Sappi to close Finnish paper mill in early 2010

Paper and pulp producer Sappi’s Finnish subsidiary, Finland I Oy, announced on Thursday that it would permanently close its 137-year-old 210 000-t/y Kangas paper mill by early 2010.

In October, the subsidiary reported that it could close the mill, which employed about 150 people, owing to an overcapacity of coated magazine paper in Europe.

The paper producer had now concluded agreements with employee representatives regarding the closure, with the redundancy terms including provisions for outplacements and training support for all employees to ensure that they had the best possible opportunity to secure new employment.

“We recognise this is a difficult decision affecting our employees, their families and the communities surrounding the mill. Unfortunately, this action was necessary to address the impact of the global recession, which has caused a structural drop in demand for mechanical coated paper,” Sappi Fine Paper Europe CEO Berry Wiersum said in a statement.

Sappi stated that it, together with the Jyväskylä town and the Jyväskylä Regional Development Company, also known as Jykes, would investigate the possibility of using the mill site as an industrial area in the future.

Production of the Galerie Silk range would be supplied to customers from the Lanaken mill, in Belgium, while a complementary grade, Galerie Fine Silk, would also be launched at the Kirkniemi mill, in Finland.

There would be no supply interruption to customers during the mill closure and transfer of production, Sappi stated.