About Clearwater Paper

Clearwater Paper Corporation operates as a manufacturer and supplier of bleached paperboard and consumer and parent roll tissue. The company supplies bleached paperboard to quality-conscious printers and packaging converters, and offer services that include custom sheeting, slitting and cutting. The company supplies private branded tissue to major retailers, including grocery, club, mass merchants and discount stores. Business Segments The company has two business segments: Pulp and Paperboard and Consumer Products. Pulp and Paperboard The company’s Pulp and Paperboard segment markets and manufactures bleached paperboard for the high-end segment of the packaging industry and is a leading producer of Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS) paperboard. This segment produces hardwood and softwood pulp, which is primarily used as the basis for the company’s paperboard products or transferred to the company’s Consumer Products segment. Minor amounts of pulp are sold to outside customers. The company is one of the five largest producers of bleached paperboard in North America with approximately 16% of the available U.S. production capacity in 2023. The company also provides custom sheeting, slitting and cutting of paperboard products. The company focuses on the high end of the folding carton category, which requires a premium print surface and includes uses, such as packaging for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other premium retail goods. Liquid packaging paperboard is used in rigid containers, including juice, milk and wine sold in supermarket retail channels. The company’s liquid packaging paperboard is known for its cleanliness and printability, and is engineered for long-lived performance due to its three-ply, softwood construction. The company’s reputation for producing liquid packaging meets the most demanding standards for paperboard quality and cleanliness, where consumers have a particular tendency to associate blemish-free, vibrant packaging with the cleanliness, quality and freshness of the liquids contained inside. The cup and plate category consists of paperboard primarily converted into packaging for premium ice cream, hot and cold cups used in quick service channels and commodity focus plates. The company’s cup and plate paperboard is used in a mixture of premium and commodity applications. Other applications include carded packaging for blister board alternatives (e.g., batteries and lip stick) and bleached bristols, which are used to produce premium printing heavyweight paper grades used in commercial application. Bristols can be clay coated on one side or both sides for applications, such as brochures, presentation folders and paperback book covers. Of the five largest SBS paperboard producers in the United States, the company is the only producer that does not convert SBS paperboard into folding cartons, cups, plates or liquid packaging end-use products. The company can convert paperboard parent rolls to flat sheets and narrow rolls, which expands the company’s in-market service capabilities and allows the company to support small and mid-sized folding carton converters that buy sheeted paperboard to convert into packaging end-products. The company utilizes various methods for the sale and distribution of its paperboard. The majority of the company’s paperboard is sold to packaging converters in North America through sales managers located throughout the United States, with a smaller percentage channeled through distribution to commercial printers. The company sells sheeted paperboard products directly to folding carton converters, merchants and commercial printers. Consumer Products The company’s Consumer Products segment sells and produces a complete line of at-home tissue products. The company’s integrated manufacturing and converting operations and geographic footprint enable the company to deliver a broad range of cost-competitive products with brand equivalent quality to the company’s customers. The company also sells minor amounts of parent rolls. Prior to the closure of the company’s Neenah, Wisconsin facility in July 2021, the company sold away from home (AFH) products and performed limited contract manufacturing. The company is the only U.S. consumer tissue manufacturer that solely produces a full line of quality private branded tissue products for large retail trade channels with a national footprint. The company is able to offer products that match the quality of leading national brands, but generally at lower prices. The company sells a combination of ultra and premium products. Value grade products utilizing recycled fiber are also produced for customers who wish to further diversify their product portfolio. The company utilizes independent companies to routinely test its product quality. The company accounted for 5% of the overall U.S. at-home market in 2023, including branded and private branded products. The company sells tissue products through its own sales force. The company delivers customer-focused business solutions by assisting in managing product assortment, category management and pricing and promotion optimization. Seasonality Customer buying patterns for the company’s paperboard generally result in lower sales for certain grades of the company’s Pulp and Paperboard segment during the first and fourth quarters, compared to the second and third quarters of a given year (year ended December 2023). Competition The company’s Consumer Products business competes with the branded tissue products producers, such as Procter & Gamble, and branded label producers who manufacture branded and private label products, such as Georgia-Pacific and Kimberly-Clark. The company’s Pulp and Paperboard business competes with WestRock, Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging, and Pactiv Evergreen. History Clearwater Paper Corporation was founded in 1900. The company was incorporated in 2005.