Norske Skog Ponders Tissue Conversion Project at Bruck Mill in Austria

Norske Skog is in talks with a potential partner for its project to convert PM 3 at its Bruck mill in Austria from newsprint to tissue, the firm’s CEO Sven Ombudstvedt said during an interview with PPI Europe.

Ombudstvedt said previous discussions with a potential partner had been terminated and talks are now underway with a German-speaking partner. "It is still a work-in-progress, and we hope to finalize something this quarter," he said. Ombudstvedt confirmed Norske Skog’s target is still to convert the machine in Q4 this year, as previously announced, but said that this would depend on the outcome of the discussions. "Whether it will be the last quarter [of 2017] or the first quarter of next year, I cannot really say, but we are still working towards that target," he commented.

During its 2016 results presentation, Ombudstvedt stressed that the firm "still needs financing to carry out the [Bruck conversion] project."

Norske Skog announced its intention to convert PM 3 from newsprint to tissue production back in July 2015. It then held discussions with Italy’s Roto-cart on a potential partnership, but talks ended without a deal in April 2016.

The Bruck paper mill produces lightweight coated paper, mediumweight coated paper and newsprint and has a capacity of 400,000 tonnes/yr.