Norske Skog to invest EUR 72 mill in energy boiler

28/06/2019

The board of directors in Norske Skog AS has approved a EUR 72 million investment in a new 50MW wide range energy boiler at the Norske Skog Bruck mill in Austria. The investment will improve the carbon footprint, further strengthen the mill’s profitability and create new business beyond publication paper. The new revenue streams will be derived from utilizing refuse derived fuels and paper production residuals. 

Sven Ombudstvedt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Norske Skog, commented: 

- This investment fits perfectly with our long term green diversification strategy. This energy plant will represent a step-change in our Bruck mill competitiveness as a publication paper producer and will generate significant cash flow from the start-up in 2022. ”.

Norske Skog’s long-term strategy remains to improve the core business, to convert certain of the Group’s paper machines and to diversify the business within the bioenergy, fibre and biochemical markets.

The boiler project fits well with Norske Skog’s strategy of doing attractive energy investments and further increasing the Bruck mill’s cost competitiveness, along with increasing the Group’s exposure to revenue streams beyond publication paper. 

The energy cost saving will come from reduced consumption of gas and no need of purchasing CO2 allowances; thus, the mill’s carbon foot print will be substantially improved. The boiler project will mainly be financed by external loan from Austrian banks at very competitive terms. 

About Norske Skog

Norske Skog is a leading producer of publication paper with strong market positions in Europe, where it occupies a top-tier publication paper position, and Australasia, where Norske Skog is a leading producer of publication paper in a concentrated market.

Norske Skog operates a total of seven profitable paper mills strategically located close to attractive markets and with total paper production capacity of 2.6 million tons, comprising 1.7 million tons of newsprint and 0.9 million tons of magazine paper (supercalandered and coated mechanical). The Bruck mill produces around 125,000 tons newsprint and 260,000 tons LWC per year.

The Norske Skog Group has approximately 2,400 employees, and had in 2018 annual revenue and EBITDA of approximately NOK 12.6 billion and NOK 1.0 billion, respectively. 

28 June 2019

Norske Skog
Communications and Public Affairs

For further information:

Norske Skog media:
Vice President Corporate Communication and Public Affairs
Carsten Dybevig
carsten.dybevig@norskeskog.com
Mob: +47 917 63 117
Twitter: @Norske_Skog