UPM to Permanently Retire Three Paper Machines

 

UPM-Kymmene Corp., Helsinki, Finland, will permanently shut down three paper machines—PM 2 at the company’s Kaukas mill and PM 5 at its Jämsänkoski mill, both located in Finland, and PM 1 at UPM’s Shotton mill in the U.K. Production will be ceased at all three locations by the end of March.

 

UPM also said that following consultation with its employees, it is continuing with its planned closure of PM 3 at its mill in Chapelle, France, as announced this past November.

 

 

 

Closure of the three paper machines will reduce UPM’s coated and uncoated magazine paper capacity by about 460,000 metric tpy and its newsprint capacity by 215,000 metric tpy.

  

In announcing the closures, Bernd Eikens, EVP of UPM Paper ENA, said that "these decisions are unfortunate for the personnel involved, and the past months have been challenging for all of us. From the business point of view, the measures taken are necessary to improve our operating rates and profitability in the European paper business, which still suffers from overcapacity. By reducing capacity, we ensure the efficient use of our remaining machines in Europe."

UPM’s Kaukas mill produces coated magazine papers and has an annual capacity of 560,000 metric tpy. The company’s Jämsä River Mills produce uncoated magazine papers, label and packaging papers, coated magazine papers, directory paper, and newsprint. The mill has a combined annual capacity of 1.6 million metric tpy. The Shotton Paper mill produces standard newsprint with a capacity of 490,000 metric tpy.

 

Pictured above is the Jämsänkoski mill and site, where PM 5 will undergo a permanent shut down.