Norske Skog's Board Recommends Closure of Follum Mill

Norske Skog, Lysaker, Norway, reports that its board of directors this past week (December 7) recommended closing production at the company's Follum mill at Hønefoss, Norway. On December 8, the matter was presented to the Corporate Assembly of Norske Skog. Pending final action by the Corporate Assembly, production at Follum will, according to plan, will cease no later than March 31, 2012.

The decision of the BOD was reached against the vote from the Follum employee representative, the company noted.

"Norske Skog sells less paper than before since many replace paper with electronic media. We unfortunately no longer need as many paper mills, and therefore the least competitive mill has to be closed first," said Chairman of the Board Eivind Reiten. "The majority of the board has concluded that no justifiable alternative to a closure exists. This is regrettable towards the employees at Follum. We have been negotiating with Viken Skog regarding a potential sale. It has however not been possible to reach an agreement that is viable both in a market and an economic sense."

Norske Skog Follum has 356 employees and produces improved newsprint, magazine paper, and book paper. It has an annual production capacity of 290 000 metric tons.

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