988 the Masonite Corporation, and in 1989 the German paper company Zanders Feinpapiere AG and the French paper manufacturer Aussedat Rey. In addition International Paper has shareholdings in the Chilean company Copec. In 1999, International Paper purchased Union Camp Corporation and in 2000 purchased Champion International Paper.

In 2005 and 2006, International Paper undertook significant restructuring, selling over convert|6000000|acre|km2 of forestland in the U.S., along with its coated paper, kraft paper, wood products, and beverage packaging businesses, as well as subsidiaries Arizona Chemical and New Zealand-based Carter Holt Harvey. The coated paper business (4 mills in Maine, Michigan and Minnesota) were sold to Apollo Management and now operate as Verso Paper. The kraft paper business was purchased and operates as Kapstone Kraft Papers. The beverage packaging business, now called Evergreen Packaging, was purchased by Carter Holt Harvey, following the purchase of CHH by Graeme Hart. International Paper sold the Wood Products division of the company to West Fraser Timber Inc., out of Vancouver, B.C. This included 13 saw mills, making West Fraser the second largest producer of lumber in North America, next to Weyerhaeuser Company.

Products and corporate structure

International Paper was the largest producer of plastic lids and cups, manufacturing for the fast-food giants McDonalds, Wendys, and Subway. They sold this business in 2005. The Wood Products division of International Paper was sold in 2007 to West Fraser Timberland Inc., a company headquarted in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The company currently produces printer and copier paper, envelopes, corrugated packaging and shipping containers, consumer packaging for cosmetic, home entertainment and other retail markets, and foodservice packaging. It also owns xpedx, a large North American distribution and logistics company.

International Paper is a former Dow Jones Industrial Average component, listed in the index from July 3, 1956 to April 7, 2004. It was one of three components to be replaced in the 2004 change with AT&T and Eastman Kodak.

Beginning February 1, 2007 the sale of the beverage packaging division was completed as New Zealand billionaire Graham Hart won the bid with nearly an 800 million dollar purchase. The division now operates under the Evergreen label.

On Monday March 17, International Paper, announced it is buying the containerboard unit of Weyerhaeuser Co. for $6 billion in cash.

Environmental record

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst identified International Paper as the 27th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, releasing more than 35 million pounds of toxic compounds into the air annually. Major pollutants included sulfuric acid, manganese compounds, chromium, and chlorine dioxide. [ [http://www.peri.umass.edu/Toxic-100-Table.265.0.html Political Economy Research Institute Toxic 100] retrieved 14 Aug 2007] International Paper has also been named a potentially responsible party in at least 31 Superfund sites. [ [http://www.publicintegrity.org/Superfund/SiteResults.aspx?act=international%20paper Center For Public Integrity Superfund Project] retrieved 14 Aug 2007] In 2001 the corporation was one of more than 40 parties found responsible for the estimated $US 20 million cleanup of the Tri-Cities Barrel toxic waste site near Binghamton, NY. [ [http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/FD67634272B0DB738525716A005A77FA EPA press release] ]

References

*http://internationalpaper.com/

External links

* [http://www.ipaper.com/ Company web site]
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/p/i/ip.html Yahoo profile]