14 Mar. 2025: Norske Skog will stick with its latest plan to start up the new containerboard machine at its French Golbey mill at the end of the first quarter. The company confirmed that the PM would be commissioned on 31 March.
The machine, which was rebuilt from newsprint to recycled corrugated case material production, will have a capacity of 550,000 tpy. Norske Skog operates a second, smaller recycled containerboard machine at its Bruck mill in Austria, which has a capacity of 210,000 tpy.
The start-up comes at a time when the market environment is challenging. EUWID research shows that consumption in the packaging sector has still not picked up significantly and demand for corrugated case material remains rather weak as a result. Nevertheless, further capacity expansions are approaching in Europe. Mondi is planning to start up its new recycled containerboard machine in Duino, Italy, during the first half of the year. Also in Italy, DS Smith will expand its capacity in Lucca, probably towards the end of the year. By this time, Eren Paper also plans to conclude its expansion project for recycled containerboard in Shotton, Wales. In addition, a PM at Heinzel's Laakirchen plant in Austria is currently being converted from SC paper to corrugated case material. And Kipas Kagit's new containerboard machine in Söke, Turkey, is currently in the test and start-up phase.