Lee & Man Commissions New PM for Recycled Corrugated Case Material

Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd., Hong Kong, China, has commissioned a new paper machine for recycled corrugated case material at its site in Chongqing, Sichuan province. PM 20 has a capacity of 320,000 metric tpy and started operating in July to produce testliner in the basis weight range of 70-120 gsm, the company said in its half-yearly report.

Lee & Man als reported that construction of its new site in Hau Giang, Vietnam, is progressing on schedule. Production at the site is slated to begin at the end of the year, which will add around 400,000 metric tpy of recycled corrugated case material to market supply.

Raymond Lee, chairman of the group's board of directors, said that Lee & Man hopes to continue expansion in suitable regions, but in the medium term the company will focus on reducing debt. The company is burdened by the slowdown in the Chinese economy and exports as well as oversupply in many paper grades, which is expected to give rise to significant price pressure in the second half of the year.

Lee & Man said that "the long-term outlook is promising with demand for packaging paper in China expected to grow as obsolete production facilities will be forced to shut down because they will not be able to compete and because of stringent environmental regulations."

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