UPM increases label paper capacity

UPM’s paper machine 4 at the Jmsnkoski mill will shift from producing magazine paper to manufacturing label papers, in an investment totaling €45M. ‘For the customer, this will entail more volume, better quality and opportunities for new products,’ said the company. The announcement follows the completion of the upgrade to UPM’s glassine-producing PM8 line.

‘PM3, the machine producing face papers at Jmsnkoski, has been running at the very limits of its capacity, and for a good year already, the capacity has been sold one hundred percent,’ said Heikki Hyvrinen, vice president of UPM Label Papers. ‘The investment is completely market-driven. It will enable specialization in label papers on two machines.’

PM4 will be upgraded as a partner for PM3, producing one-side coated face papers, coated release liners and flex papers. The annual production capacity of the new PM 4 will be 120,000 tonnes, and the combined annual capacity of the two lines over 260,000 tonnes. ‘Combined with PM8 and PM5 at Tervasaari, the two Jmsnkoski machines will enable us to balance the production volumes of face and base papers,’ said Hyvrinen. The conversion will be completed in the second quarter of 2007.