PPL May June 2023 PT - Flipbook - Page 8
Pulp Paper & Logistics
6 INDUSTRY NEWS
Sweden Timber takes over newspaper
production at the Hylte mill
T
he sale by Stora Enso
of its newsprint mill
at Hylte in Sweden
to Sweden Timber, a
sawmill and planing mill, was
completed in April.
The €18 million deal had been
announced at the end of January,
and results in Stora Enso’s annual
sales of €2.86 billion being
reduced by €160m, or 5.5 per
cent.
The transaction, part of the
earlier announced plan to divest
four of Stora Enso’s five paper
production sites, does not affect
Stora Enso’s formed fibre and
biocomposite operations located
at the Hylte site.
Sweden Timber is operating
the Hylte paper mill, which dates
from 1907, as a separate entity. It
was extensively modernised and
automated in the 1990s.
In a statement on its website the
company said: “Today we have
a paper machine in operation
and have approximately 270
employees. This makes Hylte
Bruk one of the largest private
employers in Halland County.
With its capacity of 245,000
tonnes, it remains one of the
world’s largest newsprint mills
and will continue to do so going
forward!”
Stora Enso said the sale was
in line with its strategic focus
on long-term growth potential
for its renewable products in
packaging, building solutions and
biomaterials innovations.
In a separate announcement,
Stora Enso said it was planning
to to consolidate its book paper
production and permanently close
one of the two paper machines at
Anjala in Finland following weak
demand and “high input costs”,
reducing the site’s annual capacity
by 250,000 tonnes and sales by
€100m.
Investment by Mondi
in functional barrier papers
Mondi is investing in its
FunctionalBarrier Paper capacity
to meet growing demand
for sustainable paper-based
packaging.
Mondi’s range is said to offer
May/June 2023
tailored barrier properties that
reduce the amount of plastic
used in packaging, supporting
the development of a circular
economy.
The range is being backed with
an investment in a new extrusion
coater and a slitting machine at
Mondi Coating Štĕtí in the Czech
Republic. Production is expected
to start in 2024.
In addition, investment is
currently under way at Mondi’s
Jülich plant in Germany with the
rebuild of an existing coater. Two
new dispersion coating stations
will improve barrier properties by
ensuring good coverage on the
base paper. The construction of
a new coating kitchen is also part
of the rebuild and will enable the
pre-coating of base paper and
expand the offering to include
more paper grades, especially
containing recycled content.
Mondi will also be investing
in and optimising its Örebro
production facility in Sweden, to
further improve production of its
FunctionalBarrier Paper range.
As a replacement for plastic
films and laminates, the range
offers fibre-based packaging
alternatives that are particularly
suitable for fast-moving consumer
goods which can be recycled in
existing paper waste streams
across Europe. With varying
barrier levels, the range is
tailor-made for industrial and
eCommerce applications as well
as personal care, frozen food and
chocolate packaging.
Marko Schuster, operational
chief for Functional Paper &
Films at Mondi, comments:
“We are seeing a strong drive
in the end markets to reduce
the use of plastic and move
towards more sustainable paperbased packaging solutions. Our
FunctionalBarrier Paper range
reflects Mondi’s commitment
to this and promotes a circular
economy, in line with our
MAP2030 goals. We are excited
to expand the portfolio and
enable our customers to make
a smooth transition to more
sustainable packaging solutions to
meet the growing needs of their
consumers.”