The board of Norske Skog resolved today to relocate a thermomechanical pulp (TMP) plant from the discontinued Norske Skog Union mill to Norske Skog Follum north of Oslo.

 

Built in 1996, this facility will help to strengthen relatively poor profitability at Norske Skog Follum, enhance its efficiency and improve paper quality.

 

The investment required totals about NOK 190 million and will be made next year. Plans call for the TMP plant to be operational by the end of 2007.

One important measure for improving profitability at Norske Skog Follum is to streamline its output of paper pulp, which will be achieved by closing the old grinding mill.

 

This investment means that production at the mill will be based almost wholly on TMP. Like Norske Skog's other units, however, it will also need to take further cost-cutting steps.

 

Norske Skog Follum has 505 employees and currently produces some 410 000 tonnes of paper per year from three machines.

 

Over the past decade, Norske Skog has invested in developing this mill into a leading supplier of upgraded newsprint and other upgraded publication paper.

 

Oxenøen 1 August 2006

Norske Skog

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