Smurfit Kappa completes two paper machine rebuilds

Smurfit Kappa announced that two of its European operations have restarted following extended shut downs during the first quarter of 2016.

The company’s PM4 machine, at its Sangüesa mill in Northern Spain, will now produce 30,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of high value Machine Glazed (MG) papers following its conversion from a 65,000 tpy containerboard machine.

Smurfit Kappa’s PM1 machine, at its Roermond mill in the Netherlands, has been completely rebuilt to produce 260,000 tpy of recycled containerboard. This is an increase of 40,000 tons per year. This machine has the capability to produce lighter weight papers, serving current market trends at a reduced cost per tonne.

“The operational teams in both Sangüesa and Roermond did an outstanding job ensuring these machines restarted on time and within budget,” said Laurent Sellier, COO Paper & Board Smurfit Kappa Europe. “Within Smurfit Kappa we continue to focus on cost reduction per tonne produced and specialisation of products produced in each of the machines within our system. These completed projects fit perfectly in this strategy.”