Sappi reviews European production activities

Due to continued overcapacity in the European coated fine paper market, it has not been possible for Sappi to recover the sharply increased costs of raw material and energy over recent years, the company has announced in a statement. Sappi has therefore undertaken a review of its European production activities.

Despite efforts to curb costs, the Blackburn Mill and the paper machine number 5 (PM 5) at its Maastricht Mill have been unable to generate acceptable returns. Consequently, Sappi has entered into a consultation process with employee representatives at both facilities with a view to cease production at Blackburn Mill and PM 5 at Maastricht Mill.

The sales office for coated Fine Paper in the UK will continue operations as will the specialties sales and marketing organization. In the event that these production lines do cease to produce then customers will be offered comparable products and services from other Sappi sites in Europe and no supply interruption would be anticipated. Blackburn has the capacity to produce 120,000 tonnes of Graphic coated fine paper annually.

Paper machine PM5 at Maastricht has the capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of speciality paper annually. If the closure of Blackburn mill and PM 5 at the Maastricht mill were to happen and as a result of reallocation of products, Sappi would reduce its Graphic coated fine paper capacity by 190,000 tonnes.