According to a report this week by EUWID, some 90,000 metric tpy of testliner capacity will be removed from the U.K. market next week. DS Smith has confirmed that it will close its Wansbrough mill in Watchet in the county of Somerset, England, which also produces other products such as coreboard, on December 23, ending 265 years of papermaking in the town.

The Wansbrough mill operates two paper machines. According to the plant manager in the EUWID article, it produces roughly 90,000 metric tpy of testliner, 30,000 metric tpy of coreboard, 18,000 metric tpy of recycled paper for bags, 12,000 metric tpy of recycled envelope paper, and 10,000 metric tpy of other products such as plasterboard. 

 

In a report last month, the company said that the aging plant lost a major contract and cannot justify the huge investment that would be necessary to raise product quality standards to meet the demands of the modern market and comply with new pollution controls. The mill has a total staff of 176.