With the recent announcement of Sofidel's intent to acquire the tissue assets of Clearwater, I thought we should take a brief look at the foreign owners currently in the United States. These include:

Kruger

Cascades

Paper Excellence

Nine Dragons

Phoenix

Durango

Smurfit Westrock

DS Smith

Saica

Sofidel

And probably some I have forgotten.

What does this tell us? First, the US markets in thriving grades are attractive to outsiders. It also tells us that those wishing to do business with these companies would do well to study their home cultures, for no doubt their home cultures affect their internal business practices.

We should also think about the equipment manufacturers based outside the United States. These include:

Voith

Valmet

Andritz

And many smaller players.

Today, it is possible for a facility to be built and operated in the United States with nearly completely off shore equipment and off shore ownership. Something to consider as one views the industry going forward.

Jim Thompson is CEO of Paperitalo Publications.