SCA, Stockholm, Sweden, reportedly will shut down its Carmona tissue mill in Spain and focus production capacity at its Allo (Navarre) and Valls (Tarragona) mills in that country. The shutdown will involve the transfer of converting production from the SCA mills located in Carmona and Mediona to Allo.

The company has initiated negotiations with workers representatives to minimize the impact on the employees. The closure of Carmona will affect 24 workers.

SCA’s goal is to secure short term and long term competitiveness and to set the grounds for future growth. The Tarragona and Allo mills are both best suited mills for tissue production due to technical standards, plus they have the best geographical location and allow SCA the possibility to growth the plants in the future.

Although converting at Mediona will be transferred to Allo, its papermaking production will remain. According to the company, converting production in Mediona is not economically viable, due to high production costs and its inadequacy to grow. Carmona is not efficient since Allo's converting capacity is significantly underused.

José Ramón Iracheta, SCA Spain country manager, noted that "we are consulting fully with our employees and their representatives to guarantee the best possible outcome. Part of the consultation process will explore potential opportunities in other SCA sites and outline outplacement support available. We are fully aware of the impact that this decision will have on our employees at Mediona and Carmona. This is not a measure we have undertaken lightly; on the contrary, it follows a thorough analysis and consideration of the best possible way to secure our business continuity and future in Spain. We are confident that this process will allow us to strengthen our business here in Spain."
 

The period of consultation will be for a maximum of 50 days to give all employees' the opportunity to ask questions and contribute views.