Sappi N.A. Completes PM Rebuild to Produce New Sustainable, Innovative Packaging Lines
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Sappi North America Inc., Boston, Mass., USA, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, this week announced the end of a year-long rebuild of Paper Machine 1 at Sappi's Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, Maine.
In February 2017, Sappi Limited announced a major investment at the Somerset Mill to establish a strong platform for growth in paperboard packaging, while maintaining Sappi's leadership position in the graphic paper market, increasing annual production capacity at this mill to almost one million tons per year. These new paperboard grades provide luxury packaging and folding carton applications and complement Sappi NA’s existing specialty packaging products, which represent an important asset in the food packaging and labeling industries.
"We are excited to bring PM 1 back online after a successful rebuild over the past year. Thanks to an extraordinary amount of work and effort by everyone involved throughout the year, we now look forward to bringing new, innovative paper-based packaging solutions to the market," said Mark Gardner, president and CEO, Sappi N.A. "Somerset is a world-class mill, and this rebuild will allow us to continue providing high-quality packaging and graphics solutions to the market at the standard Sappi is known for."
Sappi was the first company to set the standard for graphics paper, with roots extending back to 1854. Now, it is setting the new standard in paperboard packaging. It is the first provider that checks all of the boxes for converters: high-quality, wholly independent, based in the Northeast, financially stable, and continuously investing in new technologies and sustainability.
All of the new product lines will have global availability and provide convertors with superior color consistency, printability, and downstream performance.
"This is an exciting time for Sappi N.A.," said Deece Hannigan, VP of Packaging and Specialties Business, Sappi N.A. "We are committed to bringing high-quality, innovative, and sustainable products to the market that meet a variety of packaging needs. This diversification of our packaging line brings us closer to meeting the goals set in our 2020Vision, while continuing to meet customer needs around the globe."
To learn more about Sappi, visit its web site.
Sappi N.A. is a leading manufacturer of Specialized Cellulose used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods, and one of the world's leading suppliers of Release Papers with its Ultracast, PolyEX, Classics, and Neoterix lines for the automotive, fashion, and engineered films industries. The company’s Specialty Packaging products, such as LusterPrint and LusterCote, represent an important asset in the food packaging and labeling industries, and its new paperboard grades provide luxury packaging and folding carton applications.
Sappi N.A. is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in more than 150 countries around the world.
