On October 24, UPM announced plans to permanently close paper machine 5 at UPM’s (Germany) Blandin, Minn., USA, mill in response to overcapacities in the North American paper market. All related processes have now been completed, and paper machine 5 has now been permanently closed.

The closure will reduce the annual capacity of coated magazine paper by approximately 128,000 tons. The number of positions affected is 148. Paper production related to paper machine 6 will continue at the Blandin site.

"UPM is committed to the paper business in the long run. This means that we need to continuously adjust our capacity to market developments, to safeguard the economic stability of UPM's paper business. We regret the impact this has on our employees. We have engaged in a fair dialogue with employee representatives to mitigate the impact of the closure on the personnel at Blandin," said Ruud van den Berg, SVP, Magazines, Merchants and Office Business at UPM Paper ENA.

UPM Paper ENA (Europe and North America) is a global producer of graphic papers, offering an extensive product range for advertising and publishing as well as home and office uses. UPM Paper ENA employs approximately 8,000 people. More information about UPM Paper ENA and its products is available online.