An increasingly weak market has resulted in temporary production shut-downs at several Norske Skog mills in recent years. Production capacity is therefore not being utilised in an efficient manner. At the same time, the continued excess capacity has resulted in weak price development for the company's products.

 

A total of 450,000 tonnes of production capacity is proposed to be shut down. This amounts to about seven per cent of the company's total production capacity globally.

 

Today, the board of Norske Skog has decided upon the matter, and recommends the following to the corporate assembly:

 

1. The corporate assembly authorizes the board of directors to permanently close Norske Skog Steti.

 

2. The corporate assembly authorizes the board of directors to indefinitely idle production at Norske Skog Follum PM2.

 

3. The corporate assembly authorizes the board of directors to indefinitely idle the production at Norske Skog Cheongwon.

 

The corporate assembly in Norske Skog will decide upon the matter in its meeting on 12 March 2008.

 

 

Oxenøen, 4 March 2008

 

Norske Skog
Corporate communications